Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) - 11 Jan 2023 - Agenda - Pdf
City of Atlantic Beach
Agenda
Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC)
Meeting
Wednesday, January 11, 2023 - 6:00 p.m.
Commission Chamber
City Hall, 800 Seminole Road
Page(s)
1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
2. SELECTION OF ESC CHAIR AND SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRS
3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
4. COURTESY OF THE FLOOR (5 MINS.)
4.A. Linda Lainer 3 - 5
ESC memo re Florida Friendly lakes 1-4-23
Florida Friendly Landscape Program
5. CONSENT AGENDA
5.A. Approval of December 14th ESC minutes
5.B. Approval of Tree Subcommittee Reports
5.C. Approval of the Outreach Subcommittee Report
5.D. Approval of the Sustainability and Resiliency Subcommittee Report
5.E. Approval of 90-Day Calendar 7 - 8
2023 Working calendar
6. CHAIR REMARKS
7. SIGNIFICANT MATTERS ARISING IN SUBCOMMITTEES
7.A. Tree Subcommittee
7.B. Outreach Subcommittee
7.C. Sustainability and Resiliency Subcommittee
8. MAYOR AND/OR STAFF REPORTS
9. OLD BUSINESS
9.A. Draft ESC priorities to be submitted to Commission 9 - 10
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Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) - 11 Jan 2023
Conclusions from ESC Priority Setting Google Form
9.B. ESC 2023 Priorities 11 - 13
Draft ESC 2023 Priorities
9.C. Working Group Establishment 15 - 23
Approval of Terms
Recommendations for Working Groups. focus and composition
SME and volunteer structure proposal_MG
9.D. 2023 Speaker Series 25
Draft 2023 COAB ESC Speaker and Salon series_mg
10. NEW BUSINESS
11. MEMBERS CLOSING REMARKS
12. ADJOURNMENT
Any person wishing to speak to the Environmental Stewardship Committee on any matter at
this meeting should submit a Comment Card located at the entrance to Commission Chamber
prior to the start of the meeting.
This meeting will be live-streamed and videotaped. To access live or recorded videos, click on
the Meeting Videos tab on the city's home page at www.coab.us.
In accordance with the American with Disabilities Act and Section 286.26 of the Florida Statutes,
persons with disabilities needing special accommodations to participate in this meeting should
contact City Clerk Donna Bartle at 247-5809 or at City Hall, 800 Seminole Road, Atlantic Beach,
Florida not less than three (3) days prior to the date of this meeting.
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Agenda Item #4.A.
11 Jan 2023
January 4, 2023
Members of the ESC,
We are Michael and Linda Lanier, long term residents of Atlantic Beach, and like you, we are concerned
about our natural environment and the impact of people and practices upon it. In particular, we live on
a pond in Atlantic Beach Country Club that is surrounded by private homes. A section of the pond is
allocated to each parcel of land so the pond is completely privately owned.
Each homeowner hires their own lawn service and spraying company. Over the last few years we’ve
witnessed the variety of ways that some of these companies do things that potentially harm our lake.
They blow grass clippings and lawn waste into the pond and fertilize right down to the waterline. These
high levels of phosphorus and other nutrients adversely affect the water with local and downstream
effects. We’ve spoken to some of the lawn personnel and while they have no intention to cause harm,
they are usually uninformed about best practices around a pond or waterway. Their respective
companies seem equally unaware or unconcerned. There’s been education for the homeowners who
hire them but quite honestly, they aren’t always home to monitor the behavior of the personnel. If this
is happening in our pond, I’m quite sure it’s happening in other water bodies in our city.
Our admittedly unscientific assessment of water bodies in Atlantic Beach shows ten ponds on city
property, twenty-one ponds on private property, Hopkins Creek and Sherman Creek. The creeks and
many of these ponds flow ultimately into the marsh, the Intracoastal Waterway and the St. Johns River.
You are already familiar with the Florida Friendly Landscaping (FFL) program that offers ways to protect
the natural environment through smart landscaping practices. In fact, one of the principles of FFL is No.
9 – Protect the Waterfront . According to the University of Florida IFAS Extension – Florida Friendly
Landscaping Program:
One of the most important steps you can take to protect any water body is maintaining a
waterside 10-foot “low maintenance zone”. Do not mow, fertilize or use pesticide in this
zone.
We encourage you to consider the adoption of No. 9 – Protect the Waterfront and all of the items in the
Florida Friendly program. There’s no doubt that it would be difficult for city staff to enforce, but making
a public statement and modeling collective action has its merits. Many Florida cities and counties have
already done so including Ft. Lauderdale, Riviera Beach, Alachua County, the City of North Port, Citrus
County, the City of Venice, the City of Miami and Hernando County, to name just a few. The UF IFAS
Extension has a wealth of information as well as guidance models for ordinances, covenants and
restrictions. (https://ffl.ifas.ufl.edu/)
)
Thank you for your good work to make our city an even better place to live.
Best,
Michael and Linda Lanier
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Agenda Item #4.A.
11 Jan 2023
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Agenda Item #9.A.
11 Jan 2023
Conclusions from ESC Priority Setting Google Form
Total number of responses
8 out of 10 ESC members
Regarding TOTAL NUMBER of suggested priorities ESC should submit to COAB Commission, I believe it should be ....
4 keep all 24 suggested priorities
4 limit total number of priorities
Regarding the priorities listed under the "Trees" category, I vote for ...
5 keep all suggested priorities – 1 suggested combining b & d
2 remove/add
Remove 1B (Heritage tree incentives), 1D (prohibition of removal of certain trees) and 1E (fruit trees)
Remove B (Heritage tree incentives)
Add
o"Strive for zero net loss of canopy" and
o"Fund a promotion of the benefits of trees, native planting, tree ordinance and pervious surfaces"
1 Only keep C (tree canopy assessment)
Regarding the priorities listed under the "Forward Thinking Community Planning" category, I vote for ...
2 keep all
5 remove/add
Remove 2b iii (ADU) and 2b vi (workforce housing)
Remove 2Biv (commercial landscape ord), 2Bv (reclaimed water) and 2Bvi (workforce housing)
Remove A1 (increase BFE), A4 (SLR, adaptation & mitigation), B1 (resolve conflict), B2 (solar/EV ready) & B5
(reclaimed water)
Remove or move B5 to 2024 and better define solar/EV ready
Remove all except A2 (Expand Baker Center)
Under Resilience add
o--"Incentivize and make it easy for all private sector buildings to obtain a green building certification,
implement resilient best practices and measure annual performance".
Under Planning add
o--"Implement specific programs and services that increases energy efficiency, increases renewable
energy adoption, and reduces waste in the community", and
o--"Implement and incentivize a voluntary benchmarking and green building challenge for city, residential
and commercial buildings".
1 combine
For Resilience, combine i (BFE) and iii (best practices) and that becomes first priority with Baker and monitor sea
level being secondary.
For Planning: i (resolve conflict), ii (solar/EV ready) and iii (ADUs) are first priority. rest are secondary or can be
dropped for now
Regarding the priorities listed under the "Natural Systems & Ecology" category, I vote for ...
4 keep all
4 remove/add something
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Agenda Item #9.A.
11 Jan 2023
First priority are "e" (beach/marsh access inventory) and "b" (Beaches Town Center); could do without "d"
(Dutton Island appearance) and "a" (Monarch) is nice to have as is "c" (biocide)
Remove "and expand Monarch Butterfly Pledge to include replication of more monarch friendly plants and
gardens throughout the city" from 3A. Remove 3Biii (fund AB Pride), and 3D (Dutton Island appearance).
Remove b (Beaches Town Center) and d Dutton Island appearance).
Remove all except c (biocide)
Regarding the priorities listed under the "City Operations: Lead by Example" category, I vote for ...
4 keep all – With one suggestion to rank within (e.g., First priority are "a" and "c" - rest are second tier
3 remove/add
Remove 4c (EV infrastructure)
Remove 4B (net zero & green building for city bldgs) and 4E (reduce city ops energy consumption)
Remove whole category as previous categories have higher priorities
Add
--"Consider best practices for sustainable principles into neighborhood planning and redevelopment projects.",
--"Set short- and medium-term milestone targets to show progress toward long term goals", and
--"Achieve a solid waste recycling rate of 40% or greater".
1 combine
I wonder if A and B could be combined? Maybe it could be part of the trainings to learn how to get certification.
Open Comment Section
very effective format to solicit our input
all items have value - but if the idea is to select a few, let's prioritize those without taking rest off the table
(perhaps by having a Second Priority tier.
I appreciate all the hard work that went into this, but I don't understand why the categories and priorities don't
reflect the ones we voted on. It took a long time to search and compare the 2 documents and I may have missed
or misunderstood some in the Commission priorities. I wasn't there for the December ESC meeting and the
minutes aren't posted yet so maybe it was explain there.
I love all the priorities, but think we should choose less to send.
Excellent job categorizing and organizing these.
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Agenda Item #9.B.
11 Jan 2023
DRAFT 2023 ESC Priorities for Itself
Natural Systems and Ecology
1.Conserve, restore, and maintain the health, quality, and function of AB’s natural systems
(marsh, wetlands, beaches, canopy, green spaces, dunes, parks, waterways, etc.) through
regular assessment and attention. NEEDS A MORE SPECIFIC DOABLE ACTION
2.Promote and educate Execute a education campaign about the benefits of trees, tree ordinance,
tree planting and pervious surfaces.
3.Identify who is not within a ½ mile walking distance of a green/open space and make plan to
achieve 95%
4.Plant more trees in ROW and Parks and continue front yard tree plantings \[Maritime Forest\]
Energy and Climate
1.Consider Research best practices for sustainable and resilient principles in neighborhood
planning and redevelopment projects.
2.Implement Research and educate about best programs and services that increases energy
efficiency, increases renewable energy adoption, and reduces waste in the community
3.Execute an educational campaign about how to reduce energy consumption and save money.
Quality of life and livability
1.Enhance public spaces, including public rights of way, roadsides, City buildings, beach accesses
and other publicly held properties with art and carefully maintained landscape design and
plantings. NEEDS A MORE SPECIFIC DOABLE ACTION & POSSIBLE COLLABORATION WITH ARCC
2.Incentivize and advocate for use of native plants and beautification of private and commercial
spaces.
3.Encourage staff to continue to install sidewalks, safe and widened walkways and appropriate
lighting in areas most needed.
Water
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Agenda Item #9.B.
11 Jan 2023
1.Review best practices that meet multiple objectives regarding water runoff and on site
retention, pervious and impervious surfaces, tree retention, beautification, etc.
2.Increase amount of reclaimed water access and use in AB. Put on list for Commission
3.Engage Educate in restoring and maintaining critical water bodies and the buffer zones that
protect those water bodies.
Green Buildings and Infrastructure
1.Incentivize and make it easy for all private sector buildings to obtain a green building
certification, implement resilient best practices and measure annual performance. Put on list
for Commission
2.Launch a solar co-op program for AB residents in partnership with a nonprofit organization.
3.Research and educate about best green infrastructure practices for AB.
Solid Waste
1.Offer/partner on community clean ups (after big events such as July 4, Memorial Day, etc) to
build community alliance while helping our city environment.
2.COMBINE WITH LARGER RECOGNITION PROGRAM: Start a home composting recognition
program to increase landfill diversion rate and community engagement. *
3.Host semi-annual collection site to collect difficult to recycle, hazardous, and electronic waste
items.
4.Partner with local restaurants to improve food re-distribution and reduce food and solid waste
(1M)
Transportation and Land Use
1.Improve infrastructure and amenities for bikers and pedestrians and partner with community
organizations to deliver bike and pedestrian safety education. HOW SPECIFICALLY -- NEEDS A
MORE SPECIFIC DOABLE ACTION
2.Demonstrate a measurable reduction in vulnerability and/or increase in resiliency to 3
Community wide risks (e.g., flooding, heat, tornados, hurricanes) and 1 at-risk population group
(e.g., mobile home).
3.Research best practices and submit recommendations to Commission when they open Land Use
chapter -- Assess tools to address overdevelopment of lots by looking at zoning codes and how
considering the value of “communal” trees on private property that provide co-benefits to
neighbors and the community at large.
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Agenda Item #9.B.
11 Jan 2023
Governance, Community Outreach & Education
1)Grow number of people interested and engaged in making AB more sustainable and resilient
through:
a)partnerships,
b)high touch and high tech/low cost outreach tactics,
c)identifying local and regional like-minded assets,
d)inviting participation by Subject Matter Experts,
e)attracting volunteers, and
f)starting an AB Sustainability & Resiliency Steward and Ambassador program
g)Create a recognition program for historical buildings, trees, structures, and features to retain
character of AB, it’s eclectic nature, and honoring history. Add home composting recognition
program to increase landfill diversion rate and community engagement. *
2)Monthly speaker & salon series (Community education, engagement, & listening mechanism).
3)Promote and educate about (1E)
a)the benefits of trees,
b)tree ordinance,
c)tree planting, and
d)pervious surfaces
4)Form an AB Pride group of volunteers to work on canopy enhancement and care and on
beautification projects \[Beautification\]
5)Create and support a Friends of the Parks Program \[Parks\]
6)Learn and implement best practices and innovations from other local governments, private sector,
nonprofits, and academia
7)Review and report out on status and progress of SRCAP annually and educate accordingly.
8)Set short and medium term milestone targets for each focus area to show progress toward long
term goals
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Agenda Item #9.D.
11 Jan 2023
DRAFT ESC 2023 Speaker & Salon Series
(as of 12/8/22)
The intent of the 2023 COAB ESC Monthly Speaker & Salon Series is to increase the environmental
literacy and awareness of AB residents and provide a regular forum for residents to share their ideas and
concerns about AB’s environmental stewardship efforts and initiatives.
Details
st
Date & Time: 1 Thursday of each month (6-8pm; with setup starting at 4:45)
Location: City Chambers (free, accessible, and can record)
Lead: An ESC member will need to make sure Chamber is open and then locked after event
Possible Topics & Speakers Aligned with ESC 2023 Priorities & Charter
Some topics may require more than one session
ESC Priorities, CAP, LEED & Volunteer Orientation – January 5? ESC Chair?
Benefits and Care of Trees
Future of Local Energy Resources – C. Shay Hill, JEA and its 30 year Integrated Resource Plan
Solar -- Paul Nicholson or FL SUN
Native & Florida Friendly Gardens -- Amy Franke
Green Homes – Sarah Boren
Environmental Documentary Movies
Presentation of Biocide management plan when adopted
Integrated Ecosystems of AB
What is Carbon sequestration and the big fuss over GHG?
Is recycling effective?
The role our oceans play in our environment
The Future of Electric Vehicles in our community
Rethinking infrastructure and the environment
Importance of Biodiversity
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