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04/17/1996ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY BOARD CITY OF CLEARWATER April 17, 1996 Present: Jill Melkonian Chair Whitney Gray Vice Chair Lisa Lanza Board Member Anne Garris Board Member Alan Smith Board Member Allan Stowell Board Member Leslie Dougall-Sides Assistant City Attorney Tom Miller Assistant Director Engineering / Environmental Gwen Legters Board Reporter Absent: Mike Foley Board Member To provide continuity, the items are listed in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. in City Hall. Minutes Approval - March 20, 1996 Member Lanza provided clarification regarding her statement on page 4, paragraph 1 of the February 21 minutes. She said her intent was to report that Pinellas County had received delegation authority for mangrove regulation and to request Mr. Miller to provide additional information to the board. She requested the March 20 minutes be corrected on page 1, paragraph 3 to reflect this clarification. Member Gray moved to approve the minutes as corrected. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. City Correspondence a. EAB Action to the City Commission Mr. Miller reported City Commission response to board recommendations regarding 1) Landmark Drive/Lake Chautauqua/Camp Soule, and 2) a reclaimed water interest survey. He said the Commission supports pursuing funding to purchase the Camp Soule property if the Boy Scouts are interested in entertaining an offer. He reported the Commission did not accept the recommendation to include reclaimed water interest questionnaires in utility bills, but he was not aware of the reason. When he receives their written response he will copy it to the board. b. CIP Budget Submission from Environmental Management Mr. Miller copied this item to the board for their information. He explained the recommendation/approval procedure through the City Manager to the City Commission. If the board desires discussion after they have reviewed the budget item, it can be agendaed for a future meeting. c. Clearwater Harbor Symposium Mr. Miller reported the symposium was successful and thanked board members who attended. He requested guidance and suggestions from participants regarding water quality protection for future presentations. Attending members reported the symposium was well organized, informative, and conducted in a spirit of cooperation. It was indicated the EAB was well represented and Mr. Miller’s presentation was commended. It was hoped future events can be arranged to report on progress. Confirm Agenda - Establish Consent and Regular Agenda Items Old Business a. Xeriscape Ordinance -- Mike Quillen, Water Resource Engineer Mr. Quillen gave a slide presentation regarding water conservation with well-planned landscaping. He highlighted planting materials, irrigation, and site considerations involved in planning landscaping. He covered facts regarding tree protection and planting, and recommendations regarding the use of palms, live oaks, and hibiscus in landscaping schemes. Staff is encouraging the introduction of other native tree species to avoid creating a monoculture of live oaks. They will incorporate tables and figures into the ordinance to promote visual interest, and it will be available to the public. One member suggested including in the ordinance a recommendation to use French drains as a means of capturing more water on each property. Discussion ensued regarding the types, definition, and earliest origination dates of plant species considered to be native. b. Mangroves -- Alan Mayberry, Urban Forester Mr. Mayberry distributed copies of the most current proposed amendment to the “Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act” and described recent proposed legislative changes as requested by the EAB. He compared the amendments to the present laws regarding trimming on public and private lands, exemptions, where permitted, restrictions, trimming professionals, and mitigation. Discussion ensued regarding the percentages and procedures for trimming in the riparian and general mangrove fringe. Mr. Mayberry explained the permit and inspection procedure, stating the delegated authority has discretion to trim up to 65 percent of linear shoreline each year. In subsequent years, mangroves may be maintained within the same trimmed area, but may not be trimned outside the original trim area. The remaining 35 percent becomes a preserve area. He explained trimming regulations are the same for live and dead mangroves. Concern was expressed with grandfathering and the right to continue trimming previously trimmed mangroves, whether or not the original trimming was done legally. Discussion ensued regarding the City’s trim policy and stand on the amendments. Member Garris moved to recommend to the City Commission to instruct the lobbyist that the City of Clearwater supports the amendments to the “Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act”, with the exception of grandfathering previously trimmed mangrove areas, and to request the bill not grandfather previously trimmed mangroves. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Mr. Mayberry said, while the bill has already passed the Florida Senate, with amendments, and may already be in the House, it was not known what changes the Senate has made to the version of the bill before the board today. Concern was expressed with supporting changes the board has not seen. Discussion ensued regarding reconsidering the motion. Member Garris moved to rescind the previous motion. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Having exceeded the time limit for discussing this item, the board moved, seconded and unanimously approved a time extension. Concern was expressed that time for processing today’s recommendation may be limited. Discussion ensued with regard to contacting the House Natural Resources Committee directly. In response to a question, Ms. Dougall-Sides said citizens may contact the legislature on their own, but advised the board to direct their recommendations to the City Commission. Member Garris moved to recommend that the City Commission lobby the State House of Representatives to preserve approved Senate language in SB508 to limit the extent of allowable trimming to 65 percent in all cases, and that areas of pre-trimmed mangroves not be grandfathered from future permitting, and that the above be made a part of the House Bill that amends the “Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act.” The motion was duly seconded. One member felt the motion should reference specific lines in the bill and highlight language changes with strikeouts and underlines. Others felt the motion conveys the spirit and intent of the recommendation. Staff was asked to attach any additional information they felt necessary to clarify the recommendation to the City Commission. Upon the vote being taken, the motion carried unanimously. c. Stevenson Creek Mitigation Mr. Miller gave an audio-visual presentation depicting the installation of gabian boxes and other work in progress to clean contamination from the creek. Staff worked with the City of Dunedin to install the system, the first of its kind in Clearwater. Mr. Miller said the gabian system is preferred by the state and offers many exciting benefits to water quality and habitat. The City is looking forward to doing more of this work in other areas where high water velocity and edge scouring occurs. He responded to questions regarding the cost, location and extent of the mitigation. d. Annual Report to the City Commission Member Melkonian explained the report will give an overview of the board’s activities during the past year, including issues addressed, number of meetings, recommendations, actions, and outlook for the coming year. She requested input regarding major issues and special projects the board wished to call to the attention of the City Commission. Suggestions were made to convey the board’s interests, as follows: 1) Active involvement in the downtown lake process; 2) Concern regarding the balance of technical and environmental long term benefits with actual costs; and 3) Desire to pursue creation of a Comprehensive Plan Committee to compare state, regional, county and city comprehensive plans. Discussion ensued regarding the roles of board and staff in the evaluation/recommendation process. New Business a. Clearwater Harbor Symposium -- Continued to the next meeting due to time constraints b. Proposed Downtown Lake Member Stowell opened discussion by reading from a Clearwater Times article dated Sunday, September 7, titled, “Proposed Lake Site May Need Costly Cleanup.” Concern was expressed regarding costs of property acquisition and possible contamination cleanup being needed. He requested a full report from Engineering staff, including input from City consultants and the USF study. City Engineer Rich Baier was in the audience and was asked for a status report. He said a limited Phase 1 audit has been completed. He did not feel the USF research center would have conclusive data in time for the next EAB meeting. Mr. Baier will put together a presentation with visual aids and as much information as he can gather by the next meeting. He said much of the information reported in the media has been obtained by private property owners wanting to determine if contamination is present on their lands. Mr. Miller noted the work done by the City has been conducted on public lands. In response to a question, Mr. Baier said the City has spent about $150,000 on this issue. Staff will ask for City Commission direction before spending additional money. Establish Agenda for May 15, 1996 Member Lanza requested postponing the Rainbow Project until June, as she cannot attend in May. The May 15 EAB agenda was established as follows: a. Edgewater Drive Project b. Proposed Downtown Lake c. Clearwater Harbor Symposium Report d. Charting the Course for Tampa Bay - Dick Eckenrod Member Stowell requested staff to prepare a press release announcing the EAB’s downtown lake discussion on May 15. Member Garris volunteered to prepare a press release also. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 6:18 p.m.