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HomeMy WebLinkAbout37. 21-197APRIL 13, 2021 21-197 RESOLUTION WHEREAS, the City of Oshkosh would like to encourage an increase in pollinator- friendly habitat through pollinator-friendly lawn-care practices; and WHEREAS, ideal pollinator-friendly habitat is comprised of mostly native wildflowers, grasses, vines, shrubs, and trees blooming in succession throughout the growing season, is free or nearly free of pesticides, is comprised of undisturbed spaces including un-mown lawns; and provides connectivity between habitat areas to support pollinator movement and resilience; and WHEREAS, the formative period for establishment of pollinator and other insect species, and the many songbirds and other urban wildlife species which depend upon them, occurs in late spring and early summer when they emerge from dormancy and require flowering plants as crucial foraging habitat; and these opportunities are dramatically reduced with early spring grass-mowing; and NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Oshkosh, through the City of Oshkosh Sustainability Advisory Board recognizes No Mow May to actively promote and educate the community about the critical period of pollinator emergence, generation of crucial pollinator-supporting habitat and early spring foraging opportunities. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Oshkosh Common Council directs staff to not issue correction notices for long grass and weed violations for the month of May, permitting all residents to voluntarily delay lawn care until June, allowing pollinator species to emerge and early flowering grasses and forbes to establish, which may result in ground-cover exceeding established ordinance height restrictions. (CARRIED__5-2__ LOST _______ LAID OVER _______ WITHDRAWN _______) PURPOSE: DESIGNATE THE MONTH OF MAY AS NO MOW MAY INITIATED BY: SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY BOARD TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Allen Davis, Community Development Director DATE: April 8, 2021 RE: Designate the Month of May as No Mow May BACKGROUND A member from Pollenablers of the Fox Cities reached out to a member of the Common Council who directed them towards the Sustainability Advisory Board to review this request. ANALYSIS Their request asked that the City of Oshkosh suspend enforcement of the tall grass code violations for the month of May to help increase forage materials for the native bee population. Staff reviewed this request with the Inspections Department, Department of Public Works, and the City Attorney Office. Staff believe the suspension of the tall grass enforcement is feasible and will not create any undue hardships to the public or the city. FISCAL IMPACT Looking at the month of May in 2017, 2018, and 2019, the tall grass ordinance accounted for an average of $4,256 dollars in service fees. Therefore, the result of No Mow May will potentially result in a decrease of approximately $4,256 dollars in collected service fees in the month of May. This loss in revenue is not significant. RECOMMENDATION The Sustainability Advisory Board recommended approval of this resolution at its April 7, 2021 meeting with an amendment to the resolution that added the word annually so No Mow May can occur continuously on an annual basis. City staff recommends No Mow May 2021 as a test year, and following years to be considered on an annual basis. Please see attached meeting minutes for more information. Respectfully Submitted, Approved: Allen Davis Mark A. Rohloff Community Development Director City Manager CITY OF OSHKOSH SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY BOARD Minutes Special Meeting - April 7th, 2021 PRESENT: Pat Dwyer Hallquist, Michelle Bogden Muetzel, Bradley Spanbauer, Bob Poeschl, Lisa Marone, Margy Davey EXCUSED: Eric Degroot, Vic Oliver, Ken Osmond STAFF: Brandon Nielsen (Staff Liaison) I. Call to Order Chairperson Davey called the meeting to order at 6:36pm and a quorum was declared present. II. No Mow May Resolution Motion by Poeschl to discuss No Mow May Resolution. Seconded by Muetzel. Mr. Poeschl asked whether the resolution should be amended to clarify that it is intended to be annually and not just for 2021. Ms. Davey stated that she didn’t believe there was any language in the resolution that said it was for just 2021 or not. Mr. Nielsen stated that he believes the intention of the resolution was to be continuous. Ms. Davey asked if anyone else wanted to discuss the resolution and invited Mr. Del Toro to discuss. Mr. Del Toro explained that he is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Lawrence University in Appleton and the coordinator of No Mow May. He let the board know that he is in attendance to answer any questions the board may have. Mr. Poeschl asked Mr. Del Toro if the resolution is sufficient and if it is similar to what has been passed in other communities. Mr. Del Toro replied that is was perfect and explained that the provided template is just a generic starting point for communities. Mr. Del Toro explained that this resolution is the seventh of its kind and he hopes to see at least ten cities join the No Mow May initiative in 2021. He has been working with state legislature so that No Mow May can become a state wide initiative. He is a part of group called the Pollenablers (pronounced: Pollen-able-ers), which is a group of people who get together to discuss pollinator habitats. They have a website that allows interested households to sign up to participate. They can also provide a yard sign for No Mow May participants. Mr. Poeschl again questioned whether the resolution should be amended to clarify that it is intended to be annually and not just for 2021. Motion by Poeschl to amend the resolution to add the word “annually” to the last clause of the resolution. Seconded by Muetzel. Motion carried 6-0. III. The board voted 6-0 to adjourn (Poeschl / Muetzel) Recorded by: Brandon Nielsen, Assistant Planner No Mow May 2021- Invitation to Participate 2020 has been a year full of stress, anxiety and tension, for this reason we are happy to put forward some excellent news regarding the protection of our native bee pollinators. During the month of May 2020, the city of Appleton approved the first No Mow May. The goal of No Mow May is to provide early season forage for emerging native pollinators by reducing own mowing intensity during a month where foraging resources are limited. Four hundred and thirty-five Appleton homes registered to participate, and the initiative was widely appreciated by our community. Fig. 1 shows the 435 homes that participated in No Mow May 2020. The colored points are sites where we sampled for native bee biodiversity. The results of our first attempt at No-Mow-May are promising and speak for themselves. The reduced mowing intensity resulted in ~35% more floral resources (abundance and diversity) available to native pollinators by the end of the month (Fig.2). This translated to a five-fold increase in wild bee abundances and three-fold increase in wild bee diversity (Fig. 3).