Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 05/17/2022 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2022 CITY CENTER 5:00 – 6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS 6:30 – 7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Kathy Nelson, Mark Freiberg, PG Narayanan, and Lisa Toomey CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Matthew Sackett, Fire Chief Scott Gerber, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Julie Klima, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Administrative Services/HR Director Alecia Rose, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Maggie Neuville, and Recorder Katie O’Connor Workshop - Heritage Rooms I and II (5:30) I. SUSTAINABLE EDEN PRAIRIE UPDATE Mayor Case was not in attendance. Jennifer Hassebroek, Sustainability Coordinator, began presenting an update on the most recent Climate Action Plan data from 2020. Planned emissions reductions have continued to trend down, 19 percent from the previous year. Generally, the decrease can be attributed to the pandemic and Xcel’s increased reduction in emissions from electricity generation. Narayanan inquired if that was due to a switch from coal. Hassebroek replied yes and noted Xcel moved toward natural gas. Hassebroek stated 63 percent of emissions is energy. 35 percent is from commercial electricity, 29 percent is from residential natural gas, 22 percent from commercial natural gas, and 15 percent from residential electricity. Baseline commercial emissions decreased and residential increased. In 2020, Xcel Energy was 62 percent carbon free. There were significant decreases in coal and increases in natural gas, wind, and solar. Narayanan inquired if there is a breakdown of the electric grid data. Hassebroek responded the breakdown of the data is not readily available. The majority is likely natural gas and wind. Hassebroek stated Xcel received permission from the Public Utilities Commission to operate the coal plants seasonally. Travel emissions were down 26 percent from 2019. It may increase slightly when 2021 data is made available. Waste emissions were down 10 percent from 2019. About 45 percent of waste products were landfilled and 55 percent were incinerated. In regard to projects the City is working on, the City has 10 replacement electric fleet vehicles on order. The Mustang Mach E has arrived and is being outfitted. Ellis added on tonight’s Council agenda there are some vehicles going forward for approval to order: two additional Ford E sports utility vehicles (SUVs), a Chevrolet Bolt, and an electric John Deer Gator. The Ford Mustang will be a patrol car, one F150 lightening will be used in parks and City Council Workshop Minutes May 17, 2022 Page 2 one will be used in the police department, an electric garbage truck, four Chevrolet Bolts, and two transit connect vehicles. Narayanan inquired if the price decreased. Ellis replied the price has decreased and they are now available for order. Narayanan added SouthWest Transit had the choice of selecting an electric bus, but the price difference was 100 percent and was not feasible. Ellis noted these vehicles are not that much of a mark up compared to typical vehicles. Getschow noted some of the large specialty vehicles in the City are priced higher than what is feasible. Hassebroek stated there will be five dual-port fleet chargers approved for the City Center parking lot and 11 single port fleet chargers for the Maintenance Facility. They are also looking at a few locations for public fast-charging stations. Narayanan inquired if cities are looking into putting electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) in private places such as the mall. Hassebroek replied cities are looking at opportunities they have to place charging stations near places people frequent and close retail outlets. Ellis stated Xcel is actually buying the infrastructure for the City Center EVCS. Hassebroek noted the fast-charging stations are more of a power intensive process, so the City charges about one dollar per hour for changing. Nelson added it would be nice to have charging stations at grocery stores and the library. Hassebroek responded the library now has EVCS after their recent remodel. Hassebroek stated curbside organic pickup was implemented November 1. So far there have been 200 plus rebates. As of the beginning of the year, there were 414 households participating in the program. Pricing on organics is anywhere from $3.25 to $15 per month. Narayanan inquired about persons utilizing the program. Hassebroek replied it is single family users. Nelson inquired about pet-proof counter organics container. Neuville noted she has a container that requires a button to be pushed to open. Hassebroek stated one of the haulers is responsible for about 95 percent of the rebates so far. The quality of the loads have been good, but other cities are struggling with contamination and participation. The Sustainability Commission is looking to do more outreach about the program throughout the year. Water use rates were slightly higher than the 75 gallons per resident. It is the City’s goal to be at or below 75 gallons per capita per day. There were 108 irrigation rebates last year totaling $16,800. $13441 comes from a Metropolitan Council grant, and the City matched $3,360. Narayanan noted the increase could be attributed to working from home. Hassebroek stated the landscape rebate program encourages residents to take out buckthorn, install pollinator gardens, and restore their shoreline. Last year there were 27 projects, and $147,532 total investment. ReACT Eden Prairie is a tool that was recently launched on Earth Day. It provides tips for sustainable best practices and lets residents report their sustainable projects and efforts. Most effective tools to drive behavior change involve highlighting social norms and providing public acknowledgement of those actions. There are also tips on sustainable best practices. Nelson noted some homeowners associations limit the possibility of where solar can be placed. In some cases it cannot be visible from the front of the house. It might be helpful to consider an ordinance that overrules homeowners associations regarding City Council Workshop Minutes May 17, 2022 Page 3 solar. Narayanan inquired if there are grants available for solar. Hassebroek replied there are solar rewards rebates through Xcel Energy, possibly Minnesota utilities, and tax credits. Hassebroek stated there has been a staff work team involved in the sustainable building standards. There was a series of workshops provided by Center for Energy Environment. There are subgoals in the Climate Action Plan about new construction, electric load, and EV passenger vehicles. Buildings make up 63 percent of emissions in the City. Narayanan inquired if there is data on how many people own EVs. Hassebroek responded it is around 2.5 percent of households that own an EV. The Sustainable Building Standard looks at requiring EVCS, having new construction be solar ready, and advancing building energy codes. Putting together a sustainable building standard streamlines the development review process. Right now there is a checklist in the Development Review Handbook to request features in voluntary capacity. Narayanan noted the Planning Commission is also educated on these goals. Nelson inquired if there is any way to require these items. Ellis replied adopting the policy would require it in certain circumstances. Toomey inquired why the State does not allow the City to produce an ordinance with these standards. Neuville stated there is a statute stating the City cannot require, through ordinance or development agreement, any building standard that is different than State Building Code. Ellis noted Staff have participated in policy committees to push this legislation forward but have met resistance. Hassebroek stated other cities who have a similar standard or policy are Duluth, Edina, Maplewood, Minneapolis, Northfield, Rochester, St. Louis Park, and Saint Paul. Ellis elaborated on what would trigger the requirement. It would be required if there is a request for tax increment financing (TIF). Nelson clarified they can still negotiate with developers through Planned Unit Development (PUD). Neuville clarified if the Council denied a PUD due to not meeting these requirements it would not be valid. Getschow added the hope is most developments would follow this standard. Hassebroek stated Saint Paul and Saint Louis Park’s standards have existed for 10 years, and Saint Louis Park is currently updating theirs. Narayanan inquired how much additional cost it would be to the builder with the building standards. Hassebroek responded there are so many different variables. In most every incoming project there are sustainable components now. It is difficult to put an amount to entire buildings rather than solar or EV. Getschow noted there is push in legislation to try to eliminate the ability to do a PUD or have design standards. Toomey inquired if we have received feedback from developers of being unfriendly and difficult to work with. Klima responded the feedback is not about being unfriendly, but Staff have received feedback about required building materials and other things above and beyond what is in code. Usually, there is an agreement prior to going to the Planning Commission. Hassebroek stated sustainable building standards are made up of third-party green building rating system and universal requirements. Rating system options look holistically at the City Council Workshop Minutes May 17, 2022 Page 4 building design and operation. The idea behind the third-party rating system gives the City a verified way of knowing they are complying. It has also been suggested to make sustainable building policies universal across cities who have implemented them. The universal requirements apply to a triggered project, are established to ensure City sustainability priorities are met, and the City must determine a verification method. The City is responsible for verifying these have been done. Universal requirements being considered for Eden Prairie are predicted green house gas (GHG) emissions, EV charging capability, energy efficiency standard, and renewable energy standard. EV capable spaces have materials in place to support a 240-volt outlet such as panel capacity and space in the circuit breaker. Narayanan inquired how much cost is associated with being EV ready. Hassebroek noted she did not have those exact numbers. Nelson replied with no capability quotes are around $15,000. Hassebroek stated around 80 percent of EV charging happens at home. Not being able to charge in multi-family buildings is an equity concern. Travel emissions will eventually be the leading sector in the community as it is statewide. One consideration for the proposed EV standard would be to allow one EV fast charger in place of five level two EVCS. Right now there is no building code requirement about accessible spaces. Making spaces EVCS ready is less expensive than after the build is finished. Getschow inquired about numbers for recent larger development. Hassebroek replied Paravel would have been required to have nine, and they plan to have five EV ready outlets. The Ellie would have been required to have nine, and they made six EV ready and six EVCS installed. Hassebroek stated in regard to solar, the minimum standard would be to make homes solar- ready, evaluate feasibility of sourcing up to five percent of energy with on-site solar, and install if cost-effective using a payback of 15 years. Narayanan inquired if solar panels are allowed in the back yard. Klima responded yes, they are considered a permitted accessory structure. The other Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green communities do not always require solar if they can get their total points with other sustainable features. Triggers for application of the Sustainable Building Standard would be any new construction project requesting a financial or land use incentive and any major addition over 10,000 square feet requesting a financial or land use incentive. Financial incentives would include TIF, Metropolitan Council Livable Communities Act (LCA) Grant, Hennepin County grants, and conduit bonds. Land use incentives would be PUD Zoning. These triggers are similar to Edina and Saint Louis Park’s standard. All cities with a standard are requiring predicted GHG emissions. Freiberg inquired about the legality of requiring it with the PUD process. Neuville replied other cities have done it for a while and have not been challenged on it. The state building official enforces the requirement and initially notifies with a letter. Hassebroek stated the Sustainability Commission received this presentation and recommended adoption of the Sustainable Building Standard. Next steps would be to refine City Council Workshop Minutes May 17, 2022 Page 5 the policy with feedback from the Council, do a formal presentation to Council at a future meeting, and would recommend a proposed start date of January 1, 2023. Nelson stated it does not seem like there is a large cost associated with these efforts but more of a cost savings in the future for residents. Ellis noted developers often are not looking at the payback in 15 years. Narayanan inquired if the City is making progress. Hassebroek replied yes. Narayanan inquired what the Commission could be doing to support these efforts. Hassebroek replied they are interested in moving this forward and educating the community on what they can be doing. Freiberg stated there are not many cities in Hennepin County with these standards. Hassebroek replied Bloomington is also working towards developing standards. Toomey added she appreciates these efforts as it will be important for the future of the City. Open Podium - Council Chamber (6:30) II. OPEN PODIUM III. ADJOURNMENT