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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021/08/04 - ADMIN - Minutes - Environment & Sustainability Commission - Regular Official minutes Environment & sustainability commission St. Louis Park, Minnesota 8/4/2021 1. Call to order 1a. Roll call Members present: Chair Marisa Bayer, Tatiana Giraldo, Lillian Hertel, Paige Kane, JD Moore, Sasha Shahidi, Dave Wilsey, Eric Zweber Members absent: Shaina Ashare, Holly Johnson, Zoe Frank, Ryan Griffin, Bridget Rathsack Staff present: Emily Ziring, Sustainability Manager; Annie Pottorff, Sustainability Specialist Guests: 3. Approval of minutes – July 14, 2021 The minutes were approved with an abstention by Commissioner Kane. 4. Business a. Review and discuss revised draft anti-idling report for council Ms. Ziring presented the latest draft of the anti-idling report, adding that if the ESC approves it, it can be presented to council for review. She stated she would probably present it at the September 13 council study session and get their feedback. Commissioner Zweber stated the report looks very good. Commission Wilsey asked what “ESC endorsement” means in the report. Ms. Ziring stated this would indicate to council that the ESC approves of that option in the report, to give the council direction on what the ESC is comfortable with. Commissioner Kane asked if another option for approval might be ranked choice voting of the recommendations. Commissioner Shahidi stated the ESC is just presenting this to the council, pointing out the pros and cons, and letting the council make their decision. Ms. Ziring added that this is an example of the ESC serving in their advisory role. Chair Bayer noted a resident weighed in on the report as well, shared some resources to include, and asked about how to focus on including the schools in this program. Commissioner Zweber made a motion to recommend the draft report to council as presented, and Commissioner Kane seconded. The motion passed unanimously. b. Review and discuss Green Building Policy Environment sustainability commission Aug. 4, 2021 Mr. Ziring reviewed the draft policy in detail, noting it was written in 2010 and amended in 2014 and 2020, and that staff is looking to revise it now to better match Climate Action Plan goals. Ms. Ziring noted most developments coming into the city now ask for TIF, so the policy allows the city to have some control over most new development projects in exchange for the city funds or a zoning allowance. Commissioner Zweber asked if something should also be added related to land use triggers. Ms. Ziring suggested moving that section to below the financial triggers. Commissioner Shahidi asked why the renovation requirement is so much less than a new building requirement if the goal is to get as many new buildings as possible on board. Commissioner Zweber noted the product value of a renovation is less than new construction, so incentives would not be as high for a developer. Ms. Ziring added that renovations may not involve replacement of mechanical systems, which makes the opportunity for improving sustainability a lot smaller. Ms. Ziring noted the overlay portion of the policy will be re-written to be more plain language and less technical. Commissioner Zweber noted he is not concerned about wording if it is referring to commercial, but if for residential, it could be written in more layperson terms. Ms. Ziring stated the policy is written for both commercial and residential and the last page applies to 1-4 unit residential, noting there is a point she aims to reach when re-wording so that laypeople, developers and staff can all understand. Commissioner Shahidi asked why require only enough solar to meet 2% of the annual energy load. Ms. Ziring stated that 2% is the standard the legislature has used for bonded buildings since 2008 and that it is often a difficult threshold to meet while still being cost effective. She added she did some calculations, and while it sounds like a small number, it is enough to offset common areas of multi-family housing and have panels that cover most of the roof. Commissioner Shahidi asked if there could be a requirement to meet the 2% through an offsite project. Ms. Ziring stated this is a construction-related policy, so it is difficult to get into developers’ financials and operations. She added developers can commit to a green tariff program for one year, but the city cannot mandate it for future years. Commissioner Zweber noted section 2 and asked if electric appliances will be mandated for new developments. Ms. Ziring stated that electric appliances will be more expensive for people than gas and that would be against the city’s affordable housing goals. Electric appliances should not be mandated but she hopes to update this requirement in a few years. Ms. Ziring stated section 3 relates to different facets of waste management. She noted the city has been pushing for old buildings to be deconstructed vs. demolished, and have materials donated, sold or reused. Environment sustainability commission Aug. 4, 2021 Commissioner Shahidi asked if a construction waste management plan must be developed by the city. Ms. Ziring stated all the pre-design requirements are completed by the developer and submitted to the city and then must be approved by staff. Commissioner Moore suggested using a stronger word than “skimmed.” Ms. Ziring stated this is actually an industry word, where items are pulled for reuse before a building is demolished. Commissioner Shahidi noted there might need to be a mandatory meeting for using organics collection within multi-family buildings in the city, as there was a problem in her building with this. Ms. Ziring stated the solid waste staff is notified if there are problems that arise in buildings, but she agreed with reaching out more proactively with residents. She stated she will give feedback on this to solid waste staff. Ms. Ziring stated the water management requirements are very stringent within the policy. Commissioner Zweber asked if the city has a policy on bike storage within buildings and if this can be incorporated into the policy also. Ms. Ziring will look into this. Ms. Ziring and the ESC discussed resilient energy systems, including back up energy systems, that could be used in emergencies such as power outages. Ms. Ziring noted there is concern about this being too expensive of a requirement, and that developers will want to leave it out. Commissioner Zweber asked whether senior care facilities are considered residential buildings, and that this will be important to determine in order to meet the needs of vulnerable populations. Ms. Ziring will look into this. Ms. Ziring stated a consultant was hired to perform a cost analysis of the policy and report back. She stated staff is considering phasing in the overlay portion of the policy over a period of years and is interested in feedback on that. Commissioner Zweber stated phasing in based on the number of units might be a better alternative. Chair Bayer added making it effective on a certain date and building in education for developers over the preceding 6 months might be a better option. Commissioner Shahidi suggested moving forward with the policy vs. taking the phased approach. Ms. Ziring stated next steps will be to keep revising the policy based on the ESC and staff feedback, then bring it back to the ESC, and finally to the city council and EDA for adoption in the fall. She added staff is also waiting to hear from the Hennepin County Efficient Building Collaborative on the request for proposals for implementor services, which will allow cities to contract with a third party provider to serve as a help desk. Cities can choose to opt in to different scopes of services. Chair Bayer stated the RFP is underway for this. Commissioner Zweber stated he has concerns about where the funds come from for this service. Environment sustainability commission Aug. 4, 2021 5. Staff updates Ms. Ziring and Ms. Pottorff updated the commission on the following projects: - Green Building Policy and talking with consultant on cost estimates - Climate Investment Fund budget for cost-sharing programs (current and new) - Rec Center energy efficiency study - Planted native garden with 8–12-year-old students – pollinators and native plantings - Solar Sundown applications – at 34 now - Equity data sets and environmental justice data sets—looking at building this data into the city map - Quarterly newsletter – set to come out next week - Presentation to St. Louis Park business council on Climate Champions program - Attended National Night Out in neighborhoods with election staff – set up games, handed out materials Commissioner Zweber asked if an update can be provided about the 2022 city budget. Ms. Ziring stated possibly in September there will be more information available, but no updates are available as yet. Chair Bayer stated she liked the idea of the Met Council equity data set, adding it will be helpful to have more detailed information than what MPCA environmental justice map provides. 6. Workgroup and/or project updates Chair Bayer asked if anyone was interested in setting up workgroups on the environmental justice memo parking lot items. She added this can be discussed at the September meeting. Ms. Ziring said the memo can be sent out again for follow-up to the ESC for review of topics. 7. City council written reports - none 8. Environmental Justice open discussion – will be discussed at September meeting. Chair Bayer noted “The Time Tax” article that Ms. Ziring shared with her about the burden that government sometimes places on people, particularly marginalized groups. Chair Bayer suggested sharing the article with the entire commission. 9. Upcoming/proposed events – sign up genius is available for commissioners to volunteer. Ms. Pottorff noted the upcoming Twin Cities Film Festival at the West End in September, which will feature some films that explore climate change. She noted that she and Mr. Gray are discussing how the ESC and HRC can work together to moderate a post-screening panel discussion. She invited commissioners to email her for more information. 10. Adjournment – 8:25 p.m. Environment sustainability commission Aug. 4, 2021 ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Emily Ziring, liaison Marisa Bayer, chair member