Parks and Recreation Committee

CITY OF CHARLESTON West Virginia Council Member – AT LARGE Caitlin Cook Parks & Recreation Committee, Chair 1534 Summit Drive Facilities, Vice Chair Charleston, WV 25302 Public Safety Committee Telephone: 304.543.4879 caitlin.cook@cityofcharleston.org A meeting of the Council Committee on Parks and Recreation will be held on November 17, 2023. The meeting will begin promptly at 9:30 AM. AV ROOM #308, CITY HALL Charleston, WV Agenda APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES 1. 6-6-2023 BILLS 1. Bill No. 7991 - A BILL to amend the Municipal Code relating to city agencies and boards adopting wellbeing and conservation goals for the city. DISCUSSION 1. Department Updates CC/ns *Meetings may be recorded and broadcast via internet https://charlestonwv.civicclerk City Council | 501 Virginia Street, East | Post Office Box 2749 | Charleston, West Virginia 25330 www.charelstonwv.gov | 304.348.8179 | 304.348.8038 fax Page | 1 of  MINUTES PARKS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING THE MEETING WAS HELD AND MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC OVER ZOOM AT CITY HALL 5:00 P. M., JUNE 6, 2023 Caitlin Cook, Chairperson, called the meeting of the Charleston City Council Committee on Parks and Recreation to order at 5:00p.m., June 6, 2023. Committee Members Present: Caitlin Cook, Chair Bruce King, Vice Chair (arrived at 5:13) Patrick Salango Frank Annie Chad Robinson Committee Members Absent: Michael Ferrell Pat Jones Other Councilmembers Present: A roll call was taken, and it was determined that a quorum was not present. June 6, 2023 Page | 2 of  1. Accepting Aflac donation – Councilmember Cook introduced Erin Dempsey, who is working through Aflac with Health Right through a community grant project. They are considering putting a bench at Magic Island where it is needed. Councilmember Cook added that Council approval is not needed, but the Administration does want it to be approved by the Parks and Recreation Committee. Dempsey added that their team worked to design the benches. They are responsible for facilitation the location and installation of the benches. Health Right is the second recipient of the 2023 Community CareGrants. Aflac has specifically requested their bench be placed at the specified Magic Island location with a dedication ceremony on June 21. Councilmember Cook added that Health Right also wanted the bench to be at Magic Island as it adds to the park neighborhood and the walkability of the area. Dempsey added that Aflac would like to install the bench prior to the dedication ceremony date. They would like the Committee to recommend a spot in that area. With no objection from members being present, the Chair declared the acceptance of the bench from Aflac as approved. As to the specific location, Councilmember Cook advised that the closer to the river, the more likely the bench would take on water from flooding. She added that there is not a bench by the bath houses, near the splash pad. Councilmember Annie agreed. With no objection from members being present, the Chair declared the location of the new bench to be near the splash pad as approved. Councilmember Annie motioned to adjourn. Councilmember Salango seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned. June 6, 2023 Page | 3 of  Bill No. 7991 Introduced in Council: Adopted by Council: April 17, 2023 Introduced by: Referred to: Emmett Pepper, Frank Annie , ____ Parks and Recreation and Becky Ceperley, Mary Beth Hoover, Ordinance and Rules Larry Moore, and Joe Solomon 1 Bill No. 7991 - A BILL to amend and reenact sections 2-533, 50-172, 65-13, and 82-44, 2 of the Municipal Code of the City of Charleston, as amended, all relating to city 3 agencies and boards adopting wellbeing and conservation goals for the city. 4 5 WHEREAS, access to parkland, open space, nature, and recreational facilities creates a 6 sense of community through gathering spaces; and benefits the health, happiness, and 7 lives of Charleston’s residents; and 8 9 WHEREAS, according to the Trust for Public Land, about half of the residents of the City 10 of Charleston are within a ten-minute walk (half mile) of a park, while the national 11 average is 55%; and 12 13 WHEREAS, according to the Living Planet Index by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and 14 Zoological Society of London (ZSL), animal species populations have dropped 20% 15 since the first Earth Day in 1970; and 16 17 WHEREAS, for example, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 18 recently listed the migratory monarch butterfly as an endangered species, further 19 justifying the need for city’s monarch waystation in Spring Hill Cemetery Park and other 20 future waystations; and 21 22 WHEREAS, the City’s own operations can affect wildlife through actions such as utilizing 23 native plant species in landscaping, reducing pesticide and insecticide usage, and 24 operating buildings in a bird-safe manner; and 25 26 WHEREAS, according to the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity, in order to 27 protect biodiversity and ecosystem functioning services, 30% of lands in the world need 28 to be protected; and 29 30 WHEREAS, the City of Charleston currently has approximately 550 of its 20,890 acres 31 available as public parkland, equal to approximately 3%; and 32 33 WHEREAS, the 50th Anniversary of the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the nation’s most 34 prominent and historic biodiversity legislation, occurs later this year, on December 28, Page | 4 of 35 2023; and 36 37 WHEREAS, increasingly, scientists believe that people’s mental and physical health 38 benefit from access to natural ecosystems – for example, a 2019 study in the journal 39 Nature found that 120 minutes each week in nature was associated with good health 40 and wellbeing; and 41 42 WHEREAS, having clear direction to all applicable agencies, the City of Charleston will 43 benefit its residents by having goals for ensuring access to public spaces, including 44 natural spaces; and 45 46 WHEREAS, on this Earth Day 2023, the City of Charleston commits to increasing access 47 for its residents to public parks for recreation, access to nature, and the ecosystem 48 services that nature provides through the declarations in this bill, the changes to City 49 code made by this bill, and future actions of the City Council; and 50 51 WHEREAS, the City of Charleston hereby sets as a goal that 5% of the land in the City be 52 reserved for public parks, with at least 3% of land in the City be preserved as natural 53 landscapes; and 54 55 WHEREAS, the City of Charleston hereby sets a goal that 75% of all residents have a 56 public park within a ten-minute (half mile) walk of their homes; and 57 58 WHEREAS, the City of Charleston commits to utilizing native plant species when 59 landscaping and planting, minimize pesticide usage, and operate bird-safe buildings, to 60 the extent pecuniarily practicable; and 61 62 WHEREAS, the City of Charleston seeks opportunities to locate additional monarch 63 butterfly waystations and to otherwise protect the habitats of species of the greatest 64 conservation need (SGCN), as designated by the West Virginia Division of Natural 65 Resources (WVDNR) ), and species on the International Union for Conservation of 66 Nature (IUCN) Red List, that have been found to live in the City; and 67 68 WHEREAS, in furtherance of these goals and objectives, the City Council hereby adopts 69 this ordinance. 70 71 Now, therefore, be it ordained by the Council of the City of Charleston: 72 73 That Sections 2-533, 50-172, 65-13, 82-44, and 90-33 of the Municipal Code of the City 74 of Charleston, as amended, are hereby amended and reenacted, all to read as follows: 75 76 CHAPTER 2 - ADMINISTRATION 77 ARTICLE VII. - BOARDS, COMMITTEES AND COMMISSIONS 78 DIVISION 2. - BEAUTIFICATION COMMISSION 79 Sec. 2-533. Duties. 80 (a) It shall be the duty of the beautification commission to advise and Page | 5 of  81 recommend to the mayor or the city council such programs or projects as would, in the 82 opinion of the commission, improve the beauty and general welfare of the city, and 83 conform with the development and conservation goals contained in the city's 84 comprehensive plan. 85 (b) The mayor or the council may request the advice or cooperation of the 86 commission for any project or program connected with the beautification, cleanliness or 87 general welfare of the city. 88 (c) The commission shall submit an annual report to the mayor, generally 89 outlining its program and progress during the previous year. 90 (d) It shall be the duty of the commission to recommend maintenance and 91 rules of Davis Park, Shanklin Park, Elk River Park and Ruffner. 92 (e) The commission shall approve recommendations for expenditures from 93 the municipal beautification project fund. 94 (f) The commission shall, upon recommendation of the department head, 95 approve the citywide consulting horticulturalist and make this recommendation to the 96 finance committee and the city council. 97 (g) The commission shall serve as the tree board for the city. 98 99 100 CHAPTER 50 - ENVIRONMENT 101 ARTICLE V. - TREES 102 Sec. 50-172. Purpose. 103 104 It is the purpose of this article to promote and protect the public health and general 105 welfare in furtherance of the development and conservation goals contained in the city’s 106 comprehensive plan, by providing for the regulations of the planting, maintenance, 107 preservation and removal of trees within the city. 108 109 110 CHAPTER 65 - LAND REUSE AGENCY 111 ARTICLE II. - POWERS AND DUTIES. 112 113 Sec. 65-12. - Redevelopment division. 114 The CLRA redevelopment division shall focus on properties in residential and 115 commercial areas of the city that the CLRA owns or could own with the goal of 116 rehabilitating the neighborhood and general area, in support of policies adopted by the 117 City of Charleston, including development and conservation goals contained in the 118 comprehensive plan. The redevelopment division may recommend to the board that the 119 CLRA acquire property, convey or lease property owned by the CLRA, create land 120 lease agreements for property owned by the CLRA, work with developers to create new 121 redevelopment on CLRA owned property, or make any other recommendation regarding 122 the acquisition, disposal, or development of property. The CLRA redevelopment division 123 shall work with the Charleston Urban Renewal Authority (CURA) to assist in the 124 planning and development of relevant property owned by CURA. 125 126 Sec. 65-13. Conservation division. Page | 6 of 127 The CLRA conservation division shall focus on properties across the city that the CLRA 128 owns or could own with the goal of rehabilitating the area through land conservation, 129 rather than development, in support of policies adopted by the City of Charleston, 130 including development and conservation goals contained in the comprehensive plan. 131 The conservation division may recommend to the board that the CLRA acquire property, 132 maintain, improve and preserve public trust lands, proposals to foster the donation of 133 public trust lands to the city, to encourage the monetary support for public trust lands 134 and to maintain in trust lands and moneys which are owned by or contributed to the city 135 for the purposes of this division. 136 137 "Public trust lands" for purposes of this chapter shall mean and include: lands, 138 easements, leases or any other interest in real property, whether possessory or 139 nonpossessory, having scenic, recreation, historic, woodland, forestry, conservation, 140 preservation or cultural value which are owned or acquired by the city. Public trust lands 141 may include conservation and preservation easements as provided in W. Va. Code, Ch. 142 20, Art. 12. 143 144 145 CHAPTER 82 - PARKS AND RECREATION 146 ARTICLE II. - PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT 147 Sec. 82-44. Construction and acquisition of recreational property. 148 The city council may establish, construct, acquire and set aside for recreational parks, 149 playgrounds and other recreational facilities any real or personal property acquired by 150 the city, in furtherance of existing public policies, including the city’s comprehensive 151 plan and the State of West Virginia’s Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation 152 Plan (SCORP). Such property shall be under the control of the director when turned 153 over to the director by the council. 154 Page | 7 of