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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022/05/04 - ADMIN - Minutes - Environment & Sustainability Commission - Regular Official minutes Environment & sustainability commission St. Louis Park, Minnesota 5/4/2022 1. Call to order – 6 p.m. 1a. Roll call Members present: Chair Andrew Willette, Marisa Bayer, Eric Zweber, Andy Willette, Paige Kane, Ryan Griffin, Dave Wilsey, Tatiana Giraldo, JD Moore, Sasha Shahidi, Lillian Hertel, Holly Johnson Members absent: Vice Chair Shaina Ashare Staff present: Emily Ziring, Sustainability Manager; Ellie Rabine, Sustainability Specialist Guests: Mike Behnke, community member 2. Introduction of Ellie Rabine, sustainability specialist Ms. Rabine introduced herself to the commission and gave some background on her work history within sustainability. 3. Approval of minutes – April 6, 2022 Commissioner Johnson made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Giraldo, to approve the minutes as presented. The motion was approved with 4 abstentions (Commissioners Willette, Kane, Shahidi, Hertel, Bayer). 4. Business a. Debrief Environment Commissions Conference Ms. Ziring gave background on the conference and her experience in attending. She noted presentations on energy policies, building performance standards, EV charging, and the recent climate emergency resolution. She noted attendance was good. Commissioners Willette and Zweber also noted their take-aways from the conference, including the opportunity to network with commissions from other cities. They also noted interest in the upcoming county commission clusters. The presentations from the conference will be forwarded to all commissioners. b. Discuss moving July ESC meeting date from July 6 to July 13 Commissioner Zweber made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Bayer, to move the July ESC meeting from July 6 to July 13. The motion passed unanimously. 5. Staff updates: ESC meeting -2- May 4, 2022 • Presentations made to all 6th grade students at the St. Louis Park middle school on climate action as part of a collaboration with Westwood Hills Nature Center staff. • Wrapping up the multi-family housing study. Surveyed over 110 property owners, a good response rate. Consultants will produce the final report later this month. • Electrification cohort focusing on water heaters to start. • State of MN working on Climate Action Framework and Mr. Ziring has been served on the Clean Energy and Efficient Buildings task force. Summary of recommendations will go to the governor’s subcabinet in June and the framework will be published in July or August. • Tree planting projects are going well for residential properties but not as much traction on the commercial side. More outreach will need to be done and targeted messages will be going out. Houses of worship are now able to participate in the Shade SLP tree planting program. • Green Building Policy going to city council on May 9 and will be considered for adoption in June. • Sun Sailor will have a column about the city’s tree planting program written by Ms. Ziring and Mike Bahe, natural resources manager. • Solid Waste team working on Ecotacular event – looking for 4 more volunteers on June 18 to table that day. Commissioners encouraged to sign up to staff tables. • Ride and Drive Event planned for Sept. or Oct. An EV educator will be available to participate. Commissioner Bayer asked about any takeaways from the NOAH property surveys. Ms. Ziring stated some themed have emerged around owners having freedom to control what they do with their buildings. 6. Workgroup and/or project updates a. Year of Climate Action workgroup Commissioner Giraldo noted they have discussed events and are working on details. Commissioner Shahidi added that a climate change trivia event at a distillery is one idea they are working on. The event would also have a way for guests to sign up for composting or Windsource or other actionable items they can sign up for on the spot. The Ribbon Tree will debut for the season at Ecotacular, where prompts will be included for people to write on ribbons for the event. Commissioner Shahidi also noted an idea of training the Junior Naturalists to train younger school kids on climate action as another communication channel. 7. City Council engagement No updates. 8. Updates Commissioner Hertel described a new search engine being used at her school called Ecosia—it plants trees for every search performed. She mentioned that the SLP High School Roots and Shoots club is on Instagram but otherwise she does not know what ESC meeting -2- May 4, 2022 that group is up to. One group at Benilde works on everything environmental, while at St. Louis Park there is a group that focuses on climate. Chair Willette stated he would like to see presentations each year from the school climate group advisors. Commissioners Johnson and Moore will be leaving the commission. They noted they have enjoyed working with the group and encouraged all to keep up the good work. Chair Willette noted the departing commissioners are welcome to continue to attend meetings and participate in any way they would like to. Ms. Ziring stated each May new appointments are made, and new commissioners begin in June. 9. Environmental Justice and current event open discussion a. Tree programs and policies summary Commissioner Zweber noted the city’s policies and ordinance in place, and he would like to know how they are implemented and how they change over time. Commissioner Shahidi asked what role citizens have so that what happened in Edina never happens in St. Louis Park. Commissioner Wilsey noted there were two columns in the Sun Sailor about mismanagement of trees in St. Louis Park. He noted they were written in a way that made people feel uncomfortable, especially if they are not aware of city policies. He added as comments are heard in response to these articles, people will need to be made aware of an appropriate response and information that can be provided at tabling. Commissioner Shahidi also asked for more information on how departments work together. She also asked for a staff person from Edina to come to an ESC meeting and talk about what happened with all the tree removal, adding she wants to know how this works in St. Louis Park. She stated she is still upset about how the Weber Park tree removal happened. Commissioner Bayer stated more information on how staff and departments make decisions and collaborate would be appropriate, along with how all fits together in St. Louis Park. Commissioner Griffin added it would be helpful to have the city’s naturalist come in and discuss the tree policies and programs, and how much the city is investing in trees, as well as seeing the data and how it all is balanced. Ms. Ziring stated a few members of city council have been discussing setting a tree canopy goal and asked her and Mike Bahe, natural resources manager, for their comments. She stated a report went back to council and the topic may come to council for further discussion in the fall. Ms. Ziring stated she is pulling together a document with details related to city tree policies for the commission and is still working on this. ESC meeting -2- May 4, 2022 She added that on average, the city removes 400 trees per year from residential and commercial areas for disease, death, structural issues, and new development, among other reasons, and in 2022 that number has been exceeded primarily due to emerald ash borer. She added that the issue is not a lack of new tree planting, but that there are not always enough resources for pruning and watering of trees to grow them to maturity. Ms. Ziring stated the city’s natural resources manager plans to visit the ESC to discuss the topic further at the June meeting. b. Active transportation letter to legislature Ms. Ziring described a letter to members of the legislature signed by the mayor pushing for active transportation funding, and stated staff will watch to see what comes of it. c. Gas leaf blowers Ms. Ziring noted this topic has been in the news lately because of the carbon, noise, public health and other implications. The commission discussed this issue and noted the following: o California is banning gas leaf blowers by 2024 o Electric leaf blowers should be considered if a gas version is upgraded or replaced o The city could incentivize residents to replace gas equipment with electric whenever possible, but incentivizing purchases that are portable and could be moved out of St. Louis Park may not be prudent o Landscaping companies could be told they must only use electric equipment o Noise issues can be mitigated with electric vs. gas equipment o Air quality issues can also be addressed using electric vs. gas equipment o Edina has a “No Mow May” campaign to encourage residents to let their lawns grow in May to support pollinators o One way to promote change could be to work with HOA’s and owners and landscaping companies to use all electric equipment o City of La Crescent, MN held an electrical equipment event and demonstrated electric landscaping equipment for residents o The city’s electrical landscaping tools will be on display at Ecotacular o Much of the city’s equipment is being changed over to electric as the gas ones reach end of life o Mulching mowers encouraged as much as possible rather than bagging all leaves o Guest Mike Behnke noted that companies should take the same approach to replacing equipment as fleet owners do o Recommend working as a cohort of cities on this issue, consider posting on environment commissions listserv 10. Upcoming/proposed events ESC meeting -2- May 4, 2022 • Arbor Day tree planting event – May 7 • State of the Community – Dakota Park – May 15 • Gardening Swap – The ROC – May 24 • Ecotacular – June 18 11. Adjournment – 8:00 p.m. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Emily Ziring, liaison Andrew Willette, chair member