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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAir Quality Advisory Board - Minutes - 03/17/2014AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, MARCH 17, 2014 DATE: MONDAY, MARCH 17, 2014 LOCATION: Community Room, 215 N. Mason Street TIME: 5:30–8:00 pm For Reference: Rich Fisher, Chair 970-221-4389 Ross Cunniff, Council Liaison 970-420-7398 Melissa Hovey, Staff Liaison 970-221-6813 Present: Dave Dietrich Scott Groen Dick Thomas Tom Griggs John Shenot Absent: Rich Fisher Tom Moore Jim Dennison Staff Present: Melissa Hovey, Staff Liaison Dianne Tjalkens, Admin/Board Support Aaron Iverson, FC Moves Transportation Planner Guests: none Call meeting to order: Dave Dietrich called to order at 5:35pm. Public Comments: none Member Comments: none Review and Approval of February 24, 2014 minutes Tom Griggs moved and Scott seconded a motion to approve the February 24, 2014 AQAB minutes as presented. Motion passed, 4-0-1, John abstained (absent from February meeting). 1 AGENDA ITEM 1: Midtown in Motion, College Avenue Transportation Study Aaron Iverson, FC Moves Sr. Transportation Planner, presented preliminary information and solicited input on methods to analyze air quality impacts for this transportation study that will be conducted to improve circulation on College Ave. from Prospect to Harmony. Aaron presented a PowerPoint on the Midtown in Motion study. The study covers College Avenue, from Prospect to Harmony, and includes all modes of transportation. Goals include: safer modes of travel, connections to Max, designs for all ages and abilities, and high quality/attractive street. They have done a tour of the segment, had workshops with a technical team and public, and are working closely with stakeholders. Some key questions include: 1. Why change College Avenue?, 2. How do we avoid failure?, and 3. How do we complete the street? Stakeholders agree that making the corridor multimodal-friendly and fixing congestion are important. They will fix and complete sidewalks and crossings, balance the needs of all users, integrate bicycles, and improve frontage roads. Guiding principles include: integrating the Midtown Plan into design; understanding that this section used primarily for local trips; making walking a safe, pleasant experience with connections to businesses and neighborhoods; and making the road safe for bicyclists. The land use is changing; there is redevelopment in the corridor, and multimodal updates are necessary. The public infrastructure needs to keep up with private development. Phase 1 was to determine existing conditions. Phase 2 is to prepare design alternatives, and Phase 3 is taking the proposal to Council. Some proposed ideas are changes to lane configurations, access points, closing frontage roads at intersections or expanding them, new medians, streetscaping, lighting and signage, improving pedestrian crossings, and creating protected bike lanes or multi-use paths. Comments/ Q & A • Dave said in the presentation Aaron said only 20% of the traffic goes through in this section. Aaron said the study showed which turned off the road, turned around, or stopped. Some of the traffic may be using this section for part of a trip. Dave asked if they are working with the business community. Aaron said staff has been working closely with the business association. They have also met individually with other business owners. • Tom Griggs asked about the construction work going on now on College. Aaron said it is a movement of a ditch, and use of the old one as a pedestrian underpass as part of the mall agreement. • Tom said the overarching goals are worthy goals and thinks that having dedicated lanes for bicycles and pedestrians is an important factor. He thinks the traffic volume will increase and dedicated space will be safer and more attractive for multi-modal use. • Dave said he agrees to keep the six lanes and have the multimodal lane outside of that. • Dick said more bicycling is better for air quality, but we may have more traffic is we improve the drivability. Aaron responded that it is a question of balance. If we can reduce the short local trips in cars and have some mode shifts, and get people to use Max, that would be a way to address the amount of traffic. • John asked if Aaron has the tools to assess how the changes might affect traffic, idling, etc., that would feed into an air quality assessment. Aaron said that is not a tool the City uses right now. They are discussing developing those tools. Melissa added that some other types of projects that use federal dollars have air quality tools, but she does not know of any municipalities that have developed their own. Staff is looking at funding to try to adopt some of these tools. • Dave added that modelling exists. John clarified that when you are looking at the micro-level of street design, are there tools to analyze? Aaron said the traffic numbers for College have remained flat for 20 2 years. It has filled up. We have built more north-south roadways, so the traffic is using other routes. He said they struggle with modelling, and are depending on regional air quality, which doesn’t account for these small projects. Staff is determining which tools are right to use. • Melissa asked if drive-thrus have come up in these discussions, including the Starbucks on College that has caused some traffic issues. Aaron said staff has worked with that location to mitigate those problems. Melissa added that Downtown discourages drive-thrus, and wonders if Midtown could do the same. • Dave said that College traffic moves fairly well right now. For Max to be successful there must be safe travel access to the College corridor. Aaron added that Mason Trail and Remington are the streets for bicyclists to use for commuting, but to make the final part of a trip to businesses and residences off College is currently difficult and unsafe. • John said that he doesn’t shop in Midtown because the only way to get there is by car. He shops in Old Town because he can walk or bike to his destination. • Scott added that you still cannot get east-west in the area. Dave added that Swallow is the main street that goes through east to west. Aaron responded that Troutman will get bike lanes from the Max to JFK. Staff are highlighting that the issues are not just north-south, but east-west as well. They are making a case to businesses that these improvements will be good for business. • Dave said that a lot of people live in the south part of Fort Collins and the town seems to be Old Town centric. The mall and Trader Joe’s are going into the area, people live there, and people will be going to these businesses. This area needs attention and focus. • Aaron said once staff has more detailed alternatives, he would like to return to the board. AGENDA ITEM 2: Update on Air Forum planning AQAB members discussed progress on planning for the upcoming public Air Forum to be held on April 30, 2014. John Shenot said the forum is set for April 30, 6:30-8:30pm in the Community Room at 215 North Mason Street. There will be a presentation, facilitated feedback and an open house format with informational tables. It will begin with an introduction of the board and its role and the purpose of the forum. Melissa will talk about the City’s role in air quality and its priorities, current issues, and trends. John Volckens will discuss his research on exposure to air pollutants in Fort Collins and an overview of air quality trends and pollutants of concern, including pesticide application and oil and gas. John will facilitate audience members giving input to the City on their air quality concerns. Finally, there will be staffed tables where participants can get more information and answers to questions. Table topics may include Air Quality Advisory Board role and membership, Climate Wise, Healthy Sustainable Homes, West Nile Virus, bikes, etc. Comments/ Q & A • Tom Griggs said the agenda is very full. He said to be cautious of trying to do too much with too little time. • Dave added that the expected attendance is about 50 people. • Melissa said Channel 14 will be taping the event and providing microphones. They will edit the footage to the length desired. Graphics has created a mock-up of a poster. Melissa shared a draft with the board. Dick said the small type on the light background is hard to read. Melissa agreed that some of the text needs to be larger. Dave does not like the graphic. It is too dire and apocalyptic. He does not want to scare 3 the public, but inform on how to make the air quality better. Melissa said she understands, but also knows that the advertising needs to be eye-catching and dramatic. John added that that he has seen side by side visibility photos (hazy vs. clear) and thinks that would be more effective. Melissa said those are available for Fort Collins. Tom Griggs said the image used in the draft conveys the urgency of the issue and if we want to make the forum seem important this works. The board would like to see more options for the poster. • Dave added that it is important that as many board members as possible attend the forum. • John asked Melissa to save time on April’s agenda to go over the script for the forum. AGENDA ITEM 3: Proposal on changes to land use code to support infrastructure for electric vehicles and follow-up regarding proposed CSU stadium Dick Thomas, AQAB member, led a discussion on air quality issues regarding electric vehicles and the proposed CSU stadium. Dick explained that there is an active group of electric vehicle owners in Fort Collins that is working very hard, and that City leadership needs to catch up. Drive Electric Northern Colorado has a goal to make driving electric vehicels easier in Fort Collins and Loveland. He thinks electric vehicles need to be embraced. Dick and Scott had a disagreement regarding how electric vehicles work. Scott left the meeting at 6:45pm. Comments/ Q & A • Dave asked Melissa about what the City is doing regarding electric vehicles. Melissa said the City is a partner in Drive Electric Northern Colorado and that Toyota has donated a level 3 charger to the Museum of Discovery. She noted other charging locations for City vehicles and charging stations that are going in with the mall. There is great support for use of alternative vehicles in many City plans. Dick said Centerra has signs for parking only for low emission vehicles, but there could be premiere parking for electric vehicles in Fort Collins. • Dick explained that a hybrid has an engine and batteries, to get better gas mileage. There are two kinds of electric vehicles. The wheels are driven by electricity. The Leaf has a range of 75 miles. The Volt is electric because the engine is only for back-up and recharging the batteries. The Volt can go about 35 miles without the engine coming on. • Melissa asked if there is a term for a pure-electric vehicle. John said there are electric, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid. • Dave said a similar proposal came up a couple of years ago for hybrid vehicles for preferred parking. Melissa said it could be brought up to Planning to change the Land Use code. Dave recalled that citizen resistance to the idea was around the issue of privilege. • Melissa wondered if efforts would be better used in asking the City to support the infrastructure to support electric vehicles. Perhaps the Air Quality Advisory Board could advocate for commuter charging stations at the Park and Ride. Lucinda Smith and/or Tom Vosburg could be asked to present to the board to give more information. • John said he thinks this is probably a good idea, with the others mentioned. About a year ago he shared information specifically on an assessment of the relative air quality benefits of electric vehicles, relating it to the electric supply mix in different parts of the country. To make a recommendation from this board, it 4 should be bolstered with data. If the electric supply is cleaner, the air quality benefit is better. It is not a huge benefit in this area, but electricity is getting cleaner. Electric vehicles are the only ones that have emissions go down over time. John thinks any recommendation to Council should show the air quality benefit. He would be open to considering other policy ideas for the City’s operations or transportation policies that support electric vehicles. • Melissa said she agrees with John that it is important to go in with eyes wide open. Parking in general is a hot topic and preferential parking is even more so. There is an obligation to do a life-cycle analysis. 95% of our energy use is coal based. Many factors need to be taken into account. We are developing the Energy Policy and Climate Action Plan, and transportation will be a large piece of each plan. This board will need to think strategically about what elements to weigh in on with Council. • John agreed to resend the data he discussed before the next meeting. • Dave asked Melissa to check with Lucinda on low emission signage that was previously proposed. • Dave requested to gather more information and add this topic to next month’s agenda. • Dick would like to have the board also discuss solar orientation for lots. He said there are codes for residential but not for commercial. He wonders why we don’t require commercial developments to have solar. Dave said RMI’s report requires a certain amount of solar to meet the Climate Action Plan. Dick said that would change the argument about electric cars using electricity from coal, when the owners can plug in at a solar home. Dick added that the City has great rebates for solar. Dave added that there is not enough money in the program, though. • Melissa said she can have a speaker discuss solar farms, PRPA, etc. • Tom Griggs suggested thinking about a comprehensive package proposal to support electric vehicles. • John said he wants to make the most of the City’s look at GHG goals. There is an Energy Board. Our role is to drive home the air quality benefits from these activities. We would need to carry our message to other boards that are responsible for energy. • Melissa clarified that the Energy Policy is a City policy for which the Energy Board has input, and so does this board. John said the Air Quality Advisory Board’s voice is stronger when air quality is the focus. AGENDA ITEM 4: Board Member and Staff Updates West Nile Virus Policy • Dick has attended the West Nile Virus meetings and said that staff is coming up with a manual. The three person panel that is the final recommendation to the City manager on whether to spray or not. It’s tough to get your arms around the topic. A person who gets West Nile here, you cannot tell where they were bitten by a mosquito. We need to respect the community’s concern about adding to the toxic bucket, but also keep in mind that it could be deadly for some people. He is reading all he can and meeting with Greg and rich. • Dave asked the timeline for a plan. Dick said the draft manual will be completed next month. Melissa asked if there is a draft the board can look at. Dick said it may be available by the next meeting. 5 Greenhouse Gas Goals and 5 Board Meeting • Dave said the board is growing to a 6-board group. It is trying to make sure there is coordination among the boards. The next meeting is April 1. People have brought up solar, electric vehicles, etc. Regarding setting the GHG goals, everyone on the board is in favor of making them more aggressive and is discussing generalized strategies for making the goals happen. They may develop a letter to Council showing that all of these boards are in agreement. • Melissa clarified that the group created a letter and recommendations and provided Council with a united message on the GHG goals. City Ordinances Related to Air Quality • Melissa provided a list of Air Quality codes and will give a presentation at the April meeting. Martin Marietta Materials Asphalt Plant • Melissa said Martin Marietta runs a hot-mix asphalt plant, which are usually portable, moving near large projects and gravel pits. The City has received a number of complaints about this plant. It has been there for two years, which has negated the “portable” aspect. They are now considered “permanent stationary” and need to apply for a new air permit. The citizens in the neighborhood have organized a citizens’ group, Citizens Against Asphalt Toxins. They have created a petition to the County and State to deny the permit. Larimer County issued a special review approval to locate the plant at this location in 2009. It is a gravel pit which has a land use permit. The asphalt plant is permitted as an accessory use, with special use approval. They are asking the County to revoke the permit. They are asking the City to protect Fort Collins citizens by reviewing our asphalt purchasing procedures and have the City explore its role in protecting the health of citizens. Staff will be providing advice to Council on this topic. The AQAB may need to hold a special meeting to give input to Council. Melissa asked members to educate themselves on asphalt and asphalt emissions. • Tom Griggs said if we revoked the permit, we’d still be getting asphalt from somewhere, correct? Melissa said yes. The City would do a Triple Bottom Line analysis, looking at all alternatives and ramifications. • John said of the things the citizens are looking at, the air permit issue is a no-go. If the company proves that they meet emissions regulations, the permit cannot be revoked. Melissa added that they could add additional requirements could be added to the permitting. • John asked if there are other asphalt companies in Fort Collins. Melissa said none in the City limits, but there is another just off I-25, one in Loveland, one out east, and one in Greeley. Dave said temporary ones will be set up for road construction. AGENDA ITEM 5: Announcements and Future Agenda Items • John asked if Council made a decision after the presentation on GHG goals. Melissa said it was a work session so no action was taken, but all Council members are in agreement to move forward with more aggressive GHG goals. There has been work around draft language for the goal. Lucinda and John Phelan will return to Council with that proposal. 6 • Melissa clarified that the next agenda should include time for the Electric Vehicle proposal, the script for the forum, and a draft manual from the West Nile virus committee. • John would like the board to consider that when Melissa is finished compiling the City ordinances that the board think of it as a gaps and opportunity report. There can be intervention through code to achieve air quality goals. The board can make specific recommendations based on what is missing from the codes. Dave agreed that he and other members would like to see some action. Adjournment John moved to adjourn. Dick seconded. Meeting adjourned at 7:35pm. Approved by the Board on April 21, 2014 Signed ______________________________________ 4/21/2014 Dianne Tjalkens, Administrative Clerk II Date 7