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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014_05_20 Sustainability Collaborative Minutes ToM Sustainability Collaborative — "Minutes" - May 20, 2014 - Draft 1. Approval of "Minutes" - April 29, 2014, meeting — approved with discussion: a. Energize NY - pros and cons need more information - program and liabilities b. League of Women Voters - new flier - take back your power c. Cuomo new initiative - revamping power production in NYS - need more info 2. Welcome New Guest— Lesley Seymour - welcomed 3. Events Recap a. Events went well, attendance very good at STEM-tastic; is Comm Yard Sale good venue for us? i. Green infra demo good — rain barrels, green roof, permeable paving ii. Can we sell rain barrels at farmers mkt, other venues iii. Program with Town subsidy? Michele initial discussion with Trustee Odierna iv. Addl events - how do we keep the public engaged v. Can we use upcoming events like the summer concerts to promote sustainability? 1. A skit, a character vi. Could we get people to sign a pledge vii. Further discussion needed b. LGCA—Annual Meeting— Tony G —Audience Comments Interesting and Relevant i. Zoning Variances for larger homes — too loose ii. Stormwater runoff/flooding from larger properties and during construction iii. Noise from landscape equipment iv. Loss of neighborhood character and Living in "tear-downs" v. Collab Discussion 1. Why so many zoning variances 2. How to deal with SW from expanded properties and inc amounts of rainfall 1 3. As we green zoning & codes we should consider impacts of climate change 4. Collab would like Nancy and Andrea to report back on the codes and zoning workshop at Pace - scope of changes possible, how to address fund climate changes, timeframe and process for Implementation 4. Pilot Projects/Commitments Update a. Alternate Transportation — Stephen, Mitch — Good presentation with Comm Map i. Overall goal suggested by Tony G 1. reduce vehicle miles traveled from std fossil fuel vehicles 2. develop an alternate walk, bike system ii. Project Goals — Connectivity, Improve health and safety iii. Bike League of America - Application for membership 1. Discussion — pros, cons; we could be 1st West comm to apply 2. Could provide roadmap for ideas and expertise 3. Collab agreed - good idea; Mitch and Stephen will try to submit by Aug 2014 deadline 4. Assistance Needed—Nancy, Steve, Andrea a. help with data, maps, application 5. Outcome — completed application, map with routes and connectivity b. New Project - Solid Waste Mgmt— Composting - George Roniger and Andrea Boyer i. Andrea discussed her course at Bx. Botanical Garden - Master Composting ii. Overall Goal Suggested — near net zero waste community iii. Discussion — Waste reduction can be dramatic — New Rochelle Schools saving hundreds of thousands of dollars iv. Project Goals — educate the Collab on waste practices and possibilities 1. Assistance Needed—Nancy, Steve, Andrea a. help with data, practices 2 b. Tony G to forward Steve A write-up to George and Andrea v. Outcome — present to Collab data, ideas c. Other Projects? 5. Commitments i. ICLEI — has been in place ii. Climate Smart Communities — in place iii. Other— Mid Hudson Regional Economic Development Council — need more info 6. CFA Funding - Discussion a. Town to re-submit grant from last year b. Collab to look at needs and see what projects might fit criteria for next year i. Competition tough especially for our area 7. The Plan - Discussion i. Need draft document to circulate after next meeting to Trustees and people who attended the Workshops ii. Document— short— possibly The Executive Summary with Goals and Actions (below). b. Next meeting — must finalize short doc 8. Collaborative Structure a. Subcommittees for areas of focus? - yes, good idea; ok b. Relationship to the Town — discussion i. Current relationship working in general; Nancy our champion 9. Other - Conference Suffern, NY? — no discussion 10.Next Meeting - need Nancy and Steve availability a. Possible dates b. June 10 c. June 17 3 The Town of Mamaroneck Sustainability/Resiliency Plan — DRAFT 5/21/2014 Executive Summary and Goals and Actions — Draft This Plan, The ToM Sustainability/Resiliency Plan, compiled under the direction of Town Supervisor Nancy Seligson, is a result of the efforts of many people including the Town of Mamaroneck Sustainability Collaborative volunteers, Town Administration and staff, and all the people who attended our Workshops, sent us ideas, and those working on pilot projects. Historically the Town of Mamaroneck has been a leader in conservation efforts such as preserving open spaces like Sheldrake Reservoir and the Duck Pond and rezoning golf courses to protect open space as well as regulating stormwater. As we look toward the future, we hope to continue our leadership role. Our efforts will address, local, regional and global issues relating to the depletion of natural resources like fossil fuels and food, supply chain disruptions due to climate and social events and the mandates imposed on our community by various government agencies. Plan Organization The Plan aims to set up a framework to improve sustainability, resiliency and quality of life in our community by achieving 3 major objectives. Each objective has several components associated with the objective. The three main objectives are: 1. Quality of Life Make Mamaroneck an even cleaner, quieter, safer place to live and work while protecting and enhancing our natural resources, open spaces and public amenities 2. Resiliency Improve the reliability of our homes, businesses, infrastructure and supply chain to disruption from extreme weather, social and economic events. 3. Sustainability Increase the local and regional production and purchasing of all types of necessities and amenities, use our waste products and create local and regional jobs and businesses in the process. Each objective has background information on the topic and recommended action steps broken roughly into short, medium and long term goals. 4 Initiatives are further divided into what can be accomplished by the government and what needs to be completed by the private sector. Please note that topics are interrelated and may appear in more than one chapter. Strategies for Implementation - Advocacy, Education and Implementation We believe this Plan can and should be implemented. The Plan has been vetted by the Community and will, in final form, be approved by the Town of Mamaroneck Board of Trustees. We believe implementation is a two pronged approach, advocacy and education on one hand and the development of partnerships for implementation of both pilot and full scale projects on the other. Our community needs to know what should be done (advocacy) how to do it (education) and finally how to get it done it (action). Plan Success - Participation and Partnerships and Timeframe We have defined the success of this Plan in a twofold manner — achieving an identifiable level of advocacy and education throughout the community and by achieving t the three major goals. We have set up this Plan to promote and enhance partnerships and collaboration. We believe partnerships, collaboration and innovation makes the whole bigger and better for us all. We have begun the implementation process of advocacy, education and pilot projects. Throughout the year we have held two workshops, hosted several events and partnered with other groups on their events. We hope to have the Plan approved in the Fall of 2014 and have several pilot projects underway. We need your help to achieve these goals. A Great Future - Doing Well by Doing Good This concept, much publicized recently, is also core to this Plan. We hope to achieve a better Community — more sustainable, more resilient with a better, safer quality of life within an affordable framework. How we heat our homes, light our lights, get to work, find a job, attend a religious service, live in this community is highly dependent on non-renewable resources. Cleaner air and water, less dependence on fossil fuels and a Community more resilient to storms with an eye toward the economy of the future are good for all. We are excited about the future. We challenge the business as usual model and ask that you look for innovative models that are more sustainable, resilient and contribute to the health and welfare of our entire community. The benefits of achieving the goals of the Plan are good for most if not all of our Community members. Contact Information 5 Please contact us if you are interested in participating in Plan development, pilot projects or full scale initiatives. Plan Goals and Actions Plan Goals 1. Quality of Life Make Mamaroneck an even cleaner, quieter, safer place to live and work while protecting and enhancing our natural resources, open spaces and public amenities • Air and Noise Pollution o Reduce air and noise pollution from landscape equipment, vehicles and I 95 • Natural Resources — Landscaping o Promote landscape practices to enhance our community and protect the environment • Natural Resources — Open Spaces o Protect and enhance our natural resources, open spaces, parks and playgrounds • Natural Resources — Water o Make our rivers, streams and Long Island Sound cleaner, walkable, swimmable and fishable • Transport o Develop safe, walkable, bike-able paths throughout our Community for business and pleasure o Reduce vehicle miles travelled by traditional fossil fueled vehicles 2. Resiliency Improve the reliability of our homes, businesses, infrastructure and supply chain to disruption from extreme weather, social and economic events. • Electrical Power Systems o Increase the reliability and efficiency of our electrical power systems • Flooding 6 o Decrease flooding and the risks of flooding to our homes, businesses and infrastructure from our groundwater, streams, rivers and Long island Sound • Community Preparedness — increase the ability of our residents and businesses to prepare for and recover from severe events of all types • Buildings and Housing o Increase the resiliency of our homes and businesses to severs storm events and supply chain interruptions • Infrastructure o Develop a transparent plan and process for an infrastructure system that meets our 21st century needs and gov't mandates at reasonable costs to the taxpayer 3. Sustainability Increase the local and regional production and purchasing of all types of necessities and amenities, use our waste products and create local and regional jobs and businesses in the process. • Energy and Greenhouse Gasses o Reduce our use and dependency on fossil fuels • Buildings and Housing o Make our homes and businesses more energy efficient, with less impact on the environment • Purchasing and Production o Increase our local and regional production and purchasing of commodities and amenities • Waste o Better utilize our waste as resources • Sustainable Economic Development o Develop local and regional jobs?, careers and businesses while greening existing businesses. Actions to Achieve Goals We believe there are 5 fundamental actions we can take which will help us achieve the goals and objectives set out in our Plan Summary. 1. Greening Zoning and Codes. Across the nation, state and Westchester County, communities are greening their codes to address a multitude of changing conditions from energy and greenhouse gasses to increasing storm severity and amounts of precipitation. Greening zoning and codes provides safety levels to protect residents, businesses and infrastructure from damages and saves money in the long term. 2. Modify our Transport System Our current fossil fueled transport system is based on the inexpensive liquid fuels developed around WW II. These fuels are no longer inexpensive and produce greenhouse gasses which affect our climate. Across the globe, around our nation and state, communities are developing systems that are more people friendly. Walking, bicycling, and low emissions vehicles are the future. Mamaroneck has a Complete Streets Program which will be a strting point for a network of paths connecting our community. Bike friendly communities have been shown to have rising property levels due to improved quality of life. We hope to enjoy this trend. 3. Re-invent our Purchasing and Production Practices We currently import many of our goods and services from near, far and very far away. This practice inherently carries the risks of a long supply chain, i.e. the potential vulnerability to a host of political, social and economic disruptions. We hope to modify this behavior by applying the buy local philosophy. This would keep monies and businesses in our local and regional economies. 4. Work with Nature Our community quality of life is highly linked to our natural resources. — rivers, streams, lakes, LI Sound, trees and wildlife habitat. Generally these natural resources are an asset for our community. However as we all know, severe storms such as Irene and Sandy cause much disruption, damage and cost huge amounts of money. We are proposing to support practices that work with nature such as green infrastructure and open space preservation. These green practices will further enhance our community and reduce damages from future storms. 5. Advocate, Educate and Act with Community Partners Implementing any plan is the most difficult part of the planning process. 8 We hope to use the trilogy - advocate, educate and act to inspire and propel our community into action. The actions taken by residents and businesses drive our local community. We want to partner with residents, businesses, not for profits and Houses of Worship to start to realize the benefits of this Plan. As part of our planning process we have partnered with the Howell Park Association and begun a walk bike planning process and with Larchmont Gardens on a solid waste pilot project. At a larger scale we are working in conjunction with the Village of Mamaroneck on Community Preparedness for flooding and severe storms. We plan to develop add'l partnerships to implement the Plan. 9 Topic Goals from April Meeting Energy, Greenhouse Gasses, Renewables Buildings & Housing Goal - Reduce the enviro impacts from the built enviro while improving resiliency and reliability. • Actions o Green zoning and codes; advise on FEMA guidelines o Emergency plans for community organizations and blocks o Develop block associations for emergencies purposes o Work with CERTS. on emergency preparedness Air and Noise Pollution Goal - Reduce air and noise pollution from landscape equipment, vehicles and 195 • Actions o Limit noise level to 65 db Transport Goal — Decrease vehicle miles travelled from traditional fossil fueled vehicles • Goal 1— make Mamaroneck a leader in walkable bike-able communities o Increase connectivity ■ Actions • enhance streetscapes • create comprehensive walk bike system o lower pollution air noise from transport vehicles ■ Action • green fleets • No idling o Increase health and safety of all transport systems Infrastructure • Goal 1- Maintain, enhance the operation, reliability of an aging infrastructure system while adapting it to support a 21 st century lifestyle in a cost effective manner • Action o develop an infra plan to assess conditions, performance, pending mandates, opportunities for innovation and short and long term costs o Action improve the reliability and resiliency of our infra systems ■ identify and assess critical facilities and systems for risks ■ outline mitigation measures with costs and benefits 10 • Goal 3 - increase the reliability and resiliency of our electrical power systems o Actions ■ meet with Con Ed and NYPA to identify problems, solutions ■ determine costs and benefits of proposed solutions • Goal 4— improve the planning process o Actions ■ Make the process more transparent • Goal 5 — make our infrastructure more innovative • Action o Look for ways to integrate new technologies such as solar, wind microgrids into our system • Goal 6 - Make our infra more localized Solid Waste • Goal - become a near net zero waste community o Actions ■ form a SW group to develop a pilot demonstration project ■ Inc the reuse of waste ■ Inc recycling ■ Reduce organic waste ■ Reduce packaging Natural Resources - Water • Stormwater • Goal 1 - Reduce flooding o Actions ■ Promote green infrastructure to retain water such as rain barrels, gardens etc ■ Clean catch basins inc frequency ■ Survey flood patterns ■ Analyze zoning and codes for recommendations ■ Increase tree cover ■ Review the elevation of structures • Surface Waters o Goal 1 - Improve water quality in Town rivers, streams and on LI sound ■ Actions • repair Town owned principal sewer lines - County benchmarks in place • green the codes in the area of ww and SW • reduce SW runoff by use of GI • reduce fertilizer and pesticide use 11 • Promote landscape practices to achieve the above • Drinking Water o Goal 1 reduce the use of potable water ■ Actions • Promote conservation efforts • Promote the use of SW for irrigation • Promote landscape design that uses little water • Waste-water o Meet gov't mandates Natural resources — Open Spaces, Parks, Playgrounds Natural Resources - Landscapes — protect, enhance our living environment— natural habitat Sustainable Eco Development • Goal 1- promote and develop local and regional businesses that make money by solving enviro problems o Actions ■ Identify and publicize existing providers ■ Conduct a needs analysis to determine what products and services are needed ■ Match needs with vendors • Goal 2 - green existing businesses o Actions o Goal 3 - Identify businesses to help implement Plan goals 12