Environmental Sustainability Council

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL Thursday, November 16, 2017, Gage House DRAFT MINUTES 1. Call to Order: Members: Cory Firestone Weiss (Chair), Thomas Cash, Andy Crawford, Andrew Young, Sarah Bayldon, Chris McCloud, Jon Ward, Tim Stevens, Phillip Skotte, Katie Deal (student), Niharika Singhvi (student), Evelyn Duross (student), Zachary Holmes (student). City Staff Liaison: Kate Walker (Environmental Programs Coordinator), City Council Member/Liaison: Dan Sze 2. Public comments. There were no public comments. 3. Approval of Minutes (October 19, 2017). Minutes were approved, subject to amendments: a. Update with number or names of public attendees, and remove duplicate listing of K. Deal b. Correct “ETSC” to “ETS” for Energy Transition Subcommittee c. Correct panelist Helming to ‘Heming.’ 4. New Business: Insight (Broad & Washington) Development. City Council approved the first reading of the application for the Special Exception (SE) for the project consisting of up to 295 apartments and a Class A office building. Second reading planned for April 2018. Councilman Sze summarized the environmental aspects of the application, including: a. LEED Silver design and certification for the entire project, and Insight will consider LEED Gold for the office building. Some members questioned why the apartment portion would not also be LEED Gold (see ‘LEED Building Data,’ Section 6 below). b. HVAC roof equipment moved to accommodate future solar panels c. 5 electric vehicle charging stations, plus conduit for 5 more. d. Retention of the first inch of stormwater, and conformance to Streetscape vision. Comments have been requested of Boards & Commissions by 19-Jan-2018. ESC will take this up in more detail at its December meeting. Action Item: Andy Crawford will review recent ESC responses for other SE projects (e.g., Founders Row) and draft a template ESC response letter for discussion at the December ESC meeting. 5. On-going Business: George Mason High School, Sustainable Design. Discussed schedule and activities of the City Council (CC) / School Board (SB) related to the new GMHS design / build process. The SB plans to issue an RFQ (qualifications) for bidders by the end of November and an RFP by 22-FEB-2018. Consultants will help the SB write the RFQ. The ESC reached consensus that key goals are: a. RFQ letter should be strong on bidders’ LEED and net-zero-energy qualifications, with data confirming energy performance of past projects b. Community input needs to be heard by decision makers c. RFP should include requirements for Net-Zero; Integration with the Learning Environment; and Sustainable Landscaping. d. ESC outreach to decision makers will be needed  e. The expected management process needs to be understood. Action Items:  Cory Weiss will write a synopsis of the Green Schools panel suitable for the News Press.  ESC members will recruit citizens to advocate at the 27-NOV CC meeting for a green GMHS.  Cory Weiss will distribute to ESC members a signup sheet to attend SB and CC evening meetings in November (the next two Mondays and Tuesdays) to listen and advocate for this topic. 6. Ongoing Business: Other  Vision / Goals: Discussed topics / goals to emphasize in the coming 12 months, from among the 5 goals published in the ESC Vision. General agreement to maintain efforts on Goal #5, to improve sustainability of new and refurbished commercial buildings, as well as residential. Other goals cited by ESC members: #2, recycling (non-residential rates have much room for improvement) and composting (should the ESC revisit City staff regarding restaurant participation?); and #3, greenhouse gas inventory (what can get CFC on track to our reduction goals? Emissions are basically flat, not trending down).  LEED Building Data: The City would benefit from knowing what local, sustainability- minded developers see as the cost & benefit differences in going from LEED Silver to Gold to Platinum, so that it can quantify its requests and its goals. No action item assigned.  Subcommittees: Habitat Restoration Group will re-engage in April, with a fundraising sale in May. ETS is looking into several topics, including PACE legislation in Arlington County; expanding LED lighting in CFC; opportunities for community solar and PPA’s; and soliciting TESLA and/or others for EV charging-station grant support. 7. Information Items. Operation Earth Watch planning now its 25th anniversary party in the Spring. November 19: 4 – 5:30 pm, VPIS meeting at American legion Hall regarding commercial development in the City. November 27: 6 pm, Holiday Lights event at 100 block of W. Broad St. 8. Next Meeting  Thursday, December 21, location TBD due to City Hall renovations  Minutes – Chris McCloud Action Item: Chris McCloud to advise Cory Weiss on his availability, so that an alternative minutes-taker can be arranged if needed.