Environmental Sustainability Council

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL (ESC) Thursday, July 16, 2020, Virtual Meeting via Skype for Business, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. APPROVED MINUTES 1. Attendees: ESC Members: Andy Young (Chair), Jon Ward, Andy Sakallaris, Stacey Evers, Jennifer Tabola, Andy Crawford. Student reps: Alec Autor, Charlie Adams, Colter Adams. City Council: Ross Litkenhous. City Staff: Kate Walker (ESC Liaison), Carly Aubrey (City Planner). Planning Commission Liaison: Tim Stevens. Public: Amy Crumpton (HRT) FCGP Development LLC Presenters: Gabriela Canamar Clark (LandDesign), Laura Schonfeld (PN Hoffman & Assoc.), Brian Tomaino (Torti Gallas), Amy Friedlander (EYA), Karen White (Walter L. Phillips, Inc.), Jen Wolf (Sustainability Building Partners), Murphy Antoine (Torti Gallas) This meeting was held via electronic communications using ‘Skype for Business.’ This meeting was held pursuant to and in compliance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Section 2.2- 3708.2 and state and local legislation adopted to allow for continued government operation during the COVID-19 declared emergency. 2. Urban Agriculture : Following on the May ESC meeting, Stacey asked if the City and/or the ESC would proactively support Urban Agriculture (UA) projects and policies. There will be a regional UA symposium in October. Ross Litkenhous advocated possible school tie-ins, suggested possibilities at the Fellows property, and said 15 local jurisdictions are making UA a priority. The ESC was supportive. Examples included: rooftop & restaurant gardens; plots along the W&OD trail; a seed library; donating produce to food banks; incentivizing entrepreneurs; projects that support MS4 goals; and educational plots. Stacey advised against putting any new loads on teachers. Kate advised against creating a separate task force, which would create unnecessary administrative burdens. o ACTION ITEM 1: [Stacey and Andy S.] connect with Ross Litkenhous to brainstorm with other groups and ESC student reps, then recommend next steps and possible demonstration project(s). 3. Falls Church Gateway Partners (FCGP; West Falls Church Economic Development Project) SEE and SESP presentation: Representatives of the development team summarized the latest project plans. The team has submitted a proposed Special Exception Entitlement (SEE) Amendment application and Phase 1 Special Exception Site Plan (SESP). Some coordination has begun among the Hoffman/EYA FCGP team; Rushmark (redeveloping the adjacent Virginia Tech site); and the Rushmark/Hoffman/EYA group set to redevelop the WMATA site. The team’s draft LEED scorecards show the various sites on track to meet their certification goals (52 points for hotel, of 50 needed for Silver) and 60-62 points for others (60 needed for Gold). 187 trees are planned, achieving 18.7% coverage, vs. the 15% minimum requirement; species have not been selected. Stormwater goals are on track. The developer is evaluating means of exceeding the electric-vehicle requirements and is meeting with the City to evaluate how to support or implement  collection systems for composting. Streetlighting within the project will strive to blend with the City’s lighting selections along public rights-of-way. Asked about local air quality effects from vehicle traffic on the site, the team noted that: traffic patterns are designed to direct vehicles to parking spots soon after entering the site; the streets are narrow and not attractive to cut-through traffic; they are trying to support bike lanes, buses and links to Metro; and the site will host a Capital BikeShare station. o ACTION ITEM 2: City Council referred the applications to Boards & Commissions for comment. [All] Send to Stacey comments / recommendations on the SEE Amendment and SESP. She will consolidate them and distribute them to the ESC for review and approval. City Staff must receive final approved comments by Friday, July 31. 4. Subcommittee Reports: o Energy Transition Subcommittee (ETS): No July meeting was held. Tim noted the memo sent to the City Manager by the ETS and ESC advising on the selection of LED streetlight types. ETS also sent a letter to the Board of Housing and Community Development advocating for adoption of the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code as part of the update of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code. o Education Task Group (ETG): N/A o Habitat Restoration Team (HRT): Amy Crumpton reported that HRT had produced brochures on certain invasive species and remediation techniques and had distributed the brochures via the Flyer Boxes in various parks (e.g., Crossman, Cherry Hill). 5. May 2020 ESC Meeting Minutes: Motion to approve by Stacey E., seconded by Andy S. Approved unanimously (4-0) 6. Next Meeting  Thursday, September 17, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m., likely virtual via Skype for Business Abbreviations / Terminology:  MS4: Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems  WMATA: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority