2023-05-04 Climate Protection Committee MinutesCity of Edmonds - Mayors Climate Protection Committee ("CPC")
Meeting Minutes
May 4th, 2023
Mission of the CPC is to (1) Encourage citizens to be a part of the solution, (2) Encourage City staff and
citizens to conserve current resources, (3) Work with the City Council to implement ideas, and (4)
Effectively address the future impacts of climate change
In Attendance:
On -Site (Brackett Meeting Room):
Committee Members: Pam Tauer, Angela Winzen (Vice Chair)
City Staff: Tristan Sewell, Sarah Brinkley, Deb Powers
Council Rep: Susan Paine
Citizen —Georgina Armstrong
Zoom:
Committee Members: Steve Cristol, Hank Landau, Dawna Lahti, Cynthia Pruitt
1. Call to Order, Review of Agenda, & Introductions
a. The meeting was called to order at 11:05am.
b. The meeting agenda was distributed and approved.
2. April Meeting Minutes
a. The April meeting minutes were approved with the following edit:
i. Add "Committee Roles & Responsibilities" to the May Agenda
3. Council Update
a. The last council meeting focused on multi -modal transportation level of service This is a
more expanded view of transportation that includes not only vehicles but also bicycles and
pedestrians. This is a very advantageous means of planning that adds better environment
options. There will be a public hearing May 23rd. On the agenda at the next council
meeting is the MOU on Unocal property.
b. Tristan added that he attended the Bike Every Breakfast. Edmonds received a "shout out"
for its work on Hwy 99.
c. Susan shared that the state is taking on "adding trees" to infrastructure design.
4. Mayor will not be attending today's meeting. Tristan shared that the mayor had to cancel at the
last minute. He will attend the June meeting.
5. Climate Champions Earth Fair Reflection
a. Angela asked that we all take an opportunity to reflect on Climate Champions Earth Fair.
b. Tristan thanked those who participated and felt that the Earth Fair was a success.
c. Deb thought it was a great event. Weather was great. Impressed with the level of
professionalism. Felt the signage was excellent and people would have known that the
event was taking place. Deb thought it was a good use of her time; the Tree Code Survey
numbers jumped after the event. She also felt it was a well -attended event.
d. Susan Paine thought the event was fun. Logistics was not ideal. Recommends we use the
high school next year. Not unhappy with the turnout. Loved the food truck and Ridwell.
For our next event, Susan recommends we think about who we want to invite.
e. Sarah thought it went well. Thought we all worked well as a team. Very positive
feedback on the water miser product give-away. One hundred products were given away.
Angela asked if there were 100 distinct giveaways or if attendees may have taken more
than one. Sarah did not have those numbers but felt most of the water miser products
were singly taken. Sarah felt our community was excited and that free items were
appreciated.
Georgina has planned and led 80 events in her career. She thought the fair needed to be
more climate focused. Georgina felt that facility should not share event (soccer games
and the Earth Fair). She also did not like the split layout. The giveaways were great.
Georgina did not know the event was going on when she approached FAC; she did not see
the tables. Georgina has other ideas she can share when appropriate. Georgina's final
comments were that the subcommittee needed a chairperson and the subcommittee is
referenced on the web site with meeting information.
g. Cynthia felt there were a lot of things we should be proud of, especially Tristan. She loved
the exit poll that Angela created. Ridwell was a very popular vendor. She thanked
Dawna for the cookies. Cynthia thought the leaf blower event was very cool; and we
should continue that at every event. Great weather of course. The giveaways were
perfect. Three things we can improve on: 1) where we were 10 days before the event,
sending to the news — we should have been doing that at 6 weeks out; 2) double the
attendees, and 3) have a more inclusive exit poll.
h. Dawna appreciated all the work. She felt confusion about the layout. A map would have
helped. Signage like "20 more feet" to the next table would have helped. Greeters
would have been nice.
i. Steve's first impression was thinking where things were 3 weeks ago and what happened
we were able to execute. He found the event hard to find and competing with other
events. People at the booths were well informed. Steve's tactical comments —needed
food truck signage and where you can get the plant -based foods at Edmonds restaurants.
j. Pam loved working as a team and found it very rewarding. The vendors were amazing —
WSU, Triton, and Ridwell really stood out. The waste haulers needed more direction. The
compost bag giveaway was very popular. The "lower" event area saw much less than 100
attendees. Pam felt that there were three major things we need to address for the next
events: 1) better marketing with optimal lead time and use of neighborhood signs, 2)
layout was confusing, felt like two events — needed a clear entrance and exit, 3) more
educational signage needed conveying the desire to reduce GHG.
k. Angela shared feedback from a passionate couple that felt the event did not meet
expectations. Event layout, marketing, and signage were the primary causes of not
getting the attendance and the message. Subcommittee is too small to support these
kinds of events. Porchfest used survey data to get volunteers. Could we do this?
Recommends review subcommittee participation.
I. Pam asked what the city expectations with cadence and number of additional events in the
series. Tristan took that as an action item.
m. Deb restated that she thought the event was awesome. We need to consider this a pilot
project and learn from the event. A good strategy is to start small i.e., give one tree away
rather than create tree voucher program. Earth day events are so plentiful we need piggy
back on the other parks events for publicity
n. Angela agreed that marketing at the other Earth Day events would be a great idea.
o. Susan said a week earlier than Earth Day may have been better.
6. Tree Code Amendments
a) Deb Powers introduced herself as Edmonds Urban Forest Manager. She has an extensive
background in tree management including academics, experience, and hands on. Deb is a
certified arborist.
b) Deb gave an excellent presentation beginning with why we want to manage Edmond's
urban forest. Presented in tools in the toolbox. Regulatory approach is one, education,
action plans, incentives are others. Edmonds has an Urban Forest Management Plan 2019.
Tree codes how we regulate trees and tree removal. Why is the city amending the tree
code? Last update was focused on development. Project scope is to limit property owner
tree removals. Amendments will also address minor code changes aimed to clarify and
simplify.
c) Deb shared the basic frameworks for the code amendments 1) what are the number of tree
removals? and 2) how often are trees removed? Other considerations are: 1) Ensuring
reasonable exceptions, 2) protecting landmark trees, 3) addressing tree removal in critical
areas, and 4) creating replacement requirements. The Edmonds Tree Board is leaning
towards an allowance system where no permit required and notification process.
d) Pam asked what actions Deb wants from the CPC: She asked CPC members to:
i. Take the survey.
ii. Attend May 151" 6pm Community Conversation and take podium as individuals or
as a group
iii. Submit comments to deb.powers@edmondswa.gov.
e) Deb referred the committee to the city's web site for more information. Steve shared an
excellent calculation on the cost of a tree. Deb recommended he attend the Community
Conversation and make a public comment.
f) Dawna would like to work with someone to come up with our CPC response. She shared
her phone number for the CPC members to reach out to her.
g) Deb is looking to create a stakeholder group that would include CPC members and other
similar groups.
7. Committee Roles and Responsibilities
The meeting ran very late today even with an approval to extend the duration to 12:30pm. This
topic had limited time for discussion. Tristan did respond to the change in city engagement when
Kernan left was intentional. Tristan will come prepared at the June meeting with written
documentation regarding the committee roles and responsibilities.
8. Public Comment
Georgina thanked Deb for her presentation and shared that she is passionate about trees and
has experience with tree codes in other areas. Georgina shared a few examples of what cities
in California have done.
Georgina shared her thoughts on our major challenges to meet CAP targets in vehicle emissions
and buildings. The largest issue we have is achieving the existing building and transportation
targets, which are almost entirely in the hands of the private sector. There are two ways to do
this: 1) through collaboration with the public, and 2) through creating policy pathways. The
CPC may need to employ both steps to meet targets that would include legislating for
compliance.
Georgina provided what steps other cities have taken to enforce compliance:
1) Time of Permit/Replacement
2) Time of Property Transfer policies
3) Develop a Heat Pumps 101 seminar
4) Create an induction cooktop loaner program
5) Recruit grant writers and strategists to apply for electrification funding for citizens
6) Emphasize whole building health
7) Develop knowledge about water and energy first before electrification in order to know
the capacity of the grid
8) Strive to develop proactive community engagement on electrification
Georgina also requested that Public Comment be offered at the start of the agenda offering the
customary three minutes per speaker.
Georgina finished up with a recommendation that Edmonds proposes a Declaration of Climate
Emergency. She provided copies to members of the committee.
9. June Agenda
Angela requested agenda items for June. She also advised that we disband the subcommittee and
have all members of the CPC join in Climate Champions.
i. Council Update
ii. Mayor's Address to Committee
iii. Committee Roles and Responsibilities
iv. Climate Champions Series Planning (new recurring topic)
V. Tree Code Amendments (new recurring topic)
10. Action Items
Angela concluded the meeting by summarizing the action items. Tristan will
a) Get desired dates for series events from Director McLaughlin
b) Provide Deb Powers tree amendment presentation to the CPC SharePoint directory
c) Get contact list of volunteers from city improvement survey
d) Obtain roles and responsibilities for committee members
The meeting was adjourned at 12:50pm.