Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutesMINUTES SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY BOARD March 7, 2011 Present: Steve Barney, Kimberly Biedermann, Michelle Bogden Muetzel, Margy Davey, Justin Mitchell, Bob Poeschl, Allan Siman, Jan Scalpone Excused: Bob Breest Staff: Darryn Burich, Planning Director CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m. by Chair Justin Mitchell. APPROVE MINUTES Motion by Jan Scalpone and second by Margy Davey to approve the minutes from the last meeting. Motion carried 5 -0 ( Biedermann, Poeschl, Siman abstaining). PUBLIC COMMENT None SAB PAST ITEMS UPDATE Darryn Burich stated that the Focus on Energy and Terrace Tree Resolutions have been forward to the City Manager and City staff are working on those policies. He stated he did not know what the progress was because these items are outside the Planning Division. Justin Mitchell requested a memo from staff to update the SAB on the status of these items for the next meeting. Mr. Burich also stated that the Chicken Ordinance will be presented to the Council on March 8 th and March 22 nd SAB STAFF & PROCESS Mr. Burich explained the SAB staff expectations that were established with City Manager and SAB Chair input: Expectations of SAB Staff Liaison Agendas and Board Materials a. Planning Division will continue to prepare SAB packets to be distributed to the members and City staff b. All supporting materials that are to be included in the packet must be provided to staff to be included in packet. c. If agenda items can be prepared 2 weeks prior to meeting, the agenda can be discussed at weekly Wednesday City Manager staff meeting with department heads for discussion on agenda items relevant to the individual departments. 2. Attend monthly SAB meetings, take and prepare minutes. 3. Attend subcommittee meetings, as necessary. 4. Unless specifically directed by City Manager or Common Council, any work related agenda items will be the responsibility of SAB members to complete with limited assistance /direction by staff 5. Resolutions passed by SAB, for items not directed by Council or City Manager, will be forwarded to City Manager and /or placed on the Council Agenda under the Council Discussion, Direction to City Manager & Future Agenda Items. 6. On the day following the SAB meeting, staff liaison will forward to the City Manager all motion and votes made by Board. 7. City Manager will provide the Board a monthly report containing updates of items forwarded to his office. Report will be put together by the City Manager's office and will provide closure on Board items. Mr. Burich stated that once the SAB agenda was set, the items would be mentioned at the weekly department head meeting to find out if anyone was working on similar topics. If that is occurring, that department head could discuss said items with the Board at a future meeting. Steve Barney stated he was concerned the Board was losing "power" and that the SAB used to pass resolutions directly to Council for action. Mr. Burich stated that this may still occur depending on the item and that it is in the City Manager's purview to decide how and when an item is passed onto the Council agenda. Mr. Barney stated he would like an answer as to whether SAB items are forwarded as discussion items or action items to the Council. Mr. Burich stated he would consult with the City Manager and City Attorney. VISION OSHKOSH HEALTH RESOLUTION Mr. Barney wanted to know what the SAB thought about this resolution. Jan Scalpone stated the Board already discussed this item and decided it needed to be revised to address Oshkosh/Wisconsin. Margy Davey stated she had volunteered to do the research but has not finished because it will require additional research time. She also stated because of change in work status, she will not be able to work on it further. In addition, she stated that she thought this information was already addressed in the Sustainability Plan. Bob Poeschl volunteered to work on it. Mr. Mitchell stated that Mr. Poeschl and Mr. Barney will work on it and bring it back for next month's meeting. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS ENERGY EFFICIENCY Ms. Davey stated the subcommittee met to discuss the draft resolution for ICLEI Milestone 2 and their recommendation was to pass it onto the City Manager. Mr. Barney stated he would like staff to comment on the resolution and was concerned the City was not willing to write a climate action plan unless forced by the Council. 2 1 March 7, 2011 Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes Ms. Davey mentioned that the Council already passed the ICLEI (08 -295) which stated to follow the Milestones, which includes a climate action plan. Mr. Burich stated that resolutions do not direct staff work but that the City Manager directs staff work. Mr. Mitchell suggested adding language to the end of the resolution stating: BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Oshkosh develop an action plan with both existing and future actions, which when implemented, will meet the local greenhouse gas reduction target. He also stated that this should be sent to staff for feedback and then be brought back to the Board at the next meeting. SUSTAINABILITY PLAN Ms. Scalpone mentioned that the Steering Committee went through the change recommendations and staff is now formatting the changes into the draft plan. She also stated the next meeting is March 30 and the next step is to develop a two page summary of the plan for a proposed workshop with the Plan Commission and Council. STREET WIDTHS Mr. Mitchell mentioned that he received an email from the City Manager questioning if the Board was interested in commenting on what the City is proposing. He stated he thought the Board should comment on the proposal from a sustainability standpoint. Kim Biedermann volunteered to work on it with Mr. Mitchell and bring something back to the Board in April or May, at the latest. BIKE/PEDESTRIAN PLAN Mr. Burich stated the steering committee was still working on the plan and having meetings. He stated he will have another update at the next meeting. Mr. Mitchell stated that he wanted to make sure the Board was still being represented on the committee. SAB WEBSITE UPDATES: PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION HANDOUT Ms. Scalpone stated she had volunteered to update the handout. Mr. Poeschl mentioned a few additional items to add to the document. Mr. Mitchell stated once the changes were made to forward document to him and then it will be posted the Sustainable Oshkosh webpage. PAH CONTENT OF URBAN RUNOFF Ms. Davey stated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) are more dangerous than known before and since Oshkosh is a lake community, the issue of PAH contamination needs to be addressed. She also mentioned the goal would be to have an ordinance banning the sale and application of PAH similar to that of Dane County. Mr. Mitchell stated this should be worked on by one of the subcommittees. Mr. Poeschl volunteered to work on it. NEXT MEETING MONDAY, APRIL 4TH Chair Mitchell reminded the Board the next regularly scheduled meeting is Monday, April 4 th at 4:00 pm. ADJOURN Motion by Kim Biedermann and second by Margy Davey to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 5:30 pm. 3 1 March 7, 2011 Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes Respectfully submitted, Robin Leslie Principal Planner 4 1 March 7, 2011 Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes DRAFT RESOLUTION PURPOSE: GHG Target (ICLEI Milestone 2) INITIATED BY: Sustainability Advisory Board WHEREAS, some grants require a sustainability or climate action plan for the mitigation of climate change, either as a prerequisite or a factor in the application process; and WHEREAS, Oskhosh Common Council resolution 07 -262, which was passed on September 11, 2007, voluntarily adopted the Kyoto Protocol's GHG mitigation target of 7% below 1990 by 2012 as a community -wide target for Oshkosh, but the City of Oshkosh has not yet drafted a plan to meet that target, and it appears to be very unlikely to achieve that target for the city by 2012; and WHEREAS, Oshkosh Common Council resolution 08 -295, which unanimously passed on August 26, 2008 directs the City of Oshkosh to follow ICLEIs five milestones, which include: (2) "Establish a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target," and (3) "Develop an action plan with both existing and future actions which when implemented will meet the local greenhouse gas reduction target;" and WHEREAS, annual average per capita emissions in the U.S. were about 23.59 tons CO2- equivalent /year in 2007 [1], while the global average was about 1/4 of the U.S. average, and the average in the city of Oshkosh is probably close to the U.S. average, while, on March 23, 2010, the UN announced the launching of a greenhouse gas emissions protocol for cities, which calculates community -wide emissions on a per capita basis [1]; and WHEREAS, the Copenhagen Accord, pursuant to Article 2 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), was signed by the US in January 2010, and the US thereby pledged to reduce its GHG emissions inline by a global mean temperature (GMT) target of 2 degrees Celsius above the pre - industrial GMT [2]; and WHEREAS, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to meet a 2 degrees C target, global emissions must peak by 2015, and then decline in the range of 50% to 85% below 2000 by 2050 [3]; and WHEREAS, a letter dated January 28, 2010, to the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, from U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change, officially indicates the desire of the United States "to be associated with the Copenhagen Accord" and sets forth its "Quantified economy - wide emissions targets for 2020" as "In the range of 17 %, in conformity with anticipated U.S. energy and climate legislation recognizing that the final target will be reported to the Secretariat in light of enacted legislation," below the 2005 base year. Furthermore, that letter notes that "The pathway set forth in pending legislation would entail a 30% reduction in 2025 and a 42% reduction in 2030, in line with the goal to reduce emissions 83% by 2050." The rate of reduction for those targets is approximately 2% per year [4]; and WHEREAS, a U.S. target of 17% below 2005 by 2020 is approximately equivalent to achieving the U.S. target under the Kyoto Protocol (7% below 1990 by 2012) by 2020, instead of 2012 [5]; and WHEREAS, "On January 29, 2010, President Barack Obama announced that the Federal Government will reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by 28 percent by 2020. Reducing and reporting GHG pollution, 5 1 March 7, 2011 Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes as called for in Executive Order 13514 on Federal Sustainability, will ensure that the Federal Government leads by example in building the clean energy economy." And "To ensure accountability, annual progress will be measured and reported online to the public [6]; and WHEREAS, the early adoption of low carbon infrastructure allows lower cost for mitigation, avoids the "carbon lock -in" of long lived carbon intensive infrastructure, BE IT RESOLVED that the Sustainability Advisory Board advises the Oshkosh Common Council and City Manager to set an annual greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of approximately 3% per year, or 30% below the 2007 baseline by 2020, for municipal operations (emissions from all municipal owned or operated facilities) and to set an annual average per capita greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 2% per year or 20% below the 2007 baseline by 2020 for community -wide greenhouse gas emissions (emissions from all public and private sources within the jurisdiction of the City of Oshkosh; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Oshkosh develop an action plan with both existing and future actions, which when implemented, will meet the local greenhouse gas reduction target. 6 1 March 7, 2011 Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes References 1. "Representative GHG Baselines for Cities and their Respective Countries." http: / /www.unep.org/urban environment/PDFs/ Representative- GHGBaselines.pdf UNEP Press Release: "Cities Get Common Standard for Measuring Greenhouse Gas Emissions" Rio de Janeiro(Brazil) 23 March 2010 http: / /www.unep. org/ Documents/Multilingual/Default. asp ?DocumentID = 617 &ArticlelD=6508& 1 =en Urban Environment Unit, UNEP http: / /www.unep.org/urban environment Draft International Standard for Determining Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Cities http: / /www.unep.org/urban environment /PDFs /InternationalStd- GHG.pdf 2. UNFCCC: Article 2: OBJECTIVE "The ultimate objective of this Convention and any related legal instruments that the Conference of the Parties may adopt is to achieve, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Convention, stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Such a level should be achieved within a time -frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner." http: / /unfccc.int /essential background /convention/background /items /1353.php 3. 2007 IPCC AR4 WG3, Table 3.10 in Chapter 3, pg 329 http: / /www.i.pcc. ch/pdf/assessment- report/ar4 -wg3 /ar4 -wg3 - chapter3 .pdf 4. "United States association with Copenhagen Accord," United States Department of State, Office of the Special Envoy for Climate Change http: / /unfccc.int/ files / meetings /application /pdfl /unitedstatescphaccord app.l.pdf 5. UNFCCC GHG Data Global map -Annex I http: / /maps.unfccc.int /di/map Full report: http: / /unfccc.int /files /ghg emissions data /application/pdf /usa ghg profile.pdf 6.Whitehouse Blog: "President Obama Sets Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Target for Federal Operations." http: / /www.whitehouse.gov /blog/ 2010 /01/29 /president - obama- sets - greenhouse -gas- emissions - reduction- target- federal - operations Whitehouse Press Release: "President Obama Sets Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Target for Federal Operations." http: / /www.whitehouse. ovg /the- press- office /president - obama- sets - greenhouse -gas- emissions - reduction- target- federal - operations 7 1 March 7, 2011 Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes