Environmental Sustainability Council

DRAFT Minutes Falls Church Environmental Services Council Thursday, July 17, 2014 7:30 - 9:30 pm Dogwood Room ESC Council members: Peter Adriance, Raymond Arnaudo, Sarah Bayldon, Peter Oppenheimer, Tim Stevens, Suzanne Updike, Bill Schellstede Present: Tim Stevens (Chairman), Peter Oppenheimer, Bill Schellstede, Ray Arnaudo, Allison Lohrenz – City Staff Liaison Visitors: Delegate Marcus Simon 1. Call to Order 2. Public Comments 3. New Business  City of Falls Church Legislative Platform This subject was very useful, introduced by Delegate Simon’s informal talk about the processes and products of legislative deliberations and negotiations in Richmond. Next, an open discussion followed with the ESC members concerning, among other things, the realistic potential for passage of environmental legislation. Delegate Simon did urge us to develop our urgent concerns into recommendations that could be adopted by the City Council. We asked Del. Simon whether introducing legislation or requesting help directly from the state Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs would be more effective in requiring notification of nearby neighbors in single-family homes when applying pesticide sprays. Del. Simon indicated he would let us know. After Delegate Simon’s departure, the members discussed the viability of several options to recommend to the Council for its consideration. The following propositions were agreed upon: a. The amendment of Community Net Metering legislation to permit organizations to install photo-voltaic systems on their properties and to share out the benefits of those systems to their donors or members. b. Legislation that would permit local jurisdictions to adopt reasonable measures to limit the use of consumer bags. c. Legislation that would limit or even prohibit the use of microbeads, minute plastic particles of no known half-life that are now found in toothpaste and many other products and which are ubiquitous in water ways and are showing up in human oral and possibly other tissues. 4. Old Business Notification for pesticide spraying on single-family homes Notification is routinely done – and by regulation required – in multi-family housing, and by logic this requirement should be included in the City licensing process for pest control contractors.  LEAP MOU Evidently some progress is being made in reaching agreement on the involvement of LEAP in the consideration of energy issues in City facilities. Broad Street Small Area Plan Comments Agreement was achieved regarding the need to continue to press for the issues we have raised in previous comments to stress the following in our comments, with particular emphasis on 1) reducing green house gas emissions, 2) careful storm water management, and 3) the addition of trees throughout the Plan area to the greatest extent possible. Fracking in George Washington National Forest The mayor of Alexandria has added his support to prohibiting fracking in the Forest. The National Forest Service has not yet issued its plan regarding the GWNF. Solar Panels at City of Falls Church Schools Discussions continue on the feasibility of establishing a 501.c.3 to fund the installation of solar panels on the FC school buildings. 5. Informational Items 6. Set Next Meeting Thursday, September 18, 20014, (Dogwood Room, City Hall) 7. Approval of June 2014 Minutes Approved by vote Adjournment – 9:15 p.m. Next meeting is Thursday,.