Environmental Sustainability Council

Environmental Sustainability Council/Energy Transition Subcommittee Meeting Minutes January 18, 2024❖7:30pm 300 Park Ave, Council Chambers, Falls Church, Virginia 22046 • Call to Order • Roll Call - • Atteendees: ESC Members: Joseph Schiarizzi, (Chair), Jon Ward (Vice-Chair, ETS Chair), Michael Trauberman, John Ferris, Christopher Behr (via video), Matthew Cunningham, Sarah Bayldon Student Representatives: Lilja Anderson, Gia Kahn, Wendy Abstone, Clementine Kim, Ally Campbell, City Staff: Andrew Young , Kurt Lawrence (ESC Staff Liaison) Public David Stile, Matt Adams • Public Comment Period • No Public Comments at this time • Introduce Kurt Lawrence, the City’s new Environmental Planner • Joseph introduced Kurt Lawrence, the new Environmental Planner for the City of Falls Church. Kurt will be focused on the Community Energy Plan and will be transitioning to the City Staff liaison to the ESC. • Approval of October ESC Minutes and November ESC Minutes John Ferris moved to approve the October 2023 Minutes. Mathew Cunningham second. The minutes were approved unanimously. Joseph requested one modification of the November 2023 minutes. John Ferris moved to approve the November 2023 Minutes with the one modification requested by Joseph. Mike Trauberman second the motion. The minutes with correction were approved unanimously. • Annual Business Meeting (25 minutes) • Election of Officers • Jon Ward nominated Joseph Schiarizzi to be the Chair of the ESC for 2024. Mathew Second the nomination. Joseph abstained. Joseph was elected unanimously. • According to the by-laws, Joseph as ESC Chair can appoint the Vice-Chair of the ESC. Joseph appointed Mike Trauberman as the Vice-Chair of the ESC. • Adopt Rules of Procedure • Establishing Document and Rules of Procedure - 2016 • Jon moved to adopt the Document and Rules of Procedures. John Ferris second the motion. The Rules of Procedures were adopted unanimously. • ESC Policies – Remote Participation, All-Virtual Participation  • Matt moved to adopt the Remote Participation Policy. Jon second the motion. The motion passed unanimously. • John moved to adopt the All-Virtual Participation Policy. Mike second the motion. The All-Virtual Participation Policy was adopted unanimously. • Adopt 2024 Meeting Schedule • Andy reviewed the proposed ESC meeting schedule, the third Thursday of each month in the Council Chambers except for August. Joseph noted that the timeframe of meetings caused tight timelines to prepare comments by Council Meetings. Mike moved to adopt the 2024 Meeting Schedule as proposed. John second the motion. The motion to adopt the 2024 Meeting Schedule was approved unanimously. • Goal Setting for 2024 – Joseph Schiarizzi (60 minutes) • Joseph intends to draft the ESC Annual Report within the month, so it can be approved by next month. • The City Council is planning to have a retreat on February 3 on a draft workplan. • Mike proposed to do work on a Green Building Plan and remain involved in the City’s Community and Government Energy Action Plan. Kurt will be implementing the Energy Action Plans and will notify ESC of any support needs. • Andy noted that they will soon be working on the One Stop Shop and that the City provided some money for an energy audit. Andy raised that the ESC could be used for assisting the One Stop Shop as well as communications of the Energy Action Plan. • Jon raised the Virtual Power Purchase Agreement with the other jurisdictions in the area which is waiting for Arlington to take steps as the lead. • Ally raised having informational sessions to implement the Community Energy Action Plan including business outreach and home technologies. Andy said he would work with Kurt in the spring for such outreach as part of the One-Stop Shop. • Andy raised the communication and events of the Climate Action Network, including potential green expos and raising awareness for solar panels, battery backups and EVs. • Joseph raised the potential for a Green Building Policy and policies to increase density in the city. • ESC proposed language on Environmental Stewardship for Special Use Permits on the T Zones. Debbie Hiscott recommended to Jon that the request come through the City Planning Commission rather than the Council. • Sarah noted that 41% of the City’s waste is from construction/demolition and proposed incentives to reduce construction waste by reuse. Lonnie will be presenting the Solid Waste Management Plan to the ESC in February. • John raised ESC review of the draft Bicycle Master Plan in March. • The Environmental Chapter of the City’s Comprehensive plan was adopted in 2020 and has a 5-year review cycle and will be reviewed next year. • Joseph raised the potential of including the high school into projects or events. Matt raised holding an EarthDay (April 22) event at the High School similar to last year’s ESC’s Town Hall event, potentially including the One-Stop Shop. • Joseph also identified working with CACT on traffic calming measures, including the Bicycle Master Plan. • For reference – ESC 2022 Annual Report • Joseph reviewed the accomplishments from last year, including the two Energy Action Plans including requesting the Council change the City emissions goal to Net Zero/Carbon Neutral by 2050, the comments ESC gave on T Zones, advocacy for the Design of Geo-Thermal HVAC unit for the Falls Church Community Center. ESC also wrote a letter for consideration in the Quinn Project. • Draft ESC Input on Bicycle Master Plan (30 minutes) • John presented draft ESC Comments for Kerri as she begins revising the City Bicycle Master Plan. John proposed to set a goal of Gold under the League of American Bicycles “Bicycle Friendly America” program, finding ways to have recreational cyclists know routes to get to the City’s restaurants and economic areas, and other comments. • Joseph recommended adding a specific goal of protected bike lanes over the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years. Joseph noted that the District of Columbia has exceed its goal for protected bike lanes. • Sarah noted that having a bike counter installed in Falls Church could also be used to support the City’s goals for biking. • Joseph will add this protected bike lane comment, sign the memo and present it to City Staff. • David Stile recommended incentives-based programs to get cars off the road, including partnering with businesses and having a gift card program that incentivizes bike use. • Matt Adams requested more use of the Climate Action Now shirts to communicate the importance of the message of responding to climate change. Matt also suggested adding a “climate item” on the weekly emails from the City for residents to think about. • John also noted the prioritizing methods for students to schools, including the Virginia Tech study that included ways to get to the high school safely. Other • On Saturday, January 27, the City will be conducting an energy audit of cherry hill farmhouse. This audit will include a tour from basement to attic, review of energy bills, and identify a list of tests and fixes. • Jon Ward will not be renewing his appointment to the ESC. ESC thanked Jon for the many years of service and all his work in support of the ESC and the City of Falls Church. • Adjourn