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2016-09-12 Committee on the Environment Minutes MINUTES CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON THE ENVIRONMENT Monday, September 12, 2016 1:30p.m. City Council Work Session Room After determining that a quorum of the Committee on the Environment of the Denton City Council was present, the Committee on the Environment thereafter convened into an Open Meeting on Monday, September 12, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. in the City Council Work Session Room 215 E. McKinney, Denton, Texas. Present: Council Member Dalton Gregory, Council Member Joey Hawkins and Council Member Keely Briggs Also Present: Howard Martin, ACM; Kenneth Banks, Director Environmental Services and Sustainability; Deborah Viera, Environmental Compliance Coordinator; Munal Mauladad, Deputy Director of Development Services; Nona Muncie, Landscape Administrator; Julie Wyatt, Senior Planner; Hayley Zagurski, Assistant Planner; Kathy Jack, Conservation Program Coordinator; Stephanie Corley, Environmental Services Sustainability and Grant Coordinator and Kim Mankin, Administrative Supervisor 1. REGULAR MEETING: A. COE16-023 - Consider approval of the Committee on the Environment meeting minutes of August 1, 2016. Approved as circulated B. COE16-025 - Discuss current regulations associated with urban farming in the City of Denton. Julie Wyatt started this presentation stating she would present the regulations associated with Urban Farming within the City of Denton. Two documents that were reviewed during this was the Sustainability Plan and the Comprehensive Plan. Simply Sustainable was passed in February 2012. It focuses on social, economic, and environmental areas. Within this plan there is a chapter dedicated to local food production. A goal is to encourage local food production and distribution. One strategy is to encourage local community gardens and back yard gardens. The Denton Plan 2030: Element 2: Land Use - Urban agriculture is encouraged within the development criteria for rural, residential, and downtown Future Land Use categories. Element 5: Parks, Conservation, and Environment Overview -Survey Prime Agricultural Land - determine potential locations and value of agricultural land threatened by development. -Support for local food production - expand community gardens and urban agriculture to promote access to healthy foods and seeks out methods to make local food production easier. Element 8: Community Health, Safety, & Services - Recommends planning for healthy communities by expanding community gardens and urban agriculture. Wyatt then talked about the Denton Development Code Subchapter 23 Definitions Agricultural Activity - Land used exclusively as a bonafide agricultural operation by the owner or tenant. The use of land for agricultural purposes including farming, horticulture, animal and poultry husbandry, and the necessary accessory uses, provided that the operation of the accessory use is clearly incidental to the agricultural activity. An accessory use shall include incidental sales by the producer of products raised on the farm. Under subchapter 23 the definitions associated are: agriculture, livestock and sale of products grown on site. Wyatt went on to say that agriculture is permitted by right in all zoning districts within the City of Denton, subject to platting, infrastructure, accessory building, storage, site design, and parking requirements necessary to support activities on the site. With no further questions the next item was presented. C. COE16-026 - Receive a report, hold a discussion, and provide direction regarding Denton Development Code Subchapter 17 Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs). Deborah Viera gave this presentation starting with the code language clarifications. These changes are for clarifications and will help with understanding of the code. There will be multiple presentations to complete these changes. There are no policy changes at this point or changes to the ESA map. Gregory asked if the changes are due to questions by developers. Viera answered there are areas that are not consistent as well as questions by others. She is going through the code line by line. Gregory then asked if a group of developers has weighed in on the changes. Viera answered staff will meet with them later in this process. Briggs asked if the Denton Development Code (DDC) was going to be reviewed for revisions and if the items removed would be saved for use in those revisions. Viera answered the DDC will be revised but she would like the Subchapter 17 to be complete before the rest is reviewed. What is deleted or rearranged will be saved and marked as such. Viera brought to attention Section 35.17.7 Undeveloped Floodplain Development Standards. The prohibited uses and activities section states: Septic tanks, septic tank drain fields, and other forms of on-site wastewater treatment shall not be built within the Environmentally Sensitive Areas. Septic tanks within the city was discussed. Viera added that septic tanks are regulated by TCEQ chapter 285. Even though the City of Denton Code is more stringent than what TCEQ allows if it reviewed at the time of the revision and change. Banks added that there are well over 600 septic tanks in the City. The consensus of the committee was to move forward with the clarifications. D. COE16-024 ACM Update 1. Pace Program 2. Matrix CONCLUDING ITEMS A. Under Section 551.042 of the Texas Open Meetings Act, respond to inquiries from the Committee on the Environment or the public with specific factual information or recitation of policy, or accept a proposal to place the matter on the agenda for an upcoming meeting AND Under Section 551.0415 of the Texas Open Meetings Act, provide reports about items of community interest regarding which no action will be taken, to include: expressions of thanks, congratulations, or condolence; information regarding holiday schedules; an honorary or salutary recognition of a public official, public employee, or other citizen; a reminder about an upcoming event organized or sponsored by the governing body; information regarding a social, ceremonial, or community event organized or sponsored by an entity other than the governing body that was attended or is scheduled to be attended by a member of the governing body or an official or employee of the municipality; or an announcement involving an imminent threat to the public health and safety of people in the municipality that has arisen after the posting of the agenda. Briggs update on the charging stations The meeting was adjourned by consensus at 2:08 p.m.