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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutesCITY OF OSHKOSH SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY BOARD Minutes April 4th, 2022 PRESENT: Eric Degroot, Pat Dwyer Hallquist, Lisa Marone, Vic Oliver, Ken Osmond (arrived at 6:09pm), Bradley Spanbauer, Aaron Wojciechowski (arrived at 6:27pm), Michelle Bogden-Muetzel, Margy Davey EXCUSED: Bob Poeschl, ABSENT: STAFF AND OTHERS: Brandon Nielsen (Staff Liaison), Staff (Oshkosh Media) I. Call to Order Chair Margy Davey called the meeting to order at 6:00pm and a quorum was declared present. II. Public Comment There was no one from the public to speak. Chair Davey mentioned No Mow May and apologized that she had forgotten to get this on an earlier agenda. She stated that she would like the council liaison to bring it up at the next council meeting and Mr. Nielsen said he would review the 2021 No Mow May resolution to determine what could be done. III. Approval of Minutes, March 7th, 2021 Mr. Degroot motioned to approve the minutes. Ms. Oliver seconded the motion. Ms. Dwyer Hallquist commented that her letter needs to be added to the minutes as it stated it would be in the minutes. Mr. Nielsen said he would get that added to the online version. The board approved the March 7th minutes 7-0 (Degroot / Oliver). Motion by Mr. Degroot to accept the minutes as written Seconded by Ms. Oliver Motion carried 7-0 IV. Environmental Justice Resolution Mr. Nielsen explained that, as requested by SAB, the Environmental Justice Resolution was reviewed by the DEI committee and they did not have any recommendations or changes to the resolution and they supported the redlined version of the resolution. Mr. Spanbauer motioned to discuss the resolution and Ms. Oliver seconded the motion. Ms. Oliver questioned one of the language edits and Mr. Nielsen clarified the change. The board approved the resolution as written with staff edits 7-0. V. Native Plant Ordinance Ms. Bogden-Muetzel moved to discuss both written version of the ordinance and Ms. Oliver seconded the motion. She questioned why 17-44(A) and (B) did not have the same language, with one mentioning dandelions and the other mentioning vegetative growth. The board feels these two sections should be the same language as vegetative growth is ambiguous. Ms. Dwyer Hallquist make it clear that what is being discussed is actually a weed cutting and lawn care ordinance as currently there is not a separate native plant ordinance. Mr. Spanbauer questioned if noxious weeds were defined and Mr. Nielsen explained that yes there are defined in the previous paragraph in the proposed document and that the language has been edited to be more clear of what a noxious is. Ms. Dwyer Hallquist questioned if the staff want to allow noxious weeds up to eight inches in height, explaining that her opinion would be to not allow them at all. Mr. Nielsen explained that it would be difficult to enforce a code written that way and so that is the reason why a certain height is established and anything, as defined in the code, over that height is then in violation. Ms. Oliver asked the board where they stand on dandelions being included in this ordinance and Ms. Bogden-Muetzel explained that she is okay with it being in the ordinance if staff feel they are a nuisance when over eight inches in height, but thinks they should also be added in section (B) so the language is the same. The board agreed that the ordinance language in 17-44(A) and (B) should align more with each other. Ms. Dwyer Hallquist questioned if the penalties for weed cutting and lawn care were warranted and feels that section 17-46 is excessive for not mowing their lawn. 17-46 states that someone could be subject to forfeiture of not less than $75 dollars and no more than $500 dollars and if in default of payment, be subject to lose their license for no more than 60 months or imprisonment for not more than 60 days. The board feels that the SAB edit makes more sense regarding this section of each paragraph. Again 17-44(A) and (B). Ms. Dwyer Hallquist questioned what the reason was for needing to apply and be granted city approval to plant a native landscaping area. Mr. Nielsen explained that having the address on file helps mitigate potential complaints because if staff has a record of what is happening, and it’s an approved item, they can easily rule out any wrong doing and inform the complainant of such. Ms. Bogden-Muetzel questioned if someone wants to plant a 10’x10’ garden of non-native plants are they required to go through the same application process, because if not, then this seems more burdensome to property owners who are interested in native plants and that effectively is a deterrent to plant this type of vegetation. The board agreed that Privately Owned Native Landscaping Area should be more defined so it is clear when an application and approval is needed and when it is not. Ms. Davey recommended that one or two of the SAB members meet with staff to discuss these questions and then bring this item back at a future meeting. Mr. Spanbauer motioned to table this item for a future meeting and Ms. Oliver seconded the motion. VI. MIT Energy Model Analysis Mr. Nielsen stated that, per SAB’s request, he sent a link to all members which contained Zach Berzolla’s thesis presentation after March’s meeting and SAB was to review that presentation and discuss it. Mr. Spanbauer said that he was interesting in exploring options for what is possible to let residents of Oshkosh know that this report/study was accomplished and what its findings are. He would like people to highlight the simple home improvements that can be done to save energy and lower an energy bill. The board discussed options to market the findings laid out in Zach Berzolla’s research, such as a flyer that is sent with the water bill that shows easy home improvement items to save energy. Mr. Spanbauer stated that he would be willing to attempt a first draft version to market home improvement measures to save energy. Mr. Osmond questioned how the two differencing property owner types could be incentivized, those being, owner occupied and rental occupied. Mr. Nielsen stated that there are two identical city loan programs that cover the same things, one being for owner occupied properties and the other for landlords who own rental properties. SAB also stated they would like to have some reporting being tracked on solar panel permitting and Mr. Nielsen said he would see what can be done to accomplish that. VII. Agenda Items for Future Meeting Mr. Spanbauer provided an update on the work he has been doing in regards to the snow shoveling and salting ordinance. Mr. Osmond explained that he would like to potentially explore the option of segregating out the native plant species from the lawn care ordinance all together and instead create a new ordinance for native plants that protects them. He furthered explained that this approach may make things clearer and the lawn care ordinance would not have to be jumbled up with native plant language. Mr. Wojciechowski is interested in reviewing the sustainability plan and specifically the goals. It was explained to SAB that the goals sheet is reviewed yearly to be updated but the 2019 plan update, which contains the goals sheet, does not get updated with that information. Ms. Davey acknowledged the need to start thinking about the next full update to include sections such as DEI and Environmental Justice. UWO ES Student Presentations Native Landscaping Ordinance Snow Removal / Salting Ordinance Menominee Park Shoreline Restoration VIII. Next Meeting, Monday, May 2nd, 2022 IX. Adjournment The board voted 7-0 to adjourn (Marone / Spanbauer) Motion by Ms. Marone to adjourn Seconded by Mr. Spanbauer Motion carried 7-0 Recorded by: Brandon Nielsen, Assistant Planner