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01/17/1996ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY BOARD CITY OF CLEARWATER January 17, 1996 Present: Jill Melkonian Chair Whitney Gray Vice Chair Mike Foley Board Member Anne Garris, Board Member (arrived 4:02 p.m.) Allan Stowell Board Member Alan Smith, Board Member (arrived 4:12 p.m.) Tom Miller Assistant Director of Engineering--/Environmental Lou Hilton Senior Planner Mike Quillen Water Resource Engineer Terry Finch Environmental Programs Supervisor--/Watershed Management Gwen Legters Board Reporter Absent: Lisa Lanza Board Member To provide continuity, the items are listed in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. A. Call to Order - 4:00 p.m. in City Hall Commission Chambers 1. Minutes Approval - November 15, 1995 Member Foley moved to approve the minutes as submitted in writing to each member by the Board Reporter. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 2. City Correspondence A2a. EAB Comprehensive Plan Recommendations Mr. Miller distributed copies of a November 21 memo from the City Clerk concerning the Board recommendation to create a citizen task force to oversee implementation of the City’s comprehensive plan. It was indicated the City Commission decided not to pursue the recommendation. Discussion ensued regarding closer monitoring of the comprehensive plan. The Board asked Mr. Hilton to continue monitoring the progress of the comprehensive plan implementation and report any difficulties. Mr. Hilton stated he would be happy to serve the Board in that capacity. A2b. EAB Annual Report to the Commission Member Melkonian stated she requested the Board’s annual report be rescheduled from the original February date to an empty slot in June. This will allow time for the Board to meet and discuss issues they wish to present to the City Commission. Brief discussion ensued regarding possible topics. A2c. Tracking Protocol Mr. Miller suggested a procedure for improving response time for Board recommendations by forwarding them to the City Commission through the City Management team. Consensus was to approve the tracking protocol. 3. Confirm Agenda - Establish Consent and Regular Agenda Items B. Citizens Agenda - None C. Consent Agenda - None D. Regular Agenda 1. Old Business D1a. Comprehensive Plan Review: Conservation Element Mr. Hilton submitted a draft incorporating the recommended changes and discussion ensued. He hoped for final Board endorsement at the February 21 meeting. The Board thanked Mr. Hilton for allowing sufficient time for them to consider the element and offer suggestions for inclusion. He was invited to present future updates as needed. Mr. Hilton left the meeting at 4:25 p.m. D1b. Permanent Alteration of Jurisdictional Wetlands Mr. Miller gave a brief introduction related to the Board’s request for an explanation of the Environmenal staff review and recommendation process. He introduced Mr. Mike Quillen from his staff. Mr. Quillen gave a broad summary of the environmental review guidelines staff uses before approving wetland projects. He listed and explained the following criteria: 1) compatibility with State and local regulations; 2) compliance with City code; 3) protection of adjacent property rights; 4) reasonable compatibility with existing environmental features; and 5) promotion of the comprehensive plan. Discussion ensued regarding emergency repair of coastal erosion due to storms versus beach renourishment projects. Examples of each situation were discussed. One member expressed concern and questioned whether the City’s guidelines are sufficient to control shoreline development in the face of opposition. The administrative appeal process was discussed. Mr. Miller stated projects of this nature are subjected to careful scrutiny by the Environmental Management Director for compliance with State and local laws, comprehensive plan provision, and scientific principles. He said staff would not recommend a project that did not meet the supporting criteria. He felt any additional regulations would make the ordinance too restrictive for the public to enjoy reasonable use of their land. Discussion ensued regarding design alternatives that were explored for the revetment at Grande Bay apartments. Concern was expressed with staff’s involvement in redesigning the project before approval. Discussion ensued regarding the administration of regulatory programs under the City’s land use plan element. Member Garris moved, upon the expiration of the ten minute time limit, to extend the discussion for ten more minutes. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Ken Huntington, Environmental Manager with the Tampa district office of the State Department of Environmental Protection, was present to answer questions. He discussed the State legislature’s concern regarding property “takings.” Regarding earlier discussion, he pointed out, while staff does not redesign projects for an applicant, they are obligated to suggest more environmentally sensitive methods whenever possible. In response to a question, he stated they consider softer and more natural shorelines preferable to shoreline hardening. Member Garris moved that any Board member who so wishes may bring forward for discussion additions or ordinances amending the comprehensive plan. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. D1c. Alligator Creek Early Action Project: Del Oro Phase II Mr. Miller gave the background of this project, to create a retention system to improve stormwater runoff from the Del Oro community before the water reaches Tampa Bay. He stated this project resulted from a road resurfacing project that experienced problems due to broken storm drains. He stated the City is considering building a pond larger than State requirement to earn mitigation banking credits. Such credits could be used for future work that may be required by the Alligator Creek Watershed Management Program and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. Terry Finch, City Environmental Programs Supervisor/Watershed Management, responded to Board questions. She discussed how mitigation banking works, existing retention locations, and impacted wetlands. She stated the adjacent residents understand the need for stormwater treatment and have not expressed any major objections to Phase II. Responding to questions regarding total project costs, she stated the City does not get dollars back for mitigation banking, but the banking does help defray the costs of future projects. Ms. Finch stated the City cannot pass along the costs of wetlands mitigation to future developers. She said Phase I ground work and exotic vegetation removal have started and are progressing well. Member Foley moved to recommend that the City Commission approve the contract with Parsons Engineering Science, Inc., for the design of a wetland mitigation and stormwater treatment project to serve the Del Oro Phase II Stormwater Rehabilitation project. The motion was duly seconded. Member Stowell moved to table the motion until the next meeting. He felt more information was needed prior to making a recommendation to the City Commission. There was no second. Upon the vote being taken regarding the motion to recommend, Members Melkonian, Gray, Foley, Garris, and Smith voted “Aye”; Member Stowell voted “Nay.” Motion carried. D2. New Business A question was raised regarding work beginning on the bayfront at the foot of the bluff. Mr. Quillen stated the work may be related to a forced main being constructed under Clearwater Harbor to Sand Key. Mr. Miller is to investigate and report to the Board. Member Garris requested an item regarding the discharge of sewage from boats into the Clearwater Bay marineways. Discussion ensued regarding how this is being monitored and when to agenda for discussion. To avoid duplication of effort, staff was requested to investigate and report at the next meeting what is being done by other agencies. Member Foley reported, on January 11, he represented the Board at a planning meeting of the Alligator Creek watershed project at Eisenhower Elementary School. He stated the design engineer for the project assured him it will dovetail with the Tampa Bay National Estuary goals and project designs. Mr. Foley noted he will also attend a meeting regarding Allen’s Creek scheduled at Oak Grove Middle School for January 18, 1996. E. Establish Agenda for February 21, 1996 1. Comprehensive Plan Conservation Element - Final Draft 2. Tampa Bay Watch 3. Tampa Bay National Estuary Program 4. Maple Swamp restoration project 5. Sewage Discharge Restrictions on Boaters F. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 5:51 p.m.