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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEC Minutes 8.11.2025 - Approved City of Falcon Heights Environment Commission City Hall 2077 Larpenteur Avenue West Minutes Monday, August 11, 2025 6:30 p.m. A. CALL TO ORDER: 6:30 p.m. B. ROLL CALL: Beth Mercer-Taylor (Chair) _A_ Georgiana May _X_ John Pellegrini (Vice-Chair) _X_ VACANT Adam Keester _X_ VACANT VACANT Staff Liaison Lynch _X_ Council Liaison Mielke _X_ GreenCorps Member Siebert _X_ C. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Vice-Chair Pellegrini made a motion to approve the agenda. Motion passed by consent. D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. July 14, 2025 Commissioner Keester made a motion to approve the July 14, 2025 minutes. Motion passed by consent. E. NEW BUSINESS 1. Native Landscaping Ordinance Discussion Staff Liaison Lynch opened the discussion about native landscaping, specifically in the right-of-way/boulevards, and asked Commissioners to discuss not how the language is currently written in City Code, but rather what they would like to see and not like to see out of rules around this. Regarding boulevard plantings, it was determined the Environment Commission would not want to see invasive/noxious weeds in boulevards and they would like residents to be educated about identifying and removing them. Commissioners also want to ensure Code does not show a preference towards turf grass over native landscaping in the wording and language. They want to ensure there is no intrusion of plantings into the road, sidewalk, or neighbors’ yards, and they do not want to see decorate fencing or landscaping rocks in the boulevard area for the safety of vehicles and pedestrians. Shrubs and trees would not be permitted, unless planted by City staff, plants would not be permitted to block signs, and fertilizers/pesticides/etc. would not be allowed. For what Commissioners do want to see in City Code around boulevard plantings, they would like to remove height limits from native and pollinator plantings, but rather have them restricted to a height that still provide site lines of the sidewalk, right-of-way, corners, and signs. They would be okay with restricting turf grass to a height of no more than 8”. They also want to ensure that anyone planting in a boulevard has called Gopher State One Call within 48 hours of planting to ensure they will not be interfering with utilities. Regarding pollinator yards, or other alternative yards to turf grass, there needs to be a “permit” system where the resident fills out a form to inform Staff about their pollinator yard. They will receive a small yard sign from the City for their yard to alert neighbors and possible code enforcement of their permitted yard. Commissioners also discussed boulevard trees and how to restart a boulevard tree planting program. The City’s GreenCorps Member, Olivia Siebert, who has been serving for 11 months, along with the City’s Climate Action Plan, have identified areas of the City that need boulevard trees based on heat island effect and space for those trees. The priorities for new boulevard trees should go as follows: 1) Replace any that were removed recently. Continue to replace trees as they are removed. 2) Plant trees where residents have requested one in the past, assuming space is available. 3) Begin going through the prioritized list. This will include a letter to the resident to alert them to their eligibility for a boulevard tree, and asking them to respond to the City to let Staff know if a tree is wanted. Three letters will be sent to the resident, each a week apart, before the address is moved to the bottom of the list due to non- response. If no response is received, a tree will not be planted. All new boulevard trees should be planted with a 20-gallon watering bag and residents having a tree planted in their boulevard should receive educational material to assist the resident with ensuring their tree survives. 2. Energy Action Plan Update & Next Steps GreenCorps Member Siebert gave an update on her work on the Energy Action Workplan during her 11 months with the City. There has been a lot of outreach and education to residents. She recommends moving forward to work with multifamily homes, businesses, potentially having a discussion with the University about the Energy Action Plan and Climate Action Plan, and working with Falcon Heights Elementary School and the MN State Fair. Staff Liaison Lynch also explained the next outreach step she will be taking with the workplan will be to reach out to multifamily landlords via annual licensing to provide them with information on the programs offered for electrifying and upgrading their buildings. 3. Green To Go / Packaging Fair Updates Staff Liaison Lynch explained she and GreenCorps Member Siebert recently attended the City of Roseville’s Sustainable Packaging Fair and attended a restaurant visit at Stone Pho in Roseville with their city staff. She detailed the large number of options that exist for compostable and recyclable to go packaging and gave a rundown of how the restaurant visit went. She explained she believes it would be possible for Falcon Heights city staff to handle enforcement of a Green To Go ordinance in Falcon Heights for the 6-7 restaurants that exist in the City at a time. GreenCorps Member Siebert also suggested the City adopt a purchasing policy for kitchen supplies to ensure only compostable and/or recyclable supplies are purchased. These are available via the State contract and can be purchased for City use internally and also for special events. 4. Lawn & Garden Tours – Recap and Recommendations Council Liaison Mielke explained the Lawn and Garden Tours seemed successful with 7- 10 residents visiting her garden. She explained there probably could have been a bit more promotion of the event by city staff, but acknowledged that was difficult at the time due to the City’s annual Ice Cream Social being the same week. Commissioner Keester agreed and stated he thought it was successful and the timing and duration of the event seemed to be perfect. F. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. Staff Liaison Report – Staff Liaison Lynch explained GreenCorps Member Siebert’s last day of service with the City is August 12, 2025 and thanked her for her service to the City. She also explained the SolarAPP+ system for solar permitting will be up and running shortly, and updated Commissioners that the new City Hall solar panels have received all building permits and the process to remove the existing panels and install the new panels will begin as soon as the interconnection request with Xcel Energy is approved. 2. Council Liaison Report – None. G. Adjourn Meeting was adjourned at 8:17 p.m. Next regular meeting date: September 8, 2025