Sustainability Advisory Commission Meeting

APPROVED CITY OF URBANA, ILLINOIS SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY COMMISSION Council Chambers, Urbana City Building Tuesday, August 6, 2019 Commissioners Present: Stacy Gloss, Dustin Allred, Thomas Delgado, Megan McGinty, Andrew Stumpf, Morgan White, Maddy Garbacz Commissioners Absent: Tesfaye Wolde-Medhin Staff Present: Scott Tess, Tamra Jane Corbin Call to Order, Roll Call, and Declaration of Quorum Chairperson Stacy Gloss called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Tamra Jane Corbin called the roll and a quorum was present. Approval of Minutes Morgan White motioned for the approval of the minutes from the 06/04/19 meeting. Andrew Stumpf seconded the motion. The minutes were approved. Changes to the Agenda There were no changes or additions to the agenda. Public Input There was no public input Introductions Two new members joined the commission. Staff Report Scott Tess provided an update on Solar Urbana Champaign. The program has surpassed its first 1% discount benchmark. Mr. Tess provided information regarding the electric supply for the City. The rates currently for Ameren supply are a little lower than Urbana’s municipal electric supply. However, the City is purchasing renewable energy credits to green all of the power we purchase through municipal electric aggregation so it is not an apples-to-apples situation. Mr. Tess shared an update on the landfill solar project. Mr. Tess announced that he has recently been given a roll to supervise portions of the business side of the Landscape Recycling Center. He is currently creating an invitation to bid on fiber optic installation to the Landscape Recycling Center ticket booth. Dates have been scheduled for public engagement activities for the Midwest Grows Green program. See the agenda for dates. 1  APPROVED Staff has participated in public engagement with interviews on WCIA and WAND as well as appearances at events in town. Mr. Tess presented an update on the U-Cycle program. Mr. Tess announced that Assistant City Engineer, Brad Bennett, recently left the City’s employ for a position at the Urbana Champaign Sanitary District. Stacy Gloss provided an update on efforts to get City-branded shirts for Commission members to wear at events related to their commission work. The next meeting is scheduled for September 3 at 7:00 pm in the Executive Conference Room at the Urbana City Building. Discussion of Urbana Comprehensive Plan Implementation Strategies Commission Members were asked what topics they wanted to learn more about from the Urbana Comprehensive Plan Implementation Strategies and which ones would be a priority for the Sustainability Advisory Commission to address. A discussion resulted in the following list. A poll will be conducted at a later date to further narrow down the list. 1. Insuring adequate review of proposed site plans… i. learn more about site plan review; when is the most effective time for someone in this group to speak up about a proposed new development or building? 2. Consider a program to incentivize green buildings such as LEED * 3. Adopt a hazard mitigation plan (ties to resilience working advisory team that UIUC has convened) * 4. Study feasibility of muni ownership of water and power * 5. Develop a regional (water) detention strategy regarding flooding – mitigate flooding problems 6. Study street lighting impact – like dark skies initiative and bi-level LEDs 7. Amending zone ordinance and code about TND for urban type subdivision i.e. walkable, mixed-use, center etc. 8. Inventory map of sensitive areas to determine future development ** a. Plus studying adding more areas of protection, creating more sensitive areas/parks b. What would be considered environmentally sensitive areas; what sort of protections could be made for those areas apart from development? 9. Working with Lincoln square village to transform mall – core city work 10. Transit oriented designs 11. Study for district heating/cooling; shared distributed generation 12. Explore grants for relocating utilities underground 13. North Urbana elementary school a. Added grocery store/ are there existing food deserts in our community? 14. Transit Oriented design for development along Springfield Ave. 15. Grants and opportunities for capital improvements for sidewalk completion and improvements a. (city is working on a pedestrian master plan) 2  APPROVED b. Complete streets planning 16. Amend current planned unit development ordinance to better coordinate mix use (PUD process for sustainability) Announcements 1. 10/17/19 Noon-1pm at Urbana City Building: Midwest Grows Green / Champaign County Sustainability Network Lunch & Learn Compost Topdressing Demo 2. 10/17/19 5:30pm-7:30pm at Broadway Food Hall: Midwest Grows Green at Green Drinks 3. 10/19/19 7am-Noon at Urbana Market at the Square: Midwest Grows Green tabling 4. Multiple dates: Solar Power Hour solarurbanachampaign.com 5. Multiple dates: Solar Urbana-Champaign tabling at the Market at the Square 6. 8/23/19-8/24/19: Urbana Sweetcorn Festival U-cycle tabling Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. This meeting was recorded. Respectfully submitted, Tamra Jane Corbin Recording Secretary 3