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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSustainability Commission - 01/13/2026Approved Minutes Eden Prairie Sustainability Commission Meeting 7 p.m. Tuesday, January 13, 2026 City Center – Heritage Rooms 1&2 8080 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 ATTENDEES Commission Members: Aaron Poock (Chair), Cindy Hoffman (Vice Chair), Tim Conners, Michelle Frost, Daniel Hendrickson, Alexis Junker, Jim Nehl, Moussa Ousmane, Carolyn Wieland Student Commission Members: Lillian Beutz, Avni Maheshwari, Ava Muilenburg, Shailee Rana, Paili Rice, Atharva Sarmah, Jhansi Senthilkumar, Syon Shetty, Ipshita Tiwari, Colin Weiher City Staff: Jennifer Fierce - Sustainability Coordinator, Kristin Harley – Recording Secretary MEETING AGENDA I. Call the Meeting to Order Chair Poock called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. All commission members were present. Student representative Maheshwari was absent. II. Approval of Agenda and Other Items of Business MOTION: Wieland moved, seconded by Nehl, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 9- 0. III. Minutes A. Sustainability Commission meeting held Tuesday, December 9, 2025 MOTION: Wieland moved, seconded by Nehl, to approve the minutes of the Sustainability Commission Tuesday December 9, 2025. Motion carried 9-0. IV. Reports A. Reports from Staff 1. Sustainable Building Standards Project Update Fierce displayed a PowerPoint and summarized the projects that had gone through the full approval process and would be built according to the standards. The policy was initially adopted at the end of 2023. In certain circumstances, if a developer requested a Planned Unit Development (PUD) and/or was being financed by the SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 13, 2026 Page 2 City, these standards would apply. There were different pathways to choose from: a third-party green rating system or an all-electric development agreement. The first project was the Valley View Hotel/Residence Inn at the corner of 494 and Valley View Road (near the former UNFI Building) with plans for a restaurant onsite. The hotel triggered these required standards, but the restaurant did not. This would be built to the Certified LEED Silver (or higher) standard and would meet a checklist of sustainability components. Those included predicted GHG emissions and two DCFC, six L2 (level two) EV chargers, with capacity for eight more. This would also be a solar-ready construction. The other project was the Roers Eden Prairie Apartments at Highways 62 and 212. This chose a mostly electric compliance pathway instead of third-party certification option. There would be central electric heat pump RTUs, air conditioning VTAC, and then heat pump mini splits in common areas. There would be natural gas allowed for hot water and garage heating only, and with the stipulation that on- site solar would be installed to offset some of the emissions. There would be six L2 EV chargers installed, with capacity for 80 more. Wieland asked for the reactions of builders, and Fierce replied it depended on the developer. Those already with sustainable projects in their portfolio did not have many questions about the requirements. LEED Certification comes with fees. No one pulled an application due to the requirements to her knowledge, however. Some did decide against requesting PUD zoning in response to the standards, and then just met the normal zoning standards required. She added Eden Prairie was in line with other cities on these polices. Frost asked about how PUD’s function. Fierce replied every zoning district has set standards such as setbacks, density, parking requirements, et cetera. If a developer wanted or needed to request changes from those requirements, those are considered waivers and required PUD designation. Almost all new development projects are redevelopment projects in the city. A common financial incentive is TIF (tax increment financing). Eden Prairie generally only agrees to provide TIF financing in order to meet our affordable housing goals. Frost asked if the heat pumps were less or more expensive than gas equivalents. Fierce replied they generally are, but TIF would help pay for it, and the developer was able to make it work within the budget. She explained the only way they could make water heating electric work was if each unit had its own water heater in every apartment unit, which decreased available space and did not pencil out for development costs. That is why they were allowed natural gas water heaters with the caveat to offset some of those emissions with on-site solar. Both projects recently had their development agreements approved and would begin construction in the spring. SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 13, 2026 Page 3 2. 2026 Work Plan Finalization Fierce stated she had incorporated all additional commissioner suggestions around school and multifamily organics recycling and the Sustainability Academy. She noted a good goal for the Sustainability Academy would be to focus content on bringing in new audiences, not existing advocates. The Work Plan would be presented to the City Council on Tuesday, February 10, prior to the regular commission meeting, either at 5:00 or 5:30 p.m. The Sustainability Commission meeting would follow at 7:00 p.m. B. Reports from Chair C. Reports from Commissioners Conners stated the Eco Expo team was in place and invitations would go out. He asked for a student representative to act as director of student activities. Discussion followed on recruitment methods and potential contacts. Wieland gave an update on MnTAP. Recommendations had gone out for school district review. The organization would meet with the operations director. The three main recommendations were food scraps collection and reducing food prep waste, food and paper recycling, and shared tables. This was similar to the recommendations for the middle school. The elementary school would focus on recycling and shared tables. Conners stated the facilities and lunchroom staff showed good support, but the difficulty was in changing the culture and getting students involved. Conners added that he shared Wieland’s work with the Citizen’s Climate Group as a model for their schools and cities. Wieland added MnTAP was looking for additional schools to partner with. The organization hoped to meet with the district by the end of the month. Hoffman asked who would pick up the collected organic waste, and Wieland replied this had to be worked out for the middle and high school, whereas the elementary school had a process in place. Hennepin County provides grants for this work. Junker stated she was seeing a lot about light pollution, and asked Eden Prairie’s stance on this. Fierce replied new development must meet certain lighting standards in construction. There were limits on brightness and a prohibition of light spilling over onto other properties. Poock added Eden Prairie had been SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 13, 2026 Page 4 switching to downward-facing LED lights over the past 10 years. Fierce added staff received calls about bright streetlights at times. At times switching to a different LED light prompted this. She stated she would come back with more data at the next meeting. Frost asked how the City handled immigration enforcement, and Fierce stated she did not have anything to share but the police department may be able to answer questions. Discussion followed on commission members’ and student representatives’ reactions to ICE’s presence in the Twin Cities. Fierce also suggested reaching out to the City Council or Rick Getschow, the City Manager. Poock suggested visiting the Human Rights and Diversity Commission, which met on the second Thursday of every month. Hendrickson asked for recommendations for biodegradable plastics, specifically for garbage. Fierce replied there were compostable bags for organics. However, these were not meant for backyard composting, as the heat generated was not sufficient to break them down, and bio-degradable garbage bags would not make any difference in a landfill, since no oxygen was introduced and therefore these bags would not break down. Junker suggested using bags from recycled materials, which at least offered one reuse of materials that were not compostable. Hendrickson asked for the Lake Riley Watership District contact details. He mentioned he was also thinking of running for the board. Fierce suggested contacting Liz Forbes. Conners reminded Hendrickson of the Eco Expo. Frost added she was on the citizen’s advisory committee for the Watershed District. Discussion followed on grants. D. Reports from Student Commissioners 1. Student Swap Event Update Rice stated there was an outline and they would probably conduct outreach within the next month. The event would be held March 7, 2026. Fierce asked that any social media messages be sent to her to distribute, perhaps three weeks out. Wieland stated Hennepin County would host its Kitchen Gadget Swap on February 28 at Ridgedale Library, which could be a model for the students’ event. Tiwari asked if there were any rules and regulations on messaging. Fierce instructed her to send it to her, and she would pass it to the Communications staff to review. Accessibility would be the main issue considered by that department. Conciseness was important. The Eden Prairie Local News online community calendar could be updated online by anyone, but she also offered to reach out to the reporters. The student representatives, however, could make their own pamphlets as long as the City logo was not included. The swap would include books for all ages. Discussion followed on housekeeping SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 13, 2026 Page 5 items for the event. V. Upcoming Events A. February 28, 2026 - Kitchen Gadget Swap at Ridgedale Library VI. Next Meeting A. Tuesday, February 10, 2026 VII. Adjournment MOTION: Nehl moved, seconded by Conners, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 9-0. Chair Poock adjourned the meeting at 8:00 p.m.