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Home My WebLink About12-10-2021 Fairhope Environmental Advisory Board Meeting MinutesFEAB December 10, 2021 Minutes FEAB MEETING MINUTES December 10, 2021 3 p.m. @ Library Board Room Member Attendees: Gary Gover, Jim Horner, Amy Paulson, Ben Frater, Rick Speight, Nigel Temp le, Mike Shelton Members not in attendance : Michelle Melton, Jennife r Foutch (excused absences unless Gary says otherw is e) City of Fairhope: Kim Burmeister -Planning and Zoning Department City Council : Corey Martin Honored Guests: Annette Sanders, 401 North Mobi le Street; Donna Marks, re sident; Connie Whitaker, Darre l W i l liams, and Diana Brewer w ith South Alabama Land Trust (SALT) Minutes taken by Kim Burmeister Gary called the meeting to order at 3 p.m . Summary of meeting : 1. FEAB would like to invite Don Bates, Osprey Initiative, to the January 2022 meeting to discuss litter getter location and options . 2. Resident Annette Sanders still has concerns over City park/ands not being fully protected or marked with signage (North Mobile Street) 3. Corey and Jim Horner have met with Hunter and SALT staff to discuss options on obtaining and preserving pristine habitat, including Fly Creek parcels near North Hills phase 2 . 4 . SALT presented their program and the benefits to the community on protection of pristine properties 5 . Fairhope, Daphne and Baldwin County ore all working on comp plan updates. Efforts should be combined. FEAB Minutes/Updates to Board: Amy made a motion to approve FEAB November m i nutes, approved unanimously. Agenda: Amy presented an agenda for today's meeting: FEAB December 10, 202 1 Minutes ~GL\l)A THE CITY or FAIRHOPE EN,1R0/111L'1 . .\L AD'1S ORY BOARD MO~ll!LY MrETlliG DrmaulO,lO!l l. Acceptance of prior meeting minutes 2. Connie Whitaker, Executi\'e Director SALT -land acquisitions presentation 3. Updates and Old Business a. Dyas T rian~e: Ben I Michelle i. Ben provide insight on summary emaiL sent 11 3: I. Tree Assessment'ecolo~cal inventory-Auburn 2. GOJfESA SIM by Jan for trails and related infrastructure 3. Long-term Management Plan, implemented by City employees 4. 1.76-acre prirate inholding 5. Deed restrictions b. Comprehensire Land Use Plan -Ben / Mike i. (See Draft Issues, next page.) ii. Submit additional issues to Amy BY JA.. \lJARY 7. c. Litter Gitter -did we get Mayor all info she needed/is more follow up required? d. Clean Marina Project-11110 is POC to get Cory the info be requested last week? e. Recycling: (Kim 's email l 19) i. Material Repurpose Facility ~fRF) update, per Baldwin County EAC: l. ~ was awarded the RFQ, and the county is ent~ in to contract negotiations to finalize the scope of work and timeline. 2. Anticipate breaking ground by calendar year end 2022 . 3. Anticipate accepting material by summer 2023 4. This will be a s~e stream facility concentrating on the materials the Coun~1 and municipalities are CU1Tently collecting. Mi.xed paper, cardboar~ plastic, & aluminum. 5. This 1\~l be a program for all ofBaldlvin County 6. The County is hopeful to implement programs across all County schoob f Jlotions from last month: Ga1y i. FEAB Storm1vater Infrastructure Inrentory Resolution -(Wm Horner) g. Fairhope City Council: Jennifer h. Baldwin County Environmental Ad1isory Committee and EAC sul><ommittee (wetlands and neighborhoods): Kim L Eastern Shore Watershed Management Plan: Kim i. Stakeholder Engagement meetings ocCU1Ted on l 6 and 12/9 j. Bike and Pe<b1rian Committee: Gary Agenda Page 1 an d 2 Page 12 4. Parking Committee: Nigel 5. New Business? FE AB De cember 10, 2021 Minut es 1-Establishment of Greensp ace : in tentionally selecting, restoring, p rotecting, and connecting green spaces across the City. "Green space" is defined as areas that remain in a relatiYely natural condition and bereft of manmade features, including infrastructure, impervious surfaces , and facilities . Green space can be used to protect ntlnerable watershed assets, such as stream corridors or shorelines, but is not always associated ·with stormwat.e.r management and low-impact-de, elopment requirements on construction sites. It can provide aesthetic Yalue, outdoor recreation opportunity, and habitat to local native flora and fauna. Typically, properties in the ,·icinity of green spaces have substantially increased real estate values, and Cities with a higher proportion of green space and connected green space corridors score higher on quality of life metrics for their inhabitants. ("Green space" can also refer to requirements on individual development lots or construction campuses enacted and enforced through ordinance and code . This consideration can be crucial to maintaining character, aesthetic quality, heat island reduction, and storm.water management benefits of a place.) n- 2-Obtaining the Commitment of E lect.ed Officials to the Comprehensive P lan. The finished Comprehensi ve plan will be accepted by the Planning Commission. In the past , this has left elected officials free of commitment to implement comprehensive plans. The resources required for implementatio n tasks have not been provided in past budgets . A way to approach obtaining necessary commitment and resource budgeting is to draft resolutions for implementing the policies presented in the comprehensive plan as part of the work required to finish the production of the plan itself. Attached is an actual example of the result of this having been done in a municipality . 3 -Grou ndwater Quality. As the largest supplier of freshwater in Baldwin County , Fairhope can and should set the highest possible standards for ground\vater quality and consumption by eliminating potential pollution sources and using best practices for conser..-ation . The City of Fairhope operates 10 groundwater wells that deliver 4.6MGPD to 40,000 people . In addition, there are hundreds of additional water wells for mostly agricultural and residential use . All of these wells pump from the same aquifer . Goa l: Preserve and protect groundwater quantity and quality . Obj ecttves : • Develop and implement a comprehensive groundwater protection strategy to ensure adequate and sustainable water supply. • Develop and implement a comprehensive pollution management program to monitor and protect groundwater resources . • Local Wellhead Protection Plans ,,rill be taken into consideration during review of de\-clopment applications to maintain drinking water quality and protect ground\vater from contamination. • Limit the installation of additional wells and limit the number of additional households and irrigation systems that are dependent on wells through water conservation efforts and through the Agen d a p g. 3 Page [ 3 FEAB December 10, 2021 Minutes use of communal and/or central ,,,arer systems where feasible and as approved by The State of Alabama , Baldwin County and the City ofFairhope. • Ensure the location, depth , and rate of extraction of individual we lls do noi impact the quality and quantity of municipal wel ls . • Assess the recharge and consumption rates for groundwater in each watershed by analyzing data from groundwater level monitoring and stream flo w measur-ements. If negative impacts are detected, the information will be presented to the City Council for appropriate action. • DeYelop standards for uses that consume and/or require the usage of large quantities of water in those areas that could affect neighboring wells and aquifers . • Provide education to homeowners on the use , consumption, and va lue of a high quality groundwater system of aquifers. • Study best practices/guidelines to reduce impervious surfaces and minimize increases in post- development runoff peak rate, frequency , volume . 4-National Green Building Standard. NG BS is a points-based volunta1y certification program developed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). It applies to subdivision site work, single-family homes , duplexes, townhomes , multi- family , mixed-use, and residentially-used buildings like assisted living , group homes , and hotels. Many NGBS mandatory practices are required by our building code. And many optional practices (available for points) align with Comp Plan goals (wetl ands protection, LID, tree preservation. walkability, recycling). 2020 NGBS Bronze Level is equivalent to 2018 IECC/IRC/IBC (current bui lding code in Fairhope). NGBS is a code compliance pathway in municipaliti es across the county. • Decatur, GA requires high performance building certs including NGBS . • Pensacola, FL offers incentives for green building certs including NGBS . Fast-tracked permitting for all. Commercial : density bonus, reduced parking reqs . Residential: certification fees coYered until the funds run out . They also require green building cert for new city buildings ... unless the costs "significantly" outweigh the benefits. • Mo ntgomery County , MD allows NGBS Bronze as a compliance path. Many places in MD offer a property tax credit for Silver and Gold levels. MD efforts ham been so successful that builders are pushing for NGBS options to apply statewide. Benefits: eases burden on city sta£t: reduces permitting timelines , ensures code compliance for things the city doesn't inspect, improves quality of housing/building stock. Here's a broader view: https ://www.naco .org/blop/attracting-builder-s-your-community-tmougb-green- building-incentives Agen da Pg. 4 Page 14 FEAB December 10, 2021 Minutes PROTECTING CITY PARKS AND PRISTINE AREAS: Connie Wh itaker, SALT Executive Di rector, gave everyone one a SALT publication hand out (below) and discussed the land acqu isit ion and conserva tion easement opportunies offered by SALT . Conservation of lan d with SALT is obtained by three methods : Donation, purchase (at fair market value) and Conserva t ion Easements . They are always looking for land opportunities . The property up for discuss ion currently is the Corte tract/ Auburn Tract on the west side of North Hills Phase 2, Fly Creek watershed. It appears a conservation easement might be a good fit for this property. There is no publ ic access for conservation easements. There are several SALT properties in Baldwin County, incl uding Conservation Easements . She sa id conservation easements can be as flexible or stri ngent as the property owner wants . Publi c assess is im portant because it raises public aware ne ss of watershed protection and the beaut iful reso urces i n our area . Mike said there is state owned property on CR 1. Amy said there is a lot of high quality wetlands on CR 1 wh ich need to be considered. Corey Martin said he d id not think Corte is interested in se lli ng the proeprty at this t ime . A conservation easement might be a better pursuit if cons ide ring this property. This has been di scussed with Mayor Sull ivan . Corey met last week with Hu nter Simmon s, Jim Horner, Kim Burmesiter and the SALT staff. Annette asked if SALT could assess the City Par k area along North Mobile Street for potential conservation ideas. Connie said she wou ld check it out. Rick asked if there are other land trusts in this area. Connie said Pelican Post & Nature Conservancy are land trust companies working in this area, but SALT is the most highly a cc re d ite d . Gary would said he h as requeste d a map of city owned pro pe rties fro m Hunter Sim mon s but has not yet received. Kim will check with Hunter/GIS to see if there is a map avai lable of city owned property. City has a parks brochure that lists accessible park property (Parks Brochure). show document (fairhopeal.gov) Connie's hand outs: Page [ 5 FEAB December 10, 2021 Minutes SOUTH ALABAMA LAND TRUST The outh /abanw L11nd Trvst is II non-profit organ/;111/on ••hos11 mrmlxus "'Ori. to prote t the 11u111ral r ourc of Ollita l labam11 and prm•We a. ,Jwm I/ and support /or the l frds Boy Nat/0110/ £.rn ,orln R11 Nrch R 11n•e's gooLf 011d programs. G ID LI f01{ 0 ER TJO EM I T PRO.I T What Is a Conservation Easement'! 1 ervation ease · a bin · t bemecn a I er and o qualified organi:u ti uth d 1ith t · ntr ct . th e lando,\ ner agree cli and retainin g owner -hip t lnnd o · r t d inc , · uld be prohibited 10 prote t t u land \1li h l · f, ,,11c . F I ma y • t re tain the right n th Ian , age timber. 10 e hunting and Olh it w for a limited number f additio nal future n:sidcnc for th d c epti ng the easement . LT is bligated to f, rev.:r en ure the provisi f uph Id. What a Conservation Easement do n casement agreement t ·pi all : • Re trict the pert) a · ne ary t prote t i importan t natural. ccnic. or hi e . • pecifi th pc. and I · dwell in•' and other building». Proh ibit qt excm•nti raJ . • Pro hibit s d lid and I . • Limits the r m c withou on:d ,,oodlot mana •emem plan . • Re rict s r dim dustrial a ercia l a ti, itic . excep t for agri ulturc . What a Con en •ation Easeme nt doe not do An cascm ·nt agre ment t) pi II): • D 11 t pennit publi ·tcd are , unles . specili ally d sin:d b do,,11er and inU1ti n , h ,, ,,·er. publi , ce t a p fth propcn meet th e I 's publi bem:lil test Figure I SA LT hando ut pg. I Page \ 6 FEAB December 10, 2021 Minutes ns n ti n purpo n. crval i n purpo t, if l me ts nc o f th it th n of th er nti n d • the ea e m nt will n l qualif tru de Lributi n . State Conservation EaseJtU nt Laws ment rvati f thi t hllp :// . .al. al ·.h im . Plea e ma/i.e ure th at your tax profe ~io 11 a/ is kn owledgea bl" of all c11rre111 federal a11 d l a t e tax co d regardi11g on en•afion ea em e11 ts. WIii Th ere B e Expen . est Th on r\' ti n • • ·m nt pr ~e c h • Tith! In u nc ' • • e ndowm nt • c pr p ny, if n ded r th fo li o-w in, item : Ph c I rep rt ll1e e ar n nnally p id by th d n r/l and wn . r ta inin g e I t · u Appra · a he n r 1 • re lntema l Re venu th n -. ly a\\ rein . rd ·tcnni nin th oJu · f th ca em nt d na ti n, and th a u Ii tied apprai al ti r gift f pr pen y va lued at m r 1r e · n. L-i p ibi te · r pn:: enting i value and m, utr· in g th e hiri n f ap . It i uhim.t I} the lily . lifi on c t appra i r . 11 \\ '\' r, Ii I ofapp ·h din that parti ul .r field. Figure 2 SALT handout pg. 2 Page 17 FEAB December 10, 2021 Minutes ur e m nt ma • ntain pr , i i • om • m ag ri ultu ral • impervious s ur f: • • that re tric t th fi II in g: s • i l ri I · • ll r • d1:s 1ru · nd uff • ize u tu r ti n , th mai n ther provi i rel 1in , t • ad mini trati n and enforccm nl f th • • T Ii. biliry hip r y ur lega l lO C nf r with er l n:m ed iaLi requi Pha c Ill further re ea , m nt s must b revi w d ar mittee. and ultimate) • b I th · e E ement Endowment I PCJJ-ill ~f:l.. 1 1-"\. e -~cl r } ur n e 11, A um e at 1 n 1 nd it i lh pon ib ili in clude th ~~~ • gu lt · · p • rc vie , n • adm it v • legal Figure 3 SALT handout pg. 3 Page 18 n plan m Ill d umcnts and re r s T Land ·ipi nt d I r FEAB December 10, 2021 Minutes Weeks Bay Founda 10n was ormed 1n 1990 as th friends group to the Wee Bay a onal Estua ne Research Reserve . Received national accreditation from the Land Trust Alliance in 2009 . Changed ou name to $out bama Land rus t in 2020 Protected more than 10,500 acres 1n Mobi le and Baldwin count'es . la d stewardship includes prescribed burns, land management plans, invasive plant removal forest cultivaaon, and evaluauon or new parcels for po e ,a t conserva Ion . Currently morn or 25 proper es ota r ng 2.237 ac es Own 9 proper1ies to al ing 373 acres Ho ld conservation easements on 16 properties otaling 1864 ac res . Ou reach includes new baekyard habitat program. gu ided pa diet ·ps . natu re wa lks , bog tours , volunteer la d r stora ion days, nd spin nights a loca brew rl sand restaurants . Pa ner includ Gulfcorps, The atu Conserv ncy, Wee Bay Rcse<Ve . Mobile Baykeeper. Dauph ·n Island Bird Sanctuary, City of Mobile, City of Gulf Sho<es, nd the Tovm of 0aup in Is d ew partnership w, h the Un s1ty of South Alabama to conduct microbial sou rce-tracking on r, R er to loca e nd address wa er pollu 10n sources. Funded throu h mem rsh ·ps. dona 10ns. grants and two maJO( fund raisers -Bald Eagle Bash and Alabama Coastal BirdFest. Figure ./ SA l T hand out Page l 9 FEAB December 10, 202 1 Minutes Triangle Property : Ben discussed existing structures at or near Triangle property with Corey . Corey sa id City wi l l be receiving engineered plans for park d evelopment and this can be used as a guidance tool for further discussion. This will show a vision for park area. Suggestions can then be made on park deed restr ictions . Diana asked if the deed would reflect perpetuity for park area at the Triangle . Corey said it would. Comp Plan: Amy is co ll ecting comp plan comments (see page 3 and 4 of t he agen d a). If you wou ld li ke to ad d comme nts to this lit, p ro v ide it t o A my no later than January 7th . She wou ld li ke FEA B to consi d er a formal resolution fo r the comp plan at the January FEAB meeting, based on the comments. Resolution will go to Plann i ng Department Team . Corey suggested FEAB give conc ise map of v isions for comp plan and consider offering langu age for connectivity and greenspace . Help the city i d entify what is missing in GIS layers (park propert ies for insta nce ). Amy suggested a laye r for A LL protected prope rty in Fairh o pe. Connie suggeste d City of Fairhope, Baldw in County and City of Daphne all work together on comp planning, as all three are revising comp plan . Gary said communication with Daphne and County is i mportant for connectiv ity of trails . Corey sai d SB-107 has hindered communications between the County and Fairhope b ut this is improv ing. Litter Getter Kim had previousl y asked FEAB for their opinion on Litter Getter t y pe device, proposal. FEAB member suggested alternative location, 13 & Twin Beech Road at Single Park property. This area, however, is a dry tributary most of the time. Winn Dixie pond on the other hand is a wet pond and receives run off from three shopping centers and a large portion of Hwy. 98 . Mike asked if Don Bates could be invite d to January FEAB meeting t o discuss further. Kim will extend an invitation to Don Bates . https://osprey.world Page I 10 FEAB December 10, 2021 Minutes ity of Fairhope 161 orth Section t. Fairhope, AL 36532 Attn : Kim Bunnei tcr Propo al #P21 -026 ubj ect : Maintenance of the Winn-Dixie Pond Scope of W o rk -0 prey lnitiati e (0 prey) will perfonn two tacti I cleanup a month (for a t tal of24 events) at the Winn-Dixie Pond off Morphy Ave. in Fairhope. AL. -Osprey will manufa ture and install up to 300 feet of Litter Boom at trategic locations within the pond to ist with litter collection. -Osprey will maintain these boom in accord nee with O prey· Litter ollection Device leanout OP v 1.2 . -Any litter or debri collected will be weighed and the Osprey modified ET AP methodology will b u tilized to produce a litter profile over the extent of the project. -This data will be tracked on TAP field data h els and recorded in a Micro oft Excel Spread hcet. The data will be pro ided to the ity of Fairhope on am nthly basi . -All material coll led will be di po ed of according to local regulati n and applicabl e material will be recycled . -Additionally, under the cope of ervic , Osprey will meet with the ity of Fairhope at a freq uency to be determined to dis uss da ta, field ob ervati ns and how to utilize thi infonnation for education and outreach effort . ost Es tim ate Quantity Units Co I Sub-total Tactical leanups Includes labor, material , mileage 12 months $1,250.00 15 ,000.00 Litter Booms In lude in tallation , materials, 300 feet $40 $12,000.00 and mai nt enance Total 527 ,000.00 Osprey Initiative, LLC Fi gure 5 Osprey Initiative proposal fo r Winn Dixie p ond Page I 11 FEAB December 10, 2021 Minutes Other Business: Ji m said Bal dwin Cou nty recentl y passe d a lan d d isturbance o r d inance regulating fill i n flood zones : WAP(roperty) Large po rtion of county required to seek land distu rbance permits BY GABRI EL TYNES 11 just a I -sccon<hidco lip of a kid r pushing bright red clay from a mlden- ti I nstruetion it im the dart "' f ish River, bot Baldwi n ounl) Planning Direcior t tthc 8 wn · it w • · · nf a broader prob lm1. Throughout 1\-'Cent l!TO" lh. au thori l I re used in Oood -p a quality i,e Ji ltation. Aft ~ 100 Urown told the llakl"in ·oumy • f1ood-pronc as arc hi51orically thc jurisdi tion of the t o rm C01p5 of Ei,3i~'1'S I)' " aw.uc of potemi I , i do " report lhem ID ol I t"ee the . . reso- lution lllbh hing a oro,- ll:IOOC for flood.prone Ip contr I fill i~ gradi u m1I r land di.turbance tiv 3)' inc Oood damage or cm.ion, by apply ing the nd di r c Id" in County Loning rdi la)cd on a nc, h) . . . . I aren 't In eplembcr, Brov.n · "any or land that II.av a lo Oonding." . digiti l map w no1 im the print copy to e ioo of &ldwin I)' pre by land development or- d inances. cx:ord ing to the resolu tion. ff drew the ' 11 •• • . . 1ial w~ d and the d ll<.')' vi I ion prone w,d lim arc u nt plish the pu pr°' i- i ii c. the ncia l impact 10 lhe OOUlll), ~with ired 10 pro- and carry out " uon ·ur..'" c II 2 land di l . 1 a public hearing before the 1141<1\1,ln oun- 1) Pl · Z on in tobcr, llrow the lied on ly ID IM<I d ; " tion a.Id p I' ·1 ·re i m>ced1Lll'CSv.i c ru duplica- bc . C. nc incd. r oftl the thet m · and it th Figure 6 Baldwin County Ordinance regulating flood plane areas Page I 12 FEAB December 10, 202 1 Minutes Meeting adjourned at 4 p .m . Next m eeting is Fr id ay, January 14th , 2022 @ 3 p.m . @ Libr ary Board Room FEAB CONTACT INFORMATION : Chairman : Gary Gover Members: Ben Frater Mike Shelton Jim Horner Amy Paulson Nigel Temple Miche l le Melton Jenni f er Foutch Rick Speight CITY CONTACTS : govers@bellsouth .ne t ben .frater@gmail.com yaupon3@gmail.com none amy .paulson@yahoo .com 757nige l @gmail.com michelleleemeltonlee@gmail .com Foutch .jennifer@gmail .c om rsp8@utaustin85 .com (25 1) 990-8662 (404 ) 314-8 815 (25 1) 270-9042 (25 1) 928-9722 (251) 654 -7401 (757) 803-3589 (423 ) 504-8253 (6 18 ) 318-0354 (828) 551-3966 Corey Martin, Cit y Council corey.martin@fairhopea l.gov Kim Burme is ter, Planning and Zo ning Department ki m.burme ister@fairhopea l.gov Christ i na LeJeune, Plann in g and Zoning Department christina .lejeune@fairhopeal.gov Page I 13