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07-10-19 ESC MinutesMINUTES Environmental Stewardship Committee Meeting Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - 6:00 PM Commission Chamber Present: Bruce Andrews, Chair, Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) Amy Palmer, Member, Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) Linda Chipperfield, Member, Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) Sarah Andrews Dark, Member, Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) Tony Pooley, Member, Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) Bonnie Hansen, Member, Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) Judith Leroux, Member, Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) Dawn Scott, Member, Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) Boren Sarah, Member, Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) Shane Corbin, Community Development Director Jennifer Johnston, Operations Manager 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL A. The meeting was called to order at 6:01 pm by B. Andrews in the Commission Chamber. S. Dark and A .Palmer arrived at 6:07 pm. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Approve minutes of the May 8, 2019 regular Environmental Stewardship Committee meeting. The motion to approve the minutes from the May 8, 2019 was brought by B. Hanson and passed with no opposition B. Approve minutes of the June 12, 2019 regular Environmental Stewardship Committee meeting. The motion to approve the minutes from the June 12, 2019 meeting was brought by B. Hanson and passed with no opposition 3. COURTESY OF THE FLOOR (5 MINS.) A. There were no speakers present for courtesy of the floor. 4. REPORTS A. Tree Code Revision Update (CS/HB 1159: Private Property Rights). http://flsenate.2ov/Session/Bill/2019/01159/?Tab=BillHistory Environmental Stewardship Committee July 10, 2019 Page 1 of 5 S. Corbin reviewed HB 1159 with the Committee. He said that after discussion with staff, the bill does not appear to affect the COAB tree code. He said that he felt that not many certified arborists would act badly, and most of the public would probably not know about the bill. T. Pooley said it is not difficult to become a certified arborist, and owners and arborists could produce letters without proof. S. Corbin said the City could challenge the homeowner's arborist with the City's arborist. S. Dark asked if the City could challenge an arborist's professional licensure, and S. Corbin said the City could not make that challenge. B. Hanson said she has a summary analysis regarding the property burden item, and asked if an owner of a heavily -treed lot could remove trees with an arborist's letter. A. Palmer said that is why tree ordinances are challenged, due to the burden. S. Corbin said the changes the Commission suggested to the tree ordinance are under legal review by the City Attorney, and if there are no major changes, he would put the item before the Commission. B. 2019 Environmental Stewardship Committee Workplan. The Committee discussed the work plan. S. Corbin said the Parks Master Plan has been put on the back burner due to the National Parks representative being unavailable. He said there will be future charrettes, and the new City Planner, Amanda Askew, will be handling the Master Plan. S. Corbin discussed the beautification input for the parks, and said the City Manager said it is not appropriate for the ESC to direct Public Works staff, but a plant palate could be created for suggested uses. S. Corbin said the palate will be discussed at the charrette. S. Dark asked if public plantings could be put on hold until the palate is established, since annuals have been planted recently that aren't appropriate for this area. B. Andrews said he spoke to the Deputy City Manager, who said he had received compliments on the recent plantings in the 5 -way stop area. S. Dark said there are opportunities to plant annuals in the beds to give color. D. Scott asked when the pergola will be constructed in the Tideview Park. J. Leroux said that the Deputy City Manager would be the best person to ask about the status. A. Palmer asked if the use of chemicals, fertilizers, and irrigation would be addressed in the planting plan. B. Andrews said that maintenance of trees can also affect their growth, and weed whackers affected the bark at the base of a tree. He said that Public Works can use herbicide or weed whackers, but hand weeding would be expensive. T. Pooley asked if the sustainability plan could address maintenance, and S. Boren said that best management practices can be adopted for maintenance. S. Boren said that a bioswale in Jacksonville is maintained by St. Johns Riverkeeper volunteers, and similar management plans could be created. She also said that bushes could be planted around the tree to protect them. She said there is a perception issue, and the Committee needs to promote the native vegetation, and vary the palate so that public plantings feel refreshed. She said that not planting so often could save the City money and could be a convincing argument. S. Corbin said there may be items discussed in the charrette that would fall to the ESC. T. Pooley said that the planting plan can feed directly into the LEED for Cities plan, and sustainability needs to be heavily injected into the charrette discussion. S. Corbin said Kevin White, the charrette leader, could be invited to meet with the ESC to discuss items prior to the charrette. Environmental Stewardship Committee July 10, 2019 Page 2 of 5 B. Andrews said the Atlantic Beach Arts Market deserve an award for their property improvement. S. Dark said recognizing commercial businesses is also beneficial. L. Chipperfield said she suggests awarding the recipient with a plaque or sticker that can be seen from the street, putting it on the website, and on Facebook. T. Pooley said beautification awards should be given to properties that use principles of the Committee, otherwise it would be a garden club award. B. Andrews said that beautification is one of the areas that falls under the ESC. B. Hanson said the Committee could move towards awarding environmental practices, but for now, could recognize beautification efforts in the City. S. Dark said it could be argued that awarding beautification and creating a sense of place could be a baby step toward recognizing environmental beautification efforts. B. Andrews said it would be nice to have both beautification and environmental efforts. A. Palmer said that the adaptive reuse efforts could be recognized. instead of the beautification. S. Boren said that the Committee needs to do homework and have a robust discussion about criteria for awards, and sustainable efforts, like solar panels, could be recognized. She said the Committee could come up a beautification project and a sustainable project for commercial properties. S. Dark said she did not want to eliminate opportunities for applicants for the facade grant. S. Corbin said there are two different grants for public art and for facade improvements, and no ESC money will be used towards the grants. S. Corbin discussed a property across from the Atlantic Beach Arts Market that will be the first applicant in the City's new zoning district that will mimic the Town Center district. He said the project will include public art, outdoor entertainment, food stalls and food trucks, and a brewery. He said the applicant will have to apply for a parking variance and use -by -exception, and will be presented to the Community Development Board. S. Boren said that the resiliency plan was not on the work plan, but should be discussed since staff has worked hard to create the plan. S. Dark said the maps created in the resiliency plan will be helpful to have during the design charrette to show limitations and vulnerable areas. T. Pooley said the North Florida Planning Council and Design Florida are available to show vulnerable areas. C. LEED Subcommittee Report. S. Corbin said the City has received a second round of comments from the LEED for Cities program, and the City will have to provide additional information for air quality and waste issues. He said he thinks the items will be satisfied later this week or early next week. He said he thinks the City will be LEED for Cities -certified by August. S. Boren said L. Chipperfield has prepared a press release once the City receives notice from LEED for Cities. She said the City will need to decide if they would like a plaque to present. S. Corbin said the LEED for Cities road map should help with planning next year's work plan. D. Outreach Subcommittee Report - Quarterly Events. A. Palmer discussed the previous Subcommittee meeting. She said several items, including tree trimmer training, were deferred until the Committee learned more about HB 1159. She said the Subcommittee discussed creating a welcome packet for new residents, and there is a broader opportunity for all City departments to include items in a welcome packet. S. Boren said she recommended one page for the message. A. Palmer Environmental Stewardship Committee July 10, 2019 Page 3 of 5 said that any item would have to be created in several formats to address all citizens. L. Chipperfield said she went to the City's branding workshop, and the ESC will be presented with concepts. A. Palmer said the Subcommittee discussed holding quarterly events or campaigns to include the entire Committee, including Arbor Day and Earth Day, and to create a budget for each event or campaign. She said event ideas included pollinator plantings and bat house events. S. Dark said the Arbor Day event needs a deadline, like Thanksgiving. B. Andrews said he would like to focus the coming Arbor Day event on tree plantings, and have each Commissioner plant a tree in their district. S. Boren said the next quarterly event could be the LEED for Cities event, and they could plan for the fourth quarter. B. Andrews said it would be nice to have an ESC banner to display at events. E. Outreach Subcommittee Report - Tree Planting Program. A. Palmer said the Subcommittee discussed additional tree plantings. She asked S. Corbin if heritage trees were still being discussed. B. Andrews said he spoke to the Mayor and let her know the Committee may defer heritage tree ordinance changes for now. S. Boren said the current Commission is amenable to changes, and the Committee should not wait to make ordinance changes. 5. OLD BUSINESS A. There was no old business brought up for discussion. 6. NEW BUSINESS A. "Banning the Ban on Plastic Straws: A Clear Case for Local Decision Making" by Dr. Scott Paine article discussion. https://drscottpaine.com/banning-the-ban-on- plastic-straws-a-clear-case-for-local-d ecision-making/ J. Leroux said that the City of St. Augustine passed a ban on plastics and polystyrene and would like the Committee to ask to Commission to pass a similar measure. S. Corbin discussed the bill passed by the City of St. Augustine, and said it looks like a first step. T. Pooley agreed, and said other towns are adopting similar measures. L. Chipperfield agreed and said the Committee would not be fulfilling their mission without supporting the City Commission with this issue. She said it gets the retailers and restaurants thinking about this issue, and having their suppliers provide them with other items than single -use plastics. T. Pooley said the Beaches Go Green organization has done an incredible job with getting the word out about reduction of single -use plastics, and asked if the resolution could be linked to their education and outreach. S. Dark asked if the Committee wanted the City to adopt the ordinance that St. Augustine adopted, and J. Leroux said she would like a motion to support Commission in passing an ordinance addressing single -use plastics, and to look to the City of St. Augustine's ordinance for guidance. The motion was brought by T. Pooley and seconded by D. Scott. The motion passed unanimously. Environmental Stewardship Committee July 10, 2019 Page 4 of 5 B. Beach Access Clean -Up Baskets B. Andrews discussed another City's beach access clean up efforts, which includes placing baskets at beach accesses with signage to encourage beachgoers to collect trash in the basket, dispose of it in the appropriate container, and return the baskets. A. Palmer said that beachgoers typically bring a plastic bag to collect trash, and the beach access baskets would reduce plastic bag usage. T. Pooley asked if placing recycling bins at beach accesses could be coupled with the basket effort. S. Dark brought a motion to request Commission to approve the beach litter basket collection project. T. Pooley seconded the motion. S. Boren asked about the costs of the baskets. The motion passed with no opposition. C. Beaches Energy Solar Co -Op S. Boren said Beaches Energy is launching a solar co-op program for businesses. D. Courtesy of the Floor The chair recognized Steve Fouraker, who discussed the HB 1159. He said the Committee is letting the bill go too easily, and the Committee needs to define dangerous trees. 7. ADJOURNMENT There being no further discussion, Committee Chair B. Andrews declared the meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m. Attest: Bruce Andrews Shane orbin Environmental Stewardship Committee July 10, 2019 Page 5 of 5