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05/17/2023 Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes May 17, 2023 City of Clearwater Main Library- Council Chambers 100 N. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33755 e Meeting Minutes Wednesday, May 17, 2023 4:00 PM Special Meeting Main Library - Council Chambers Environmental Advisory Board 1 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes May 17, 2023 Roll Call Present 4 - Chair Jared Leone, Vice Chair John Thomas, Board Member Marita Lynch, and Board Member Sheila Sullivan Absent 1 - Board Member Glenna Wentworth Also Present— Micah Maxwell — Chief Innovative Officer and Nicole Sprague — Deputy City Clerk 1. Call To Order 2. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda Brian Beckman encouraged all to look at the new solar panels for Imagine Clearwater that were installed but he didn't see the EV chargers. The solar panels are viewable from the 2nd story of the Main Library. He said the installments should be highlighted and celebrated as key features at the park opening. 3. New Business Items 3.1 EAB/Staff Alignment Chief Innovative Officer Micah Maxwell said some adjustments to the board's Playbook worksheet have been made to operating objectives making sure the board is presented with different departmental strategic plans where environmental elements may be included. The worksheet also reflects the board being presented with any implementation updates to Greenprint 2.0, Ready for 100, and Cenergistics. A change was also made to reflect the Board's objective to say, "Engage in multi-directional conversations with City Council and staff about potential environmental impacts of national, regional, and local decisions that have the potential to impact the community." A comment was made that the word "citizen"should be included in the objective. 3.2 Review amendments to the Clearwater Code of Ordinances, amending Chapter 22, Articles 1 and 2, relating to adding a definition of electronic cigarette, prohibition of smoking and vaping on city owned public parks. Deputy Police Chief Michael Walek presented the ordinance. He said there is an error in the agenda item and electronic cigarettes are not allowed, only unfiltered cigars are allowed. In response to questions, Deputy Chief Walek said the area indicated in the ordinance defines a public beach as any sandy area not privately owned. He 2 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes May 17, 2023 said the primary focus is the educational component of the ordinance in the public bathing areas. He said the state legislature allowed cigars to be exempted from the law. A class IV civil infraction is an ordinance violation, an assessed fine for violating the ordinance. Part of the community education component includes an officer making direct contact with the violator and letting them know smoking is not allowed. Signage will be provided as well. Member Thomas moved to provide a letter of support from the Board to City Council for the ordinance. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 3.3 Presentation of Conservation & Coastal Management chapter of Clearwater 2045 Planning and Development Senior Planner Kyle Brotherton presented the sustainability, resiliency, and environmental related goals, objectives and policies in the Comprehensive Plan. In response to questions, Mr. Brotherton said staff could look at what other cities include in their vision statement. The vision statement included in this presentation was crafted by the participants of the community sessions. He said natural gas could be considered an alternative fuel, the solid waste fleet is powered by compressed natural gas. Electric vehicles will be incorporated into the city-wide fleet in the future. The composting component in the Plan refers to the educational compost materials and bin provided by the city for residents. There is no community compost site in Clearwater yet. He said groundwater replenishment is in the Plan in Objective 4.6, Policy 4.6.1. He said the Plan sets the policy to determine which city owned properties would need a vulnerability assessment. Beach renourishment is not addressed in the Plan. In response to a suggestion related to view corridors, Mr. Brotherton said Bayshore Blvd. on the east side of the city may be added to the map. He said a policy for invasive species removal can be considered. The updated Comprehensive Plan was developed by taking existing relevant policies and moving them forward with the new policies and objectives that have been considered by the public and staff and then implemented into the Plan. This Plan looks out to the year 2045 and will tie into capital improvement projects and the budget process. In response to a question, Public Utilities Director Richard Gardner said the practice of further treating reclaimed water and replacing it in the aquifer is done in California. Clearwater is the first city in Florida to introduce the practice and other municipalities are interested in what the City was developing. 3 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes May 17, 2023 In response to a concern regarding solar panel floating fields in storm water ponds, Lead Environmental Specialist Sarah Kessler said she has seen floating solar panels at a pond at the entrance to Universal Studios and at the entrance to Orlando International Airport. All storm water ponds are not feasible for solar panels, deeper and larger ponds are more appropriate for solar panel floating fields. She said the floating solar fields can be beneficial in those applications because the panels will provide shade to fish and does not affect the integrity or function of the pond. The water management district and FDEP have acknowledged the benefits. In response to a question regarding polices or objectives to maintain Stevenson Creek, she said best management practices include a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program which Stevenson Creek has for nutrients. The TMDL requires the city to have a watershed management plan, which the city does have. The watershed management plan is old and there are plans to update it, an RFQ will be issued in a couple months to update it. She said having the policies in the Comprehensive Plan commits the City to continue to follow FDEP's directives and update the watershed management plan. In regard to mangroves along the coastline, the City does not have the permitting for trimming mangroves. Any mangroves trimmed on private property is done so through the property owner. Mangrove trimming is regulated and must be performed by a certified mangrove trimmer and a permit must be obtained. One individual said the vision statement lost the element of "uniquely beautiful"which has been part of the City's vision statement for 20 years. He said the water quality of Clearwater Harbor used to be a lot better and an overarching goal could be mentioned in the Plan that ties in with the removal of the remaining septic tanks. Code enforcement is critical for neighborhoods to maintain property values and quality of the neighborhoods. He said there is opportunity to embrace the trail system like surrounding communities have done. One individual questioned the blue tag on a tree on his property and questioned what it meant. He said there is a project on Cleveland St. and update meetings were held, and he has not received notice for any recent meetings. He said the information provided in his water bill is informative and he appreciates the information. He asked when the recreation center public pools would be open and if the opening date could be changed. One individual questioned open green spaces, like The Landings, that do have habitat are included on the protected and preserved portion of the Plan. 3.4 Review Right of Way Tree Plan Interim Public Works Director Chuck Lane reviewed the process of 4 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes May 17, 2023 assessing and removing trees. There are approximately 20,000 trees in the rights-of-way in the city. Trees are rated zero to six, zero rated trees are dead, and a tree rated one is a tree in decline, is diseased, or has other issues that will cause it to eventually be rated a zero tree. All trees rated zero or one have been removed for a matter of public safety. Invasive trees were automatically rated a one, regardless of its health and structure. Two camphor trees, an invasive species per city code, were removed that were partially located on private property and in the right-of-way, which created public opposition. Moving forward, property owners will be informed of the assessment and possible removal of an invasive tree that is partially on their property. Property owners will also be informed if a tree is removed that is in the right-of-way but in front of their home. Educating the public on why trees need to be removed is key. The former Public Works Director recommended a citywide tree planting policy. Trees do not survive when placed in a right-of-way, trees that would survive 150 years in the wild will only survive about 60 if placed in a right-of-way because of sidewalks, underground utilities, overhead lines, etc. Options on how to create a healthy space for a tree placed in a right-of-way is to construct a sidewalk that curves around the tree to give it more radius, or a sidewalk can be completely removed if sidewalks exist on both sides of a road. He requested Board feedback related to how the City should manage the trees in rights-of-way and asked what the priorities with the respect to the right-of-way tree canopy are and how would a balanced tree right-of-way program look. In response to questions, Mr. Lane said when new trees are planted, utility locations need to be taken into consideration. A property owner should refer to their property survey to determine where the right-of-way is located. The City can address limbs that over hang on public rights-of-way. He said fruit bearing trees cause tripping hazards. Discussion ensued with comments made that tree planting education and right-of-way location is important, and the health of the trees and the health of the community are priorities. Educational information provided at the annual tree giveaway would be helpful regarding where they should be planted and how big they could potentially get. Parks Senior Division Manager Matthew Anderson said not only are fruit bearing trees a tripping hazard, but there has been a decline in avocado and citrus trees due to insects and diseases. Locations could be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine if a fruit bearing tree would be appropriate. Mr. Maxwell said the care needed to maintain the rights-of-way canopy versus the amount of staff and resources the city has is a challenge. 5 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes May 17, 2023 There is no way to maintain or increase the current canopy with the current resources. He said a discussion needs to be had regarding the financial effects versus the social and environmental ones. One individual questioned the meaning of the blue tag that was placed on a tree on his property. Mr. Anderson said the blue tag is an identification marker indicating the tree has been surveyed and placed in the tree inventory. 3.5 Review Near Term Items with the EAB. Mr. Maxwell said a couple items that will come to the Board for discussion in the future are legislative priorities and budget review to be able to provide Council feedback. He said he hopes to finish up the discussion to implement the Playbook worksheet that the Board has reviewed and provided feedback on the last couple of meetings. He said he is waiting on information from the County and the city's Parks and Recreation department to bring forward a conversation regarding herbicides and pesticides. Cenergistics data will be presented to the Board with information showing the impact of bringing them on board. The solar plan implementation roll-out will be presented as well. The Cooper Bayou design will hopefully be complete by October to present it to the Board. Staff is working on the feebate program this summer and will provide information in October. In response to a suggestion, Mr. Maxwell said the master plans for Marine and Aviation and Parks and Recreation will be presented to the Board at the appropriate time. He said a Ready for 100 update could be provided to the board and how it is integrated into the master plans. Regarding turtle nesting season and how it relates to the Super Boat races, Mr. Maxwell said he will talk to city administration regarding information that can be presented to the Board. 4. Old Business Items: None. 5. Director's Report: None. 6 City of Clearwater Environmental Advisory Board 6. Board Members to be Heard 7. Adjourn Attest: Meeting Minutes May 17, 2023 Member Lynch said a list of meeting dates would be appreciated along with a reminder a couple weeks prior to the meetings. The meeting adjourned at 5:55 p.m. Board ' eporter City of Clearwater 7 dvisory Board