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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023/05/03 - ADMIN - Minutes - Environment & Sustainability Commission - Regular Official minutes Environment & sustainability commission St. Louis Park, Minnesota 5/3/2023 1. Call to order – 6:33 p.m. 1a. Roll call Members present: Chair Shaina Ashare, Vice Chair Tatiana Giraldo, Ramil Goonetilleke, Ryan Griffin, Dave Wilsey, Marisa Bayer, Eric Zweber, Andrew Willette, Lillian Hertel, Sasha Shahidi, Paul Zeigle Members absent: Abigail Oppegaard Staff present: Emily Ziring, Sustainability Manager Guests: Jake Werner, St. Louis Park resident 3. Approval of minutes – March 1, 2023 – The minutes were approved as presented with 3 abstentions. 4. Business Mr. Werner stated he is a 32-year resident of the city and his interest is trees. He expressed concerns with the lack of trees in St. Louis Park, especially given the emerald ash borer infestation, the development and expansion of commercial buildings that displace trees, and the lack of trees on Minnetonka Boulevard and County Road 25. He stated the city is surrounded by highways and that makes trees even more important. He described his routes traveled throughout the city, and stated he hopes with all the construction going on that wires will be put underground and more trees added, especially at County Road 25 and France Avenue. Mr. Werner added that St. Louis Park is a city of large parking lots. He noted the Byerly’s parking lot and that no cars are ever parked in the west end of the lot. He stated there should be an ordinance that states portions of parking lots need to be greened with sustainable, healthy trees. Ms. Ziring stated the ESC and city staff would agree with Mr. Werner’s comments and noted much is being done. She explained to him all of the projects and programs in place within the city related to trees and green space. Ms. Ziring noted when new buildings are developed, if trees are removed they are required to replace them per the formula in the zoning code. Mr. Werner stated that he attended a city sponsored tree presentation and that there were only three people in the audience, and he asked where the recognition is for what is going on and if residents do not care. Environmental & Sustainability Commission May 3, 2023 Ms. Ziring stated she will be sending some information to Mr. Werner and noted that the city council will discuss tree policies this summer, which could be a good opportunity for him to express his concerns to policymakers. a. Efficient Building Benchmarking ordinance discussion, continued Ms. Ziring stated this topic was last discussed at the March meeting but given the importance of the topic she wanted to make sure everyone had the opportunity to hear about it. She presented background on the ordinance, and she noted if the building benchmarking law goes into effect at the state level, then the ordinance would change. Ms. Ziring noted how year-built influences benchmarking. She pointed out that 75 buildings are in the 1971-1990 category, and many are energy efficient. Commissioner Shahidi pointed out this may have to do with building renovations within this building age group. Commissioner Griffin stated it might be best to wait on proposing any changes to the ordinance until the legislative session is over to see the results of the bill. He added having the fourth year as a data point would be important, and to baseline that against a city that has not benchmarked. Ms. Ziring stated she appreciated the discussion. She stated this will come before the city council in July or August and will have a recommendation from staff dependent on what happens at the state level. She stated she will come back to the ESC with final recommendations prior to going before council. She will send out the slides to the commission. 5. Staff updates • Electrify Everything workshops – May 9 at the SLP Library • Electrification pilot work continues • Grants – working on many applications • Climate Champions program – two multi-family buildings are interested, and mechanical contractors have called to inquire • Idle-free SLP campaign • Release of Climate Equity Map on website • Finalizing trivia night – sign up on Sign-up Genius 6. Work plan update a. Expand our outreach -Events work group update • Trivia Night on May 15 at Park Tavern – new questions are being prepared and there will be prizes for the winning team. TBD on promoting Home Energy Squad visits. Please sign up to table or simply attend. Commissioner Bayer will update the script for commissioners. CUB (Citizens Utility Board) will also attend to answer questions on behalf of Electrify Everything. • Bike to Work Day – May 19, 6:30 – 9:00 a.m. at north end of Aquila Park. City staff will be there. Staff also plans to host a bike ride for families in Environmental & Sustainability Commission May 3, 2023 the afternoon and hoping at 3:30 p.m. that ESC members can lead and/or assist with the ride. Route will go from Aquila Park to Dakota Park (1.8 miles) on the trail. Will add information to elementary school newsletters. b. Share our voice -State policy updates - none c. Measure our progress -Staff and volunteer reports (quarterly and as needed) Next update will be at the June meeting. 7. Environmental Justice and current events open discussion Commissioner Zweber noted a documentary on PBS recently related to the invention of solar power. Ms. Ziring mentioned a Nova show about electrification, which was well done. Commissioner Shahidi noted an article in the NY Times on the energy intensity of bitcoin mining. Commissioner Griffin noted he was able to rent a Tesla for a conference in Oklahoma. He did not need to charge it during the trip, and it was the same cost to rent as most regular vehicles. Commissioner Shahidi noted the proliferation of self-driving cars in Phoenix, Arizona, and speculated that the area may be supportive of new tech given the large number of start-up businesses there. Ms. Ziring noted an article she read on living a car-free life in Tempe, Arizona. 8. Discuss moving July ESC meeting to another date The ESC meeting was moved from July 5 to July 12, 2023, by general consensus. 9. Adjournment – 8:12 p.m. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Emily Ziring, liaison Shaina Ashare, chair member