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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJune PacketFalcon Heights Environment Commission June 11th, 2018 6:30 p.m. Agenda ROLL CALL: Chair Wassenberg ____ Patricia Holmes ____ Nick Olson ____ Farook Meah ____ Martin McCleery ____ Council Liaison Lindstrom ____ Staff Liaison Moretto ____ 1) Approval of Minutes – March, April, May 2) News and Announcements 3) New Member Introduction 4) Agenda Item 1: Comprehensive Plan Review – Paul Next Meeting: July 9th, 2018 If you have a disability and need accommodation in order to attend this meeting, please notify City Hall 48 hours in advance between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at 651-792-7600. We will be happy to help. Falcon Heights Environment Commission March 12th, 2018 6:30 p.m. Meeting Minutes Present: Chair Wassenberg, Vice Chair Meah, Secretary Olson, Liaison Moretto, Mayor Lindstrom, and Commissioners: McCleery, and Holmes. 1) Approval of Minutes- January 2018 2) News and Announcements  Patti Holmes attended an “Electric Vehicle Preperation” workshop led by the Great Plains Institute. 24 of 26 invited cities attended. Falcon Heights will be paired with another city to continue the work. Funding may be possible from Volkswagen.  Paul Moretto sent out a link to a City Pages article that discussed the solar garden at the City of Falcon Heights.  This Wednesday, local government and school district officials will be meeting at City Hall to discuss purchasing more solar power. 3) LED Bulbs -Moretto Recent giveaway of light bulbs at City Hall was successful (another 66 bulbs given out). Of the original purchase, only 279 bulbs remain. There will be upcoming opportunities to reach more people at the Kids Stuff Sale in April and the Sustainable Actions Fair. 4) Spring Event- Holmes Patti Holmes provided the Commission updates on the upcoming Sustainable Actions Fair. Fair information was added to the City Newsletter and The Bugle. At the April meeting Patti will discuss volunteer opportunities. Paul, Patti, and James will meet to further discuss logistics. 5) SolSmart Update A Met Council consultant has helped with the checklist and fee schedule for solar installations. The City Council is reviewing. This checklist and fee schedule should help some of the red tape for permits. 6) Recycling End of Year Report The Commission reviewed the end of year report provided by Tennis. Things of note:  Low % of contaminated material!  97% participation! A lot of discussion was generated about how much commercial properties are recycling, and what applicable codes/laws apply to business. Mayor Lindstrom said that he would investigate further, but thought that MPCA commercial recycling law might apply. 7) City-wide Newsletter Coming out soon. Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM. Next Meeting: Monday, April 9th, 2018 Falcon Heights Environment Commission April 9th, 2018 6:30 p.m. Meeting Minutes Present: Chair Wassenberg, Secretary Olson, Liaison Moretto, Mayor Lindstrom, and Commissioners: Holmes. 1) Approval of Minutes- Tabled 2) News and Announcements  Bulbs and aerators will be given out at the Kids Stuff Sale. 3) Eagle Scout Project – Zane Johnson Zane Johnson gave a presentation on his planned Eagle Scout Project to build a rain garden at the zero lot in Falcon Heights. This lot is City-owned and is undevelopable due to deep utilities, but may be a good candidate for a garden. Zane is proposing a pollinator friendly garden that would be neonicotinoid-free and fed by local stormwater runoff. He has volunteers ready and the support of local neighbors. Motion was passed to recommend the project to the City Council for approval. 4) Presentation Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) – Ramy Selim Ramy Selim from MREA gave a presentation about Solar Twin Cities. Solar Twin Cities is a group purchasing program that helps make solar installations more affordable by taking advantage of the economies of scale (bulk buying). They work to get help get a group purchase of solar and installer contractor on board. The community ultimately gets to vote (not MREA) on who will be the contractor. There will be events around the cities called “Power Hours” to inform interested citizens who might then decided to participate. MREA asked if Falcon Heights would like to be a promotional partner. City would receive (at the Megawatt Promoter level):  City Logo on Posters  Logo on program website  Resources on display at events  5 mentions on MREA’s social media (15,000 contacts)  2 relevant/approved promotional posts  MREA Business Membership Motion was passed to recommend that the City promote this opportunity. The City should provide:  Use of Logo  Letter of Support on official letterhead  15 social media posts for the program and events  Poster Placement at City Hall 5) Spring Event- Holmes Patti Holmes provided the Commission updates on the upcoming Sustainable Actions Fair. A volunteer opportunities signup sheet was passed around. There will be an upcoming building inspection. Contingency location will be at City Hall. Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 7:56 PM. Next Meeting: Monday, May 14th, 2018 Falcon Heights Environment Commission May 14th, 2018 6:30 p.m. Meeting Minutes Present: Chair Wassenberg, Secretary Olson, Liaison Moretto, Mayor Lindstrom, and Commissioners: McCleery, and Holmes. 1) Approval of Minutes Minutes were approved for the March and April 2018 meetings. 2) News and Announcements  Martin McCleery shared with the Commission Roseville’s Neighborhood Enhancement Program. This program is a proactive program to alert residents when they may have violated a city code. City staff visits properties and issue yellow tags informing the resident of a violation(s) as a first warning in lieu of a certified letter.  Paul Moretto said the City is working with the City Engineer (Roseville) on the possibility of installing electric vehicle charging stations.  A couple bulbs shy of 800 LED bulbs have been given out to residents! 3) Update Midwest Renewable Energy Association -Paul The program discussed at a recent Commission meeting has been put on hold due to staff changes at MREA. There is hope that the program will start back up again. 4) Spring Event Review- Holmes The event was estimated to have had up to 100 people attend, with 45 signing in at the front table. The event had 10 volunteers and 5 workshop presenters. A survey will be sent out shortly to get some feedback on the event from participants. The Commission discussed potential future topics including: stormwater, transit, and more zero waste discussion. 5) Comprehensive Plan- Paul The 2040 Comp Plan is nearing the 6-month review phase. The Commission will have an opportunity to weigh in and discuss goals for the City. Paul will send out the draft plan when available. 6) Recruiting New Members- Paul The Commission is seeking new members with a goal to have 7 voting members (Liaisons are not eligible to vote). Patti Holmes will be leaving in December. A potential recruit, Patrick M., is a new resident and sat for the Commission meeting. Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 8:00 PM. Next Meeting: Monday, June 11th, 2018 REQUEST FOR ENVIRONMENT COMMISSION ACTION Families, Fields and Fair __________________________ The City That Soars! Description Review and develop guidance for the Planning Commission regarding environmental planning. Background A Comprehensive Plan is required of all municipalities with regular updates MNSS 462.355. Met Council Resources: https://stats.metc.state.mn.us/profile/detail.aspx?c=02394738 https://lphonline.metc.state.mn.us/CommPage?ctu=2394738&applicant=Falcon%20Heights Plan elements include: Land Use Transportation Water Resources Parks and Trails Housing Economic Competitiveness A new section on Resilience will need to be integrated into the new Comprehensive Plan. A comprehensive plan is document that sets forth a vision and the goals for the future of the city. State law defines a comprehensive plan as a compilation of policies, goals, standards and maps for guiding the physical, social and economic development, both public and private, of the municipality and its environment. The purpose is to guide future development of land to ensure a safe, pleasant, and economical environment for residential, commercial, industrial, and public activities. The comprehensive plan provides the overall foundation for all land use regulation in a city. State law encourages all cities to prepare and implement a comprehensive municipal plan. In addition, cities within the seven-county metro area are required to adopt comprehensive plans. Under state law, a city planning commission or department is tasked with the creation of the city’s comprehensive plan. Planning is a professional field that encompasses a broad array of skills and techniques. In developing comprehensive plans, many cities use educated, certified land use professionals. But at its core, planning is a relatively straightforward three-step process: • First, a community takes stock of where it is today. • Second, the community generates a shared vision and goals for what the city will be like in the future. Meeting Date June 11th, 2018 Agenda Item 1 Title 2040 Comprehensive Plan Review Submitted By Paul Moretto, Community Development Coordinator • Third, but certainly not least, the city develops a set of specific strategies to achieve that vision over time. There are many reasons cities create and adopt comprehensive plans. The planning process helps communities identify issues before they arise, stay ahead of trends in land use development and redevelopment, and anticipate and navigate change in populations and land use patterns. A comprehensive plan also protects and makes the most out of public investment by ensuring that development coincides with investments in infrastructure. A comprehensive plan protects and promotes the value of private property. Finally, a comprehensive plan provides legal justification for a community’s land-use decisions and ordinances. Most comprehensive plans include a variety of maps, including a land use plan map that indicates how the plan guides the future land use in different areas of the community. State law provides certain processes that cities must follow for comprehensive plan adoption and amendment. Prior to adoption of a comprehensive plan, the planning commission must hold at least one public hearing. A notice of the time, place, and purpose of the hearing must be published once in the official newspaper of the municipality, and at least 10 days before the day of the hearing. Unless otherwise provided in a city charter, the city council may, by resolution by a two-thirds vote of all of its members, adopt and amend the comprehensive plan or a portion of the plan. This means that on a five-member council, the comprehensive plan must receive at least four affirmative votes. Analysis Falcon Heights is required to update its Comprehensive Plan every ten years. The city is currently in the early stages of this process. Staff is currently in the process of reviewing the draft plan. This meeting is to introduce the Comprehensive Plan and to provide feedback on issues important to this commission. Budget Impact None Attachment(s)  2030 Plan  Draft 2040 Plans  These plans are available at: https://www.falconheights.org/index.asp?SEC=F4530412-2784-4FB2-A6D8- 1958B8F37EEF&Type=B_BASIC Actions Requested  Provide feedback to the Planning Commission regarding sustainability and resiliency in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan.