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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024/12/04 - ADMIN - Minutes - Environment & Sustainability Commission - Regular Official minutes Environment & sustainability commission St. Louis Park, Minnesota 12/4/2024 1. Call to order – 6:30 p.m. Chair Zweber opened the meeting. Commissioner Bayer made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Shahidi, to amend the agenda in order to add the neighborhood housing options letter from the ESC under Business 3c. The motion was approved unanimously. 1a. Roll call Members present: Chair Eric Zweber, Vice Chair Abigail Oppegaard, Shaina Ashare, Marisa Bayer, Tatiana Giraldo, Ryan Griffin, Ramil Goonetilleke, Sasha Shahidi, Jessie Hendrix, Avery Kuehl, Bennett Myhran, Ethan Kehrberg, Natalie Wagner Members absent: none Staff present: Emily Ziring, Sustainability Manager; Sean Walther, planning manager/deputy community development director Guests: Council Member Sue Budd 2. Approval of minutes – Oct. 9, 2024 – The minutes were approved as presented with 7 abstentions (new commissioners). 3. Business 3a. Commission administration • Recognition of outgoing commissioners – Ms. Ziring noted cards on the table for commissioners to sign thanking outgoing commissioners. • Introduction of new commissioners – the current and new commissioners introduced themselves to one another. • Discuss canceling the January monthly meeting – Jan. 12 is reserved at Westwood Nature Center for the retreat. Typically, the January regular ESC meeting is cancelled in lieu of the retreat. Commissioner Wagner made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kuehl, to cancel the January 2025 monthly meeting. The motion passed unanimously. • 2025 Retreat Ms. Ziring explained the purpose of the four-hour retreat to be held Jan. 12, noting the group will discuss the 2025 work plan. Specific initiatives and work groups will be Environmental & Sustainability Commission Dec. 4, 2024 refined, and additional items can be brought forward as part of the work plan. Bylaws will also be discussed and voted on by the ESC and sent to the council for approval. Pre- work will be conducted prior to the retreat and food will be served. Chair Zweber asked if city council members should be invited to the retreat to observe and participate. Commissioner Shahidi stated that the council members could possibly be invited for a portion of the meeting. Commissioner Griffin added it is a good idea, but the room will be small, so he suggested a larger space. Ms. Ziring said she could check on this. Chair Zweber suggested the council be invited to the last hour of the meeting, from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Commissioner Bayer stated her concerns are if only two council members come to the retreat, it’s inappropriate for the ESC to take direction from only two members. Commissioner Shahidi added she is not sure she would want council members to attend the retreat. Chair Zweber stated he did not anticipate they would direct the ESC work, but only participate in the conversation. Commissioner Shahidi stated she is not sure of the point of this, and also thinks there needs to be a good reason for them to be there, vs. just inviting them. Commissioner Griffin stated interfacing with the council is valuable, but noted he is torn. Commissioner Giraldo added the council could be invited casually to attend. Chair Zweber stated that given the lack of interest in extending the invitation to council, the commission will not proactively invite council members to attend. 3b. Discuss the disposition of public land Mr. Walther presented the report to the ESC. Staff recommendations regarding rezoning four city-owned parcels within the upcoming zoning code update include: • 9258 Club Road – park and open space district zoning district • 3940 France Ave S – west half park and open space district, east half N-1 district • 2800 Vernon Ave S – N-1 district • 16XX Quentin Ave S – north half park and open space, south half N-2 district Commissioner Griffin noted maintaining wild and open spaces is a concern of the ESC and asked about sending a letter to the council regarding this issue. Mr. Walther stated the zoning code update will go to council in February for their consideration. Staff will provide the recommendations presented to commissioners. Environmental & Sustainability Commission Dec. 4, 2024 There are still opportunities for planning commission and council to make changes to the staff recommendations based on input the city receives during the process. Mr. Walther noted there will be an open house for the zoning code updates on Thursday, Dec. 19 at City Hall in the Council Chambers from 6-8 p.m. He added on Jan. 8 the planning commission will hold a public hearing on this topic. Commissioner Myhran asked about the land on France Avenue and if staff has explored opportunities with the US Forest Service or DNR to preserve that green space. Mr. Walther stated that that has not been explored. He added that there has been some interest in development to build housing on a portion of the site in part to recover some of the acquisition costs, and also to meet city goals for affordable home ownership opportunities or other housing goals. Chair Zweber stated there is no time to write a letter before the public hearing. He stated the ESC will need to make a motion on any of the parcels that would be different than what staff is proposing, if the commission desires to do so. Commissioner Myhran asked about the definition of public use. Mr. Walther stated it is purposely vague in the policy and can be for existing or future use as utilities, roads, parks, etc. He stated the city council makes that decision ultimately. Commissioner Shahidi made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Griffin, to direct the planning commission to rezone all of 3940 France Ave S to park and open space district so as not to be developed. The motion was approved unanimously. Mr. Walther stated he will bring this feedback to the planning commission. 3c. Discuss neighborhood housing options letter to council Commissioner Bayer noted upcoming zoning changes in the city aimed at expanding housing options. She stated the ESC has discussed issues in the past that they support and shared with the council via letter. She stated this would be one such topic and she wrote a draft of a letter for review by the ESC. Commissioner Griffin stated the letter was very good and supported the ideas of the commission. He noted the idea that more housing density is a positive for climate change needs to be clarified in the letter. He stated the focus on density is an important connection to make. He added he would like to see more connection to increasing density in commercial and transit hubs and corridors. Commissioner Griffin stated that it is important to say “wild or native space” rather than simply green space, because increased density is often seen at odds with nature. Environmental & Sustainability Commission Dec. 4, 2024 Commissioner Shahidi added there have been conversations about “green” vs. “wild” spaces. She stated she is concerned about conflict between those who support density in housing and those who support native plants and nature. She added the city has parks and recreational fields, but wild space is important to her, and she asked if more could be included in the letter. Commissioner Bayer noted she will incorporate changes and additions and bring it back to the retreat for final review. Commissioner Goonetilleke asked if this was written as an initiative of the ESC or if the council requested this letter. Commissioner Bayer stated this was formed after a discussion in October by the ESC and how this is important, and they are supportive. Commissioner Ashare commented on the phrase “generally supportive” and asked about removing that or reworking it within the letter. Chair Zweber noted the tree preservation ordinance that exempts single-family homes and suggested the ESC ask if the tree preservation ordinance could apply to all single- family homes. Mr. Walther stated R1 and R2, which are single-family districts, are exempt from the tree preservation ordinance except when subdividing a lot. Ms. Ziring stated she prefers the ESC focus on density within the zoning letter and come back later to address the tree preservation ordinance. Chair Zweber disagreed but stated he would defer to the commission. Commissioner Griffin stated the tree preservation ordinance could be noted as an additional item that relates -- as another strategy or additional consideration -- to the density issue also. He added it is difficult to find apartments or affordable homes with 4 bedrooms in St. Louis Park. Ms. Ziring stated the council has been intentional about adding larger size apartment units in new developments which include 3-4 bedrooms. Mr. Walther stated the restrictions for tree removal and standards for replacement tree exemptions in the zoning code are not specific to the zoning district. He read from the code that, “it shall not apply to trees removed from existing lots developed with single- family or two-family dwellings. If any existing lot of record is subsequently subdivided, tree replacement shall be required for all of the new resulting lots or parcels.” Chair Zweber asked if anyone else on the ESC is interested in joining this workgroup. Commissioner Myhran volunteered to join. 4. Staff updates Ms. Ziring updated the commission on the following items: • Legislative priorities for the 2025 session • Reviewing 2025 cost share reimbursement and incentive programs Environmental & Sustainability Commission Dec. 4, 2024 • Special assessment for energy assessment for a multi-family property on 36th Street to put new energy-efficient windows in bathrooms • Last year of benchmarking reporting; a 5-year analysis found no patterns in the data, no clear trends in property type or year built so was not very informative • Working on grant application to EPA Thriving Communities program, community engagement around Aquila and Texa-Tonka neighborhoods – designing an outreach plan to identify champions to help spread the word • Closing out 2024 Climate Champions applications and working on 2025 promotions • Working on MPCA Resilience Implementation grant application • Researching urban cooling strategies 5. Work plan update – none. 6. Environmental justice and current events open discussion Commissioner Ashare asked about what the city is doing with the incoming administration and funding allocations. Ms. Ziring stated city funding is safe, but staff is attending state meetings regarding IRA funding and when that will be in place. She added they will also attend national meetings and figure out how to pivot with tax credits and state and city rebates. Chair Zweber added emails can be sent to Ms. Ziring related to recent articles and events or items about environmental justice topics. 7. Upcoming/proposed events • City council meeting with state delegation – Dec. 10, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. • ESC annual retreat – Jan. 12, 2025, from 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Chair Zweber noted that one topic of discussion will be the format of the ESC meeting agendas. • Open house on expanding neighborhood housing options – Dec. 19, 6 - 8 p.m. • Planning Commission public hearing on expanding neighborhood housing options – Jan. 8, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. 8. Adjournment – 8:20 p.m. – optional meet-up at Steel Toe Brewery, 4848 W. 35th St. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Emily Ziring, liaison Eric Zweber, chair member