Citizens' Environmental Commission

MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB CITIZEN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION July 7, 2016 The Citizen Environmental Commission held a meeting on July 7, 2016 at the DeKalb Municipal Building, Glidden Conference Room, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois, 60115. Chairman Oleckno called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. A. ROLL CALL Tim Holdeman called the roll and the following members of the Citizen Environmental Commission were present: Sharon Skala, Ann Shult, Mark Hein, Ken Koch, Dan Kenney, Bill Oleckno, Clare Kron, and Amy Doll. Members Absent: Michelle Gibson, DeKalb County Health Department Also present were: Tim Holdeman, City of DeKalb B. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA – ADDITIONS / DELETIONS MOTION Sharon Skala moved to approve the agenda, seconded by Clare Kron. Agenda was approved by voice vote 7-0. C. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION There were no public comments. D. NEW BUSINESS 1. "Implementation and Monitoring of the City's Sustainability Plan" (Discussion) Guests: John Laskowski, City Engineer, and Derek Hiland, City's Principal Planner Discussion with Mr. Hiland and Mr. Laskowski included addressing several questions presented by Ms. Kron. The highlights of these discussions are presented below. a. Are there sustainability elements of the 2015 State of IL Energy Code that the City can support? Neither Mr. Hiland nor Mr. Laskowski were familiar with the State of IL Energy Code as it applies to sustainability. b. Does the City encourage LEED Certification and R standards? There are no specific efforts made by the City to encourage these programs. It was noted that the DeKalb Public Library is going for LEED Gold Certification. c. Does the City promote permeable pavers? The City does try to incorporate sustainable design elements such as permeable pavers, native tree plantings, and innovative storm water management elements in new developments. These items are encouraged but are not Citizen Environmental Commission July 7, 2016 Page 2 of 3 required by the City Code. There are approximately five rain gardens in the City that were installed with assistance from the City. It was noted that for City projects such as Van Buer Plaza and Palmer Court, the City did incorporate permeable pavers. d. Are there current plans for vehicle charging stations? No, not presently. Discussion ensued about the NIU charging station, which is, “stuck in legal”. It was noted that Van Buer Plaza might be a good place to put a vehicle charging station. e. Any efforts to expand mixed-use development to include local shopping and commerce to reduce automobile use? No, not at this time. Discussion ensued about having a Citizen Environmental Commission member on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Other topics discussed included the City efforts to update the 2010 Bicycling and Pedestrian Report, study to improve synchronizing street lights, and efforts to incorporate complete streets in the City’s future street designs. f. Would the City allow future housing developments to be a higher density where appropriate? The Code does establish a maximum density; however, it can be modified as part of a Planned Urban Development (PUD). For PUDs the City can negotiate sustainability design elements into the plan. 2. City Council Recommendations Regarding Proposed Revisions to Chapter 50 Chair Oleckno noted that two minor changes will be made in the revisions presented to City Council: 1) instead of Citizen’s, the revised version will use Citizens’ and 2) the word "typically" will be removed from section 50.05. E. APPROVAL OF MINUTES for June 2, 2016 MOTION Mr. Koch moved to approve, seconded by Ms. Skala. Minutes were approved by voice vote 7-0. F. OLD BUSINESS 1. Open Meetings Act Regarding Items Not on the Agenda Chairman Oleckno reported that the Commission can discuss items that are not on the agenda of a regular meeting; however, the Commission cannot take action or make a decision with regard to items or topics not on the agenda of a regular meeting. 2. Sustainability Plan – Monitoring and Progress Mr. Holdeman will look for documents pertaining to Goals 2.1 and 2.2 – City’s efforts to reduce paper use. He will research Goal 5.2 pertaining to a smoking ban at outdoor venues and Goal 7.2 pertaining to public awareness of energy audits. 3. Update on Green Living Festival: Dan Kinney Ms Kron reminded the group that the Green Living Festival will be held on Thursday, August 4, from noon to 2:30 in the Multipurpose Room at the DeKalb County Health Department. 4. Update on Share-a-Bag Program: Clare Kron 2 Citizen Environmental Commission July 7, 2016 Page 3 of 3 The program continues to be a success. Ms Kron will be explaining the program during the upcoming City Council meeting on July 11. During the presentation she will ask for donations of bags and ideas on how to grow the program. G. COMMISSION REPORTS 1. City Liaison: Tim Holdeman City Council passed the FY2016.5 budget last week. Staff is already working on the FY2017 budget. Mr. Holdeman will check on the intern budget amount for FY2017. One of the items in the FY2017 budget is a feasibility study for the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) Learning Center. There may be opportunities to include environmental-based themes in the learning center. 2. DeKalb County Health Department: Michelle Gibson No Report 3. DeKalb Park District: Amy Doll No Report 4. Update on City Website: Bill Oleckno Chairman Oleckno submitted some moderate changes to Jeff Birtell with the City to update information concerning the Commission. If approved by the City, the changes will be made. More substantive changes may be submitted later if the revisions to Chapter 50 are approved by the City Council. H. ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Kron will be presenting the Share-A-Bag Program at City Council on July 11. Michael Lundgren will be considered for appointment to the Commission at the City Council Meeting on July 11. I. NEXT MEETING: August 1, 2016 at 4:00 PM J. ADJOURMENT Ms. Kron moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:58 p.m.; seconded by Ms. Shult. Motion carried by voice vote 7-0. Chair Oleckno declared the meeting adjourned. Respectfully Submitted: Tim Holdeman, Public Works Director 3