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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD - MINUTES - 01/17/2024 Page 1 1/17/2024 – MINUTES Natural Resources Advisory Board REGULAR MEETING Wednesday, January 17, 2024 – 6:00 PM 222 Laporte and Via Zoom 1. CALL TO ORDER: 6:07 PM 2. ROLL CALL a. Board Members Present – • Dawson Metcalf (Chair) • Kelly Stewart (Vice Chair) • Barry Noon • Danielle Buttke • Lisa Andrews b. Board Members Absent – • Matt Zoccali c. Staff Members Present – • Honoré Depew, Staff Liaison • Ginny Sawyer, Lead Policy and Project Manager d. Guest(s) – • None 3. AGENDA REVIEW Chair Metcalf reviewed the agenda. 4. COMMUNITY MEMBER PARTICIPATION None. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (December - pending) 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Night Sky Update – Ginny Sawyer, Lead Policy and Project Manager , provided an update on the City’s Night Sky initiatives related to outdoor lighting best practices to support safety, energy conservation, and a healthy ecosystem. Page 2 1/17/2024 – MINUTES Sawyer stated feedback received early on has helped to shift the nomenclature from ‘Dark Sky’ to ‘Night Sky.’ She noted the initiative came from the Nature in the City project and its main foci are to maintain safety and security, reduce light pollution, support human and ecological health, and develop and implement best practices in outdoor lighting. Sawyer showed some photos of the city’s light dome and the CSU stadium which has improved its lighting since 2017. She showed additional photos of examples of placing the proper lighting where it is needed to serve its purpose. Sawyer discussed lighting best practices, including utilizing warmer lighting during the night and utilizing dimmable streetlights. She stated the new Lighting Code discusses BUG ratings – backlight, uplight, and glare – and at this time only addresses new build and is not retroactive, though that is being considered. Sawyer noted the selection of non-shielded lights sold at home improvement stores is often much larger than that of shielded lights which poses a problem for consumers. She commented on a neighborhood that jointly decided on a lighting retrofit and noted the City worked with the neighborhood to find a lighting provider. Sawyer also mentioned the City’s Efficiency Works Rebates program for residents and businesses and commented on the Rolland Moore Park lighting retrofit project. Sawyer discussed the lighting monitoring program that measures the night sky quality. She outlined the monitor locations, lighting context area zone map, and urban zone natural areas map. Noon commented on difficulties in getting people to limit their use of bright outdoor lighting. Sawyer stated the Museum of Discovery is talking about providing some additional programming and noted Fort Collins has a strong astronomy club and Natural Areas also hosts regular stargazing events. Andrews asked if the term ‘lighting budget’ is related to how much lighting is considered acceptable in the plan in a given area. Sawyer replied in the affirmative and noted the fcgov outdoor lighting website does a good job of outlining some specifics of the Lighting Code. Buttke stated she works for the Parks Service closely with the Night Sky division and is involved in some work on the negative health impacts of blue light. She commented on the blue light circles that are part of a new downtown project and asked where the City is going in terms of blue light management. Sawyer replied some of the biggest pushback in developing the new Lighting Code came from the Downtown Development Authority as they have a desire for daylight brightness at 2 AM when bars are closing. She stated the downtown area is the area of the highest intensity lighting budget and there were some compromises made in developing the Code and zones. Page 3 1/17/2024 – MINUTES She stated she was unsure of the specifics of the blue light rings. Depew asked if there are any Council touchpoints upcoming with this body of work. Sawyer replied staff sometimes provides updates and stated upcoming work will involve setting a baseline and target within the lighting context zones and utilizing the monitoring to ensure those targets are met. Sawyer commented on the interrelatedness of air quality and night sky noting some of the monitoring locations are shared. She also discussed the onerous minor amendment process that is required for certain lighting retrofits and stated the planning staff is hoping to course correct and make adjustments to that process in phase two of the Land Use Code updates. Additionally, she stated she would like to write a volunteer description to place in the Engage platform for interested individuals to perform outdoor lighting audits particularly for areas near urban natural areas. Sawyer also noted outdoor lighting information has been added to the City’s Access Fort Collins web page, despite the fact that there are no specific enforceable regulations. Members commented on auto dealerships and gas stations being egregious lighting offenders. Noon asked if there are recognition programs for cities in this space. Sawyer replied cities can achieve an International Dark Sky certification and the team originally thought Soapstone would work; however, one of the requirements of the certification is that the space be accessible to the public 24/7 which Soapstone is not. She stated Dark Sky International has recently created some different categories that may provide some opportunities; however, there is some resistance around being a Dark Sky community. Depew noted the newly approved sales tax for climate will be able to address reducing air pollution and there could be some linkages in that area. Sawyer and Depew commented on some of the City’s exterior lighting retrofit projects, including EPIC, Northside Atzlan Center, and the Senior Center. Sawyer noted good work has been done around the Lincoln Center as well. Buttke asked if Sawyer was aware of any social science that works in terms of getting people on board with supporting lighting changes and whether there is messaging or specific approaches that work around highlighting the science that brighter lighting does not make places safer. Sawyer replied the photos seem to do more than anything in terms of affirming how changes improve various situations. She stated the social normalizing of a darker environment overall is starting to occur and stated the team has collected information around health benefits as well. Page 4 1/17/2024 – MINUTES b. Environmental Services Department Restructuring – Honoré Depew, Climate Program Manager, shared an update on how the Environmental Services Department (ESD) in the Sustainability Services Service Area (SSA) is proposing to reorganize to better optimize staff roles and responsibilities to improve resilience and flexibility for the future. Depew announced a new Environmental Services Department Director, Amy King, will be starting on Monday. He discussed the history of the Environmental Services Department and its program areas and stated the Department has now decided to move away from the program -type organization and reorganize around outcomes into three working groups: conveners, whose specialty will be on project and process management and engagement efforts, strategic advisors, which will be focused on bringing in subject matter expertise, and amplifiers, which will be focused on project or program implementation and education and outreach. He stated the intention of the change is to set the Department up to be far more nimble and flexible in the face of changing priorities. Noon asked about the size of the Department’s staff. Depew replied it fluctuates between 25 and 30 with hourly, contractual, and fellows, in a service area totaling around 50 with Economic Health Office, Social Sustainability Dept. and SSA Admin (including Finance and Urban Renewal staff). Noon asked if staff is able to specify the attributes of the goals that have been set. Depew replied reporting and assessment is a big part of the work and noted all of the work in the environmental space is data driven , particularly in terms of mitigation-focused goals such as greenhouse gas emission reduction or waste diversion. He noted there is also a work group focused on equity and resilience assessment and reporting development. Buttke asked if the Boards will be restructured following the reorganization. Depew replied there are five Boards and Commissions supported by the Sustainability Services Area and it is possible that Council could consider whether it makes sense to combine some of those Boards at some point in the next few years. Noon asked Depew about his role. Depew replied he is on the leadership team for the Department and reports to the Department Director. He stated he will be managing the team around strategy. He suggested having Amy King and the leadership team attend an upcoming meeting. Chair Metcalf asked if the Department is well staffed at this time. Depew replied they are three full-time positions short which will pose some challenges for 2024, but the hiring process is being accelerated to fill those vacancies. He stated the other two manager positions are currently being held by interim individuals and the third empty position is around education and outreach. Page 5 1/17/2024 – MINUTES 7. OTHER BUSINESS • Board Member Reports • 2024 Super Issues Meetings of Fort Collins Boards and Commissions will be held at the Lincoln Center. The dates are as follows: ▪ Monday, March 25 (Columbine Room) ▪ Monday, June 10 (Founder’s Room) ▪ Monday, September 9 (Founder’s Room) ▪ March 25 meeting will be dedicated for Boards and Commissions to learn about each other. Request from City Clerk’s Office to have several members of the NRAB present. • In-person training for new Board and Commission members to take place in Council Chambers on April 8th and April 22nd. Current members welcome to attend. ▪ Topics will include the Code of Conduct and the Anti-Discrimination and Anti- Harassment Policy. • Six Month Calendar Review https://www.fcgov.com/cityclerk/planning -calendar.php ▪ Depew reviewed Council’s Six Month Calendar and noted Council will be considering priority setting, the broadband capital improvement tax, the water efficiency plan, Strategic Plan revisions, the occupancy ordinance, and land use standards for trees, during the next six months. ▪ Noon suggested discussing what topics and issues are relevant to the Board as a Natural Resources Advisory Board at a meeting following the induction of new members. ▪ Chair Metcalf supported digging into short- and long-term goals. ▪ Buttke suggested collaborating with other Boards as well. ▪ Depew noted Boards were restricted from holding joint meetings in the past but those regulations have changed and Boards can now officially hold joint meetings. He stated he believes the March 25 th Super Issues Meeting will likely provide an opportunity to make some of those connections between Boards. He also commented on the Board having a joint meeting with the Air Quality Advisory Board. ▪ Depew noted the Council Finance Committee will be looking at the proposed budget and use of new revenue in early March and will make a recommendation to the full Council at the April 9th work session. ▪ Depew stated building performance standards and the natural gas franchise fee could be good topics for the Board. ▪ Noon stated Thornton has applied to Larimer County for a new pipeline that would go through City property and suggested the Board may want to discuss that topic and 1041 regulations. He also stated he would like to hear more about the mitigation and enhancement plan for the expansion of Halligan Reservoir. ▪ Noon commented on Larimer County water supplie s. ▪ Depew outlined the forthcoming process for Council to identify its priorities for the upcoming term. ▪ Noon stated a discussion of the short- and long-term goals and objectives would be valuable for the Board. Page 6 1/17/2024 – MINUTES ▪ Depew commented on creating meaningful Council Priorities and noted there is an outside consultant supporting Council in this process. He showed some of the slides Council will be considering during its upcoming work session. ▪ Depew outlined the part of the work session he will be presenting on Our Climate Future, including the Our Climate Future Council roadmap. He stated the materials related to the final list of priorities will be available the first week of February and suggested the Board may want to discuss the topic at its February meeting. Members also suggested inviting the Council liaison to the April or May meeting. ▪ Depew stated the FC Moves transportation staff would be happy to come to the Board’s March meeting and the water efficiency plan staff would prefer to attend a Board meeting later in the year. Additionally, the Urban Forestry Strategic Plan, known as ‘Roo ted in Community,’ would like staff to present to the Board in May or June. ▪ Depew clarified Amy King will be attending the February meeting and the Board will also consider the 2024 proposed budget, or mini -BFO, and will discuss the outcome of Council’s priority-setting process. In April, new Boardmembers will be welcomed. He also stated he will invite Jacob Castillo to the February meeting. • Revisit action items from previous meetings & preview of next meeting City Websites with Updates: • Natural Resources Advisory Board webpage: https://www.fcgov.com/cityclerk/natural - resources.php • Our Climate Future: https://ourcity.fcgov.com/ourclimatefuture 8. ADJOURNMENT a. (7:55 pm) Minutes approved by a vote of the Board on 02/21/2024.