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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAir Quality Advisory Board - Minutes - 11/20/20231 11/20/2023 - Minutes Air Quality Advisory Board REGULAR MEETING Monday, November 20, 2023 – 5:30 PM 222 Laporte Avenue, Colorado River Room 1. CALL TO ORDER: 5:35 PM 2. ROLL CALL Board Members Present – • Mark Houdashelt (Chair) • Greg Clark (Vice Chair) • Dan Welsh • Maria Moore • Matt Ayres Board Members Absent – • None Staff Members Present – • Selina Lujan de Albers, Staff Liaison • Linda Hardin, Sr. Specialist Guest(s) – • None 3. AGENDA REVIEW No changes. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION None. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. Dan moved and Maria seconded a motion to approve the October minutes as amended. Motion passed 5-0. 6. PREVIOUS BUSINESS Mark noted: • Council has approved the Land Use Code update on second reading and stated there is another appeal petition in process. o There were some changes between readings, including reducing some of the maximum number of units that could be located on a lot. o ADUs are allowed pretty much anywhere in the city, and HOAs cannot disallow them or prohibit homeowners from subdividing their properties. 2 11/20/2023 - Minutes o The main focus of the changes is on increasing density in the three Old Town zone districts. • There were no major changes to the oil and gas setbacks recommended by City staff. • Board and Commissions recruitment will begin in December and anyone who has a term ending can reapply unless they are term-limited. Mark noted: • Council retreat is January 26-27; therefore, the January AQAB meeting will occur prior to that. He stated a December meeting is not absolutely necessary and noted the February meeting will need to be moved. He proposed January 22nd as the January meeting date. Dan made a motion, seconded by Maria, to move the January meeting to the 22nd. The motion was adopted unanimously. • Dan made a motion, seconded by Maria, to move the February meeting to the 12th. The motion was adopted unanimously. 7. NEW BUSINESS 2024 Work Plan Mark: • Removed goals piece of Work Plan • Added language allowing for more flexibility • Added language related to the Board working on oil and gas operational standards only after they are developed by City staff • Added promoting the electrification of lawn and garden equipment under outdoor air quality • Broke out section on public outreach Maria: • Consider removing Healthy Homes section given staff work on the program Dan • Would rather keep Healthy Homes in the Work Plan to keep it in mind Greg • Concurred with Dan and noted the language allows for flexibility Matt • Would prefer to keep indoor air quality section in case a pertinent topic comes up Selina • Staff is wrapping up the Environmental Justice EPA grant through the end of the year and will wrap up that part of the Healthy Homes program. Considering taking the pilot version and implementing some 3 11/20/2023 - Minutes of the things on a smaller scale into next year to show the program’s successes. Applying for a CDPHE Environmental Justice grant to help continue and advance efforts in the space of climate resiliency in the face of extreme heat. Ensuring educational components of Healthy Homes program are still available to the community. • AQAB members are experts in the community in the space and members provide valuable feedback. There is a possibility that the Board may be asked to provide a recommendation to Council. Mark • Recently passed sales tax has one quarter of the funding dedicated to climate and air quality. Selina • Suggested bringing in climate staff to discuss details on how those funds will be dedicated. • Pilot programs in Neighborhood Services and Utilities are working on action-based opportunities to electrify homes. Hope is to involve the Healthy Homes program beyond education in the future. Mark • Should ‘Examine the need for the City to perform a study or develop a new program on air quality topic of particular interest or importance to the Air Quality Advisory Board’ remain in the Work Plan? Members replied in the affirmative. • Added more specifics about environmental justice being mainly addressed through participation in the Air Quality Monitoring Advisory Committee. • Commented on an item related to mitigating the effects of wildfire smoke through public outreach, community education, and preparedness plan. Dan • A wildfire preparedness plan should go beyond air quality. • Members discussed wording of the wildfire preparedness item. Mark • Electrification of lawn and garden equipment by City employees and contractors. Greg • Should electrification of lawn and garden equipment be expanded to include an investigation of regulatory approaches for commercial service providers? All members • Members discussed electrification language: “Equipment used by community members, commercial service providers, and City employees and contractors.” Dan • Dan made a motion, seconded by Maria, to approve the 2024 Work 4 11/20/2023 - Minutes Plan as amended. The motion was adopted unanimously. Board Recommendation for 2024-2025 Council Priorities Mark • Asked if grant dollars received for a specific purpose, such as air quality monitoring or building energy codes, must also go through the budgeting for outcomes process. Selina replied those dollars have to go through a Council appropriation process but not the budgeting process. • Council set an interim 2026 goal for greenhouse gas emissions to be 50% below the 2005 level, 80% below by 2030, and carbon neutral by 2050; however, there is a push to move the 2050 goal up. • A quarter of the recently approved sales tax is going toward Our Climate Future and air quality goals. • Grant received for development of a program around a different way to require building energy efficiency. Building codes should be carbon neutral by 2030. Dan • What is Council direction for implementing budgeting toward those goals? Mark • Wording from AQAB could be to ensure the 2026 Our Climate Future goal is achieved. • Suggested some funding should be used for Inflation Reduction Act incentives. • Lawn and garden equipment electrification already has a strong incentive-based program, though not regulatory. Dan • There are two proposals to the AQCC about regulating gas -powered lawn and garden equipment, one proposed by the Regional Air Quality Council and one by CDPHE. A rule-making hearing will be held in December. CDPHE’s proposal would be statewide and include a timeline for electrification of state operations, then county and city operations. It does not require electrification of commercial operations. The Regional Air Quality Council’s version is only within the ozone non- attainment area, but it does include commercial operations. If either of the rules passes, Fort Collins will be affected by the new rule; therefore, it may not make much sense for Fort Collins to take up its own regulation. Greg • Commended the overall list and suggested ways to bundle some of the items. Matt 5 11/20/2023 - Minutes • Commented on indoor air quality, increasing the use of electric, and increasing efficiency. Cited a statistic that oil and gas is responsible for about 40% of the Front Range ozone problem and stated electrification of buildings will have a massive impact on outdoor ozone. Dan • Stated any added use of electricity needs to be complimented by the minimization of climate impacts from the generation of said electricity. • City of Fort Collins energy consumption is done well through PRPA , but there should be a comment about responsible energy generation on behalf of increasing electrical demand. Maria • Would like to attend to the public input process at AQAB meetings. • Encouraged the inclusion of a note about Council having better communication with Boards and Commissions, not just hearing from members during public participation. Mark • Included improved public participation process as it seems to be a one- way street. • Should get some clarification as to how much back and forth can occur with members of the public who provide comments. Maria • There should be some acknowledgement of public comments from Council as well as the AQAB. Dan • Could include a placeholder in AQAB agendas for discussion of last meeting’s public comment. Maria • Have Selina look into what is allowed and remove this item from the priority list. Selina • “Each Board shall, at or near the beginning of each of its regular meetings, afford members of the public an opportunity to speak to any matter coming within the purview of the Board, regardless of whether such matter is scheduled for consideration at that particular meeting. Time limitations for public input may be set by the Chair of the Board at the start of each meeting as necessary to conduct the business of the Board in a timely and efficient manner.” • Will ask Davina for specifics. Maria • Would like to at least provide speakers with a written acknowledgement if possible. Mark • Could provide verbal acknowledgement at the meeting as the form 6 11/20/2023 - Minutes letter received from Council is part of the frustration. Selina • Unsure if the Board can have discussion on public input because the topic would need to be known ahead of time to post it. Dan • That issue could be solved by posting the public comment that will be discussed at the following meeting. Mark • Not an item for this Council list. • Budget priorities could potentially be removed. • Prioritize better communication with Boards and Commissions. Greg • Remove electrification of lawn and garden equipment as it is already being addressed at a state level; could be taken up again in the future if nothing happens at a state level. Maria • Remove oil and gas operational standards. • Should focus be on outdoor air quality? Greg • This effort may be a bit premature, though it is a good idea. The list will likely be a fluid document that is revisited after the Council retreat. • Operational standards may not ever materialize, despite being a significant tool the City can use to protect its residents should an operator try to take the extra steps to set up or expand operations within the city limits. Mark • Councilmembers are not air quality experts and leaving them to set their own air quality goals may not result in the best set of priorities. It seemed they would be appreciative of some input from the AQAB. Selina • Council priorities inform staff work, both new and ongoing, which informs how funding gets distributed. Greg • Perhaps use the area of expertise of each Board member to narrow down the topics. Mark Could be valuable to hear from staff regarding their priorities. Maria • Commented on the conflict between indoor air quality and energy efficiency. 7 11/20/2023 - Minutes Greg • Commented on the importance of achievability of the items. All • Members further discussed the wording of the items on the list. Mark suggested continuing the discussion in December. • Members discussed removing urban forestry from the list. Greg advocated for oil and gas operational standards , noting they are a critical tool that can be used to protect residents against operations that would consider moving into the area. Mark requested each member send their top one to three items and he will prepare a draft. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS • Dan stated he would follow-up on the AQCC regulation proposals. Stated he would provide a webinar link on the use of gas stoves. • Mark reviewed upcoming items on Council’s 6-Month Planning Calendar, none of which are specifically related to air quality. • Members discussed the December 18th meeting date. It was noted no votes can occur unless all five members are present. • Mark noted there is an upcoming super issue board meeting. 9. STAFF REPORTS • None 10. OTHER BUSINESS Mark asked Selina to investigate whether an alternate member from the AQAB should be selected for the Air Quality Monitoring Advisory Committee should Dan be travelling or unable to attend. 11. ADJOURNMENT • 7:59 pm Minutes approved by a vote of the Board on 01/22/2024