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Home My WebLink AboutCFE agenda 101419AGENDA Orange County Commission for the Environment October 14, 2019 7:30 p.m. West Campus Office Building, Room 302, 131 West Margaret Lane, Hillsborough Time Item Title 7:30 I. Call to Order 7:32 II. Additions or Changes to Agenda 7:34 III. Approval of Draft Minutes- August 12 & September 9, 2019 The CFE will consider approval of minutes from last two meetings. Action needed (Attachment 1&2) 7:35 IV. State of Environment Report- Update ¾ SOE Progress Report from County staff and editorial committee ¾ December 4th Coordinated Environmental Summit 7:55 V. Natural Heritage Areas Inventory- Update ¾ Potential update to the 2004 Inventory is being discussed by interested parties. 8:10 VI. Annual Report and Work Plan- Update ¾ The CFE will need to begin planning for the annual report, to be completed in November and December. 8:20 VII. Roadside Task Force- Update 8:30 VIII. ¾ Letter from Chair Saul regarding progress of the Task Force. OWASA Forest Management ¾ Hirni will present materials and timelines on OWASAs new incremental approach ¾ Focus on High Priority Areas and Seven Guiding Principle for Forest Management 8:45 IX. Other Updates and Information Items Staff and/or CFE members will provide updates on the following items: ¾ Climate Council (Bouma will provide an update on formation of this group and its first meeting) ¾ Quarter-Cent Property Tax for Climate Action Initiative – Update ¾ Orange County Forest Management Policy Draft ¾ Any other new information from CFE members and staff 9:00 X. Adjournment - Next Meeting November 11 at Southern Human Services Center, 2501 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill CFE Activities – 2019 Item Resp. Party Next Steps SOE approved draft Exec. Editors Executive editing group plans to circulate approved draft for review and comment by appropriate county staff and management. SOE website B. Saul Others Collect images SOE event C. Fletcher L. Gronback December 4th planned event date in partnership with Eno-New Hope Landscape Conservation Group. Fast Facts for a Greener Orange for county newsletter K. Piracci B. Bouma Continue to find source(s). Send any new ideas to Brennan via email. OWASA Forest Mgmt Incremental Approach C. Hirni J. EImers Approved by OWASA Board 10/2/2019 https://www.owasa.org/forest-management Forest Management Policy Land Resources Land Resources has prepared draft. Pending CFE review and comment. Rural Buffer Research Project B. Saul B. Bouma In Progress, focus is on comparative measurements of sprawl Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory B. Ward B. Bouma Moving forward on final calculations Fossil Fuel Divestment Resolution B. Ward Parry editing. CFE review. Carbon Fee and Dividend Resolution Ward/Parry Draft resolution attached for CFE review. Web site for bill: https://energyinnovationact.org/ Climate Action Plan Parry/Bouma To begin after GHG inventory complete Idling Campaign B. Bouma Received signs, need to deliver to schools. Sent a draft cover letter to schools for their use. Discuss expansion to drive-thru establishments. Landscape corridor planning Request Presentation from Collaborative Conservation Group for December Other x Recent Achievements ● BOCC unanimously passed “Best Practices on Roadsides and Rights-of-Way” resolution CFE Meeting Ground Rules (Adopted 9/12/11) 1. Keep to agenda topic under discussion 2. Share relevant information 3. One person speaks at a time after recognition by the Chair 4. Everyone is invited to participate in discussions/no one person should dominate discussions 5. Strive to reach consensus first before voting Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary August 12, 2019; 7:30 pm West Campus Office Building, Room 302, 131 West Margaret Lane, Hillsborough Present: Bradley Saul (Chair), Carrie Fletcher, Bill Ward, Jim Eichel, Laura Doherty, Lynne Gronback, Kim Piracci, Jeremy Marzuola Absent: Jody Eimers, Alan Parry, Matt Crook, William Newby Staff: David Stancil, Brennan Bouma I. Call to Order – Saul called the meeting to order at 7:30. II. Additions or Changes to Agenda – No additions or changes to the agenda were requested. III. Approval of Draft Minutes from August 12 th, 2019 – IV. Coordinated Environmental Summit – Update The CFE will review planning for this joint event, which includes the State of the Environment 2019, for this fall. V. State of Environment (SOE) Report Edits x During the course of the meeting, the State of the Environment Edits section created a detailed and productive discussion that began to spill over into the planned update discussion on the County’s Planning and Development Process. At that point the Chair asked CFE member if they would like to continue with the edits discussion and postpone the remainder of the topics on the agenda for later discussion. The CFE members unanimously agreed and the remainder of the meeting was used to complete edits and comments on the State of the Environment report. x As a single group, the CFE discussed and completed final edits and comments to the draft pages of the Lands section of the 2019 State of the Environment Report. Two remaining sections on Air/Energy and Water remained to be edited at a later meeting. Plans were made to hold an additional meeting for the sole purpose of completing these edits and staff was tasked with identifying the date and location. VI. Adjournment- Saul adjourned the meeting at 9:10 following the unanimous approval of a motion to adjourn the meeting which was offered by Piracci and seconded by Gronback. $WWDFKPHQW Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary September 9, 2019; 7:30 pm Southern Human Services Center, 2501 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill Present: Bradley Saul (Chair), Carrie Fletcher, Bill Ward, Jim Eichel, Laura Doherty, Lynne Gronback, Kim Piracci Absent: Jody Eimers, Alan Parry, Matt Crook, William Newby, Jeremy Marzuola Staff: David Stancil, Christian Hirni, Brennan Bouma I. Call to Order –Saul called the meeting to order at 7:35. II. Additions or Changes to Agenda –No additions or changes to the agenda were requested. III. Approval of Draft Minutes from August 12 th, 2019 –Stancil noted that due to lack of staff at the August meeting, minutes will be drafted for the August 12th and September 9th meetings concurrently and approved at October 14th meeting. IV. State of Environment (SOE) Approval of Content a. Bouma began the meeting with the caveat that the commission would not be conducting an additional detailed review of the entire SOE report, as prior meetings (including the special meeting on August 27) have done a thorough review. Instead he proposed to focus on and discuss the “Watershed” section as significant additions had been made and then move onto the approval of the SOE document pending editorial committee review. b. Bouma presented the current Watershed indicator pages with up to date edits and the further inclusion of an E.P.A. “Watershed Vulnerability Index” map and information. c. The discussion concluded with a recommendation for 1) more definitive language on Water Quality and Ecosystem Health comparisons, 2) watershed law and protective regulations, and 3) comparisons with neighboring Triangle counties, etc., . x Motion to approve the 2019 SOE report pending further review and communication by the editorial committee was made by Pirraci, seconded by Doherty; All in favor, none opposed, motion passed. d. CFE members agreed to include Jodi Eimers on editorial committee if she desires. V. State of the Environment Event a. Discussion of event conflict with a statewide SELC’s Transportation and Climate Change meeting on the same date as the Environmental Summit (November 22nd), which may limit the participation of County Commissioners and other $WWDFKPHQW Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary September 9, 2019; 7:30 pm Southern Human Services Center, 2501 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill stakeholders in our event. The event’s co-sponsors are actively discussing changing the date. Proposal to check on availability of other dates, particularly the first week of December (2nd-6th) for a rescheduled Environment Summit. No motion to reschedule as of yet, pending further discussion. VI. Planning and Development Process –Update a. Bouma presented information on the Planning Department conversations and efforts to coordinate with staff on environmental concerns. Bouma summarized the sustainability initiatives and environmental program elements that Planning provided previously. Discussion of the flood plain mapping program and which flood plain maps the planning department has adopted. Sol Smart program policy review and clarification. Bike share program planning. Stream buffer rules and other ordinances regarding mandatory vegetative buffers were also discussed. VII. State Climate Change Initiative and Electric Vehicles- Update a. Bouma and Ward discussed Executive Order 80, or State Climate Action Plan. Some good elements. Discussion of “hole” in plan for natural gas dependence reduction. VIII. Adjournment- Saul adjourned the meeting at 9:05 following the unanimous approval of a motion to adjourn the meeting which was offered by Piracci and seconded by Gronback. $WWDFKPHQW