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05-08-19 ESC MinutesMINUTES OF CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE MEETING MAY 8, 2019 ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Bruce Andrews, Chair Linda Chipperfield Sarah Dark Bonnie Hanson Judith Leroux Amy Palmer Dawn Scott STAFF: Shane Corbin, Director of Planning and Community Development Angela Irizarry, Code Enforcement Jennifer Johnston, Building Department 1. Call to order. The meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m. in the Commission Chambers by B. Andrews. 2. Approval of the minutes. D. Scott moved to defer approval of the minutes to the next meeting, and the motion passed with no opposition. 3. Courtesy of the floor. Mike Whalen, a business owner on Mayport Road, addressed the Committee. He said the first line of defense to protect trees is to speak to the tree cutting companies. He said that the tree code allows applicants to remove trees without verification. B. Andrews said an item in the work plan is education via a seminar for tree cutters. 4. 2019 ESC work plan. S. Corbin discussed the work plan. He said he will be making a presentation to Commission to secure funding for a mailer from the tree mitigation fund, which addressed the tree canopy education item in the work plan. B. Andrews asked about the status of the presentation of the ordinance changes to Commission, and S. Corbin said he had discussed it with the City Manager regarding a date, which had not been determined. L. Chipperfield said that the ordinance changes should be in place prior to inviting the tree trimmers into an education seminar. May 8, 2019 Environmental Stewardship Committee Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 4 A. Palmer asked if heritage trees would be addressed in the ordinance changes. S. Dark asked if the entire Committee should discuss the proposed changes, or should that issue be handled in a Subcommittee. B. Andrews said it should be discussed in a Subcommittee, and volunteered to take on the issue. A. Palmer said that stronger protections could be added to the ordinance to protect larger trees and presented an example from the City of Gainesville, Florida and said the Committee is the guardian of those trees. S. Dark said that currently there is no incentive to designate trees as heritage trees, and there could be opportunity to incentivize heritage tree designation on private property. B. Hanson said she would not like to add heritage tree protection to the current ordinance and slow down the ordinance revision process. B. Andrews discussed the proposed changes to the ordinance, and that the Committee did not feel there was a political appetite to have a tree removal ordinance as restrictive as Austin, Texas. He said he did not feel the time was right to present these types of changes to the Commission now, but would like to continue the discussion. He discussed the dead heritage tree removal issue that came before Commission previously. He said for people who feel like the ordinance needs to be beefed up, he recommended they speak to their elected officials. A. Palmer said there is an interest in the community to protect larger trees. S. Corbin discussed the status of the Parks Master Plan, which is posted on the Community Development page of the City's website. He said there is also a conference call scheduled on May 9, 2019 with the National Park Service regarding the plan, and the Florida chapter of the American Landscape Society will hold a charrette in the future. He said he would like the Committee to familiarize themselves with the plan, since he will be asking the Committee for a recommendation. He discussed the information gathered currently. S. Dark discussed the data gathered and the upcoming design charrettes. B. Andrews said that groups like the "Friends of Howell Park" could be organized to support the parks. A member from the audience discussed a grassroots movement organized about 25 years ago to speak to the City Commission to reverse their decision to use Howell Park as stormwater drainage. She said there is interest currently to work towards maintaining the City's parks and help look after the parks. B. Hanson asked about the objective to discuss the priority items, and B. Andrews said that the discussion will ensure someone has taken the lead on each item. S. Dark asked if the Friends of the Parks groups would be affiliated with the City, and J. Leroux said that had been previously discussed with the City's Human Resources department, and certain duties can only be handled by staff or sanctioned volunteers. J. Leroux said she would like to see physical surveys attached to the Parks Master Plan. B. Andrews discussed the beautification of public spaces priority item, and the Mayport corridor fagade improvement grant, including landscaping. He said the Committee could implement an improvement plan one block at a time. Mike Whalen said the difficult issue with bids is that contractors are very busy. S. Corbin said the only time limit on the program is when the money runs out. S. Dark asked if there were landscape requirements with the grant program, and S. Corbin said no. B. Andrews said the Committee could help facilitate landscaping companies and businesses with applying for the grant program. S. Corbin said that if the Committee changes the ordinance, the Committee could incentivize planting trees along Mayport Road. S. Dark said the online presence regarding the fagade improvement program could help raise awareness of the program. May 8, 2019 Environmental Stewardship Committee Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 4 B. Andrews said the plants that were installed at the 5 -way intersection were not appropriate for the area. S. Corbin said the Committee could make a planting recommendation to Commission. S. Dark said she would like to create a plant palate, including native and appropriate plants, to use as a guide for Public Works. The Committee discussed creating a plant palate or a set of standards. The Committee discussed ways to present the idea to the Commission. K. Hogencamp said the Committee could present a recommendation to Commission via a report. B. Andrews asked if the Committee should prepare a report to Commission quarterly, and K. Hogencamp said it is more realistic to present a report twice a year. A. Palmer made a motion to present a report to Commission to include recommendations for public plantings, B. Hanson seconded and the motion passed with no opposition. J. Leroux said the LEED for Cities roadmap could be used to set priorities for the Committee. L. Chipperfield said that any item on the roadmap could also serve as a future work plan item for the Committee. B. Andrews said that some items on the roadmap are outside the Committee's purview. S. Dark said not all items in the LEED for Cities application fall under the Committee's scope, but the overall goal of applying for the program falls under the Committee's goals. A. Palmer said that the equitability item could be reached by the Committee by creating a tree bank available to all residents. The Committee discussed using the LEED for Cities roadmap as a work plan, where environmental aspects are concerned. 6. Tree Subcommittee report. The previous Subcommittee meeting was cancelled, so there was no report to present to the Committee. S. Dark said the Subcommittee needs an alternate member, and B. Hanson volunteered. 5. LEED Subcommittee report. S. Corbin presented the current score in the different categories, and what strategies could be used to improve future scores. A. Palmer asked if the waste data addresses single -use plastics, and S. Corbin discussed how the tonnage of garbage and recycling is tracked. B. Andrews asked if outreach would count towards the waste score, and S. Corbin said no. L. Chipperfield said once the City is LEED for Cities certified, a ceremony will be planned with a plaque presentation. She said they are hoping for certification in June. B. Andrews said that real world language helps better describe the program, and A. Palmer said the graphic with the City's scores is also very helpful. 7. Outreach Subcommittee report. A. Palmer presented the Subcommittee report. S. Dark created a graphic to advertise Committee meetings, and J. Leroux is the Facebook administrator for the Subcommittee. A. Palmer said the Subcommittee can be considered the marketing department of the Committee. She said one more meeting is needed to further discuss action items, processes, and deadlines. She said the first Wednesday of the month is designated for their meetings. She said LEED for Cities will be the short term goal, and the tree canopy education campaign item is the long term goal of the Subcommittee. She said should would like the blessing of the full Committee on the scope of work they have defined. L. Chipperfield said the Subcommittee would align their messages with the City's policies. J. Leroux said the Committee should police themselves to avoid Sunshine law issues while posting on social media. A. Palmer said that the Committee can forward social media posting ideas to J. Leroux. B. Andrews introduced the City's Code Enforcement officer, Angela Irizarry, who has been helping to May 8, 2019 Environmental Stewardship Committee Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 4 water the newly planted trees. J. Leroux asked B. Andrews to film the tree watering for social media posting. S. Corbin said she will be assisting with the Subcommittee. A motion to support the Outreach Subcommittee to post items and report back to the Committee was brought by B. Andrews and was seconded by S. Dark, and passed with no opposition. 8. New business. S. Corbin presented a Board training video that covers Sunshine law issues to the Committee. A. Palmer asked how the rule applies over email or electronic means, and S. Corbin said the same rules apply, that Committee members cannot discuss items that will be up for a vote. L. Chipperfield said she had reached out to K. Hogencamp regarding a tree removal hotline, and he is working on the issue. D. Scott said the graphic created by S. Dark worked, and there were more audience members at this meeting than any previous meeting. 9. Adjournment. The motion to adjourn was brought by B. Hanson and passed with no opposition. The meeting adjourned at 8:18 pm. (Minutes respectfully submitted by Jennifer Johnston on June 4, 2019.) `t -- Sarah Boren, Secretary ATTEST: !/ r Shane Corbin, Director of Planning and Community Development May 8, 2019 Environmental Stewardship Committee Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 4