Environmental Advisory Board - Regular Meeting

Call the meeting of the Environmental Advisory Board, Monday, 12/01/2025, to order. Roll call? Tintra.

Jessica, aye.

Casey McGowan.

Stefan Califf, Board Liaison.

Great.

Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Any public comment, Julia?

No, we don't.

Great. So first item on the list is approval of minutes. I do want to say I'd like us to we've got a fair amount to cover tonight. Let's try and make sure that we're not talking over each other and we're staying on topic, right, or I'm going to have to start chopping people off. And I don't enjoy doing that. But yeah. So anyway, approval of minutes, item 20 five-three 47. Approve the 11/03/2025, VAV meeting minutes. Do have a motion?

I make the

motion to approve. Second.

Vote? All in favor?

Aye.

Aye. It's unanimous. New Business A26-six. Discussion on possible action regarding update from the Parks and Rec Advisory Board liaison. I don't If see

I may, Chair, because Member Giacomin provide a brief update on his behalf for this. Good. Thank you. They had a presentation of the Parks Master Plan, which was presented to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. The Board members approved the recommendations and suggested for that approval to commission as well. So they were And

a Board. To

will be then quarter on first 8,000 pieces of candy of distributed. Parks and Recreation won the theme of the night. And these are the updates that I have on behalf of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board liaison.

Great. Any questions? All right. Let's move on. Item 20 six -seven, discussion and possible action regarding presentation of the EAB 2025 annual report to the city commission. I believe this is your item, Stefan.

Thank you, Chair. Just wanted to start with a quick question. Were all members able to take a look at the staff notes associated with this item. I did not.

Okay. So

what I would to it? I didn't see a link. I got all the links. Excuse

me. If I may, I'm going to pull it up real quick as that will make it easier to

I don't think they were attached to this, Stephane.

They were not attached. But as part of the agenda item, there's a summary. And I will pull that up right now.

Okay.

Like

here or okay.

Okay.

To select something else from the drop down.

Okay. Perfect. That's fine. Thank you. Okay.

We have three options is first So this item question. Discusses possible ways to present the Environmental Advisory Board 2025 annual reports to the City Commission. And there are three options in which this could happen. I have listed under the staff summary for this item, I have listed all three options as well as mentioning what are some of their potential pros and cons. So the first option would be a presentation by a Board member at a regular commission meeting.

Some of the pros include direct representation of the Board's work and priorities to commission. It allows for real time dialogue and questions between commission and Board, very the

successful and

The

The company company

Board. Strong Directors. And we to commission. And some of the pros include streamlining the communication by using established administrative channel. It ensures the report is formally documented and distributed to all commissioners, minimizes scheduling challenges and time commitments for the Board and Commission as well.

Cons reduces opportunities for direct engagement between is open. The

the

Board

Board

of Directors

allows for commissioners

of to hear directly from the multiple board members, strengthens alignment between board recommendations and commission priorities. The cons with this option would be require significant coordination and Commission and could extend beyond the scope of a simple annual report presentation requiring further preparation.

So

with these options available, I think that we have few opportunities to relay the reports and have this dialogue with our commissioners. So at this point, I'm sure that the Board will discuss now.

I'm fine with Option three. Seems like that's a good way to talk to the commissioners and let them hear from multiple members so they can get a sense of everything.

Comments. Jessica?

Well, I agree with that sentiment, but I am really for option two because it's I think it's too much for one member to do. And I think that we might have trouble, getting everybody together for a meeting with the board, with the city commission, only because, like, the con is significant coordination to schedule a joint meeting because they how much of the commissioner commission would have to be there? All of them or a quorum or what? A quorum. A quorum.

So for them, it would be how many

computating or

Well, at my first, I would go with, the memorandum because, you have the notes of everything, right?

Yes, ma'am.

Okay. I think it would be, easiest to give it to Stephan to do. It would be more comprehensive because we have a year's work to sum up. And some board members have not been here for a year, right? Very

good. Recommend number two. Did I hear that correctly? Okay.

Yeah. I think that would be most thorough.

Got it. I happen to like option three. I think that gives us the best opportunity to make an impact, and that's why I joined the Board. Any other comments? Is this an item we're voting on or what?

So

this Possible action? That's right.

This would be an item. Yes, sir. This would be an item to vote on and to decide on the means on how to present this report. I just wanted to mention that the report should be presented to the city commission no later than the 2026. So this would be something that has to happen by then. We have some time, but not that much. So ideally, commission would the board would take that into consideration. What kind

of things go into this report? I've been on the board for two years and I've never seen one.

Great question. So it would be any accomplishments, any efforts. I am also going to be assisting with the reports, with the draft of that report. I will be providing a lot of the information that I have in our records.

Yeah. That was my question. Let's include number two with number three to make sure that we cover all of our ground.

Typically, the past, boards that have opted to do the joint meeting, they would provide a short presentation. Presentation. And the main focus would be on their goals for the upcoming year so that they could express those goals to the commission and get commission feedback on what commission might want to add to it.

Excellent. I'm way on board with that. Let's vote. All in favor of option number one? Nobody? All in favor of option number two? No? All in favor of option number three?

Yes. Do we, as a board, need a quorum to go to the presentation? No, you do not. Okay.

The only board that will make it that can make any take any action at a joint meeting is the commission.

Okay.

So

We have a lot of doctor's appointments. So I want to go. I'll try to make it, but can't guarantee. Understood.

Great. And that should be it. Okay. Item 20 six-eight, discussion and possible action regarding relocation and crediting of trees moved from development properties to designated areas.

All right. So thank you, Chair. Just a couple of pointers about this item. As I have mentioned in the staff summary for it, the majority of the concerns with it are already addressed in our Unified Land Development Code. And that would be under Table 6.7.43.

And I would like to read the verbiage from the Code three, relocation to public property upon notification by the ULBC administrator that the city or other government agency is interested in relocation of a trees from the applicant's property to the public property. The property owner shall have the discretion to authorize the relocation and pay for the cost of tree relocation in return for conservation credits. The relocation shall be accomplished within fifteen working days of the tree removal

for the first half nineteen.

Some of some of the input from city staff and from our urban forester, Ryan Pieper, for this item that I wanted to gather. Basically, one of the biggest challenges with this type of relocation go with costs and flexibility towards the applicants. We offer our Unified Land Development Code offers that option, and there are means for this to be done through it. However, many times, because there's need for specialized equipment such as a spade truck, labor costs And in addition, in some cases, the relocated tree may not make it through the relocation. Some of the other factors that have to be considered are irrigation at the recipient site.

So we, as natural resources team and city representatives who are in favor of having more trees, we are always in support when the applicant is expressing such effort. We do recommend it. We bring it up in cases where it may be applicable. My personal observation is that usually the applicant opts out not to go with the relocation. That's all I have. Commentary?

Questions?

I have a question. Is it because of cost that they opt out?

Yes, ma'am. In part, it's because of costs. In part, it's because there are additional steps that may require staff time from the applicant's side. So all these factors play into it.

Any other questions or comments, recommendations? No? Okay. Thank you, Stephane.

Thank you, sir.

Item 20 six-nine, discussion of possible action regarding a property adjacent to Myakka Hetchy Creek and its potential environmental value for preservation through the Sarasota County Land Acquisition and Management Program.

All right. Thank you, Chair. Just wanted to provide all members with a quick up to speed with recent actions regarding this parcel and this item. So in December, in beginning of this excuse me, September this year, Parks and Recreation, the Parks and Recreation Department already brought this item forward to the city commission review and possible direction. The case.

I And Board Directors The vote was four to one of rejecting the items proposal. So this is where we are. I just wanted to dedicate some time for the board to get familiarized with previous discussions with this.

Yeah. My question on that would be why wouldn't we have seen that sooner? Like before, we should have been part of the recommendation process, I would think.

This was an item that was brought up by the Parks and Recreation team. And

So they wanted

That's all the information that I have about it.

Wow. I guess it was a little bit.

Right. So Okay. Go ahead, Jessica.

So they wanted it for a park. And it was rejected as Parkland.

Okay.

Then, do we have a map available of how adjacent? We're talking about Myakka Creek, Myakka Myakka Hachi Creek Environmental Park. Is that what we're talking about?

It's adjacent On to

a map? I'm assuming that,

but I know. It would be this parcel here.

And where is the park in relation to that parcel?

So here's my Myakahatchee Creek, and then the park's up here. So this would be a parcel adjacent to Tamiami Trail.

Oh, okay. That's the one across the street from okay. Right. So they didn't want it as a park or a playground. And I can see the, like, idea of having kids and all the traffic on Tammy, I mean, not being compatible compatible at all, would it be a waste of our time to ask them if we could just leave it as a conservation area? At

this point, I know that they

They wanna develop it.

And they They wanna work to develop on their on their vote. I I believe that all the information that they they inquired about was presented to them about this background. But at this point, there's we have the item and US members can discuss Is whether you like to

this a seven acre parcel or whatever that Chuck was talking about last night? He made public comment on a The same one. It's the same one? Okay.

Same with

That's why it's on the agenda. Yes.

Okay. And the city is up for developing it because they think it's possible to raise it above floodplain. What is the building beside it that's very large, the white building to the right?

The Old Winn Dixie.

That's the Old Winn Dixie. So this is next to the Winn Dixie?

Yes. And

the Winn Dixie is now at Planet Fitness or something?

Doesn't matter.

No. I'm just curious. Because it got really I mean, the building was devastated during the, you know, the whole thing. And the owner of that property wants it to stay as floodplain wetlands or whatever because it just makes sense to that particular owner. But the city wants to develop it as a commercial. Presumably, that's what it's zoned, right, commercial?

That's how it's zoned currently.

That's correct. So do you have a question or a recommendation?

I don't see how it could be developed any better than the old Winn Dixie next to it. I mean, you know, it's wetlands. It's very low. It's got a river right beside it. Well.

The storm drainage is, you know, like, where is that gonna go? It's just gonna wash right back up. Whatever. I'm in favor of of, you know, making a presentation ourselves, just hammer the nail a little bit further and just saying, you know, we really wanna see this as conservation. And, you know, you can put a sign on it, you know, or a no sign on it.

Let it be known that, you know, we're we're, we're conserving. This is a conservation preservation area, period. And rejecting the wishes of the owner, I think, is, a slippery slope. Okay? We give in to owners all the time when they want to develop.

And when they don't want to develop and they have expressed wishes not to develop something, and the city wouldn't have to do a thing to maintain it, they could just let it sit, let it act as a flood barrier to the rest of the neighborhood around there. I think it's denying the rights of that property owner. So I would like to make an argument to them.

You'd like to make a recommendation to them that

That I would that's a bad decision? I think do

think it should be?

You know, they always say property rights, property rights, property rights. Well, they're ignoring this man's property or this owner or whatever property rights, how he would like it to be.

My understanding is he's wanting it rezoned out from commercial into conservation. Is that correct or not correct?

That is correct. When that go before planning and zoning?

That doesn't let's try and stay on top of here.

I am.

So it's starting commercial.

Laurie Barnes, Deputy Director, Development Services. The property currently is zoned Activity Center 1. The property owner's request was to Sarasota County and their environmentally sensitive lands acquisition program. The property owner requested the property be nominated for that program and acquired by Sarasota County to be held in conservation. So the request had nothing to do with rezoning the property.

It had to do with the county acquiring the property and compensating the current property owner for their acquisition of that parcel. Can I ask what that price was? There was no price determined. The way the program works is the county receives a nomination for the property. The county shares with whatever municipality or county board of commissioner staff and requests input from the Parks and Recreation Department and the Planning Department.

And that recommendation goes up to the city commission, and they determine whether they want to support that request to the nomination to the Sarasota County Environmental Exensitive Lands Program. Our city commission did not support it because of the economic impact that could be associated with development of this property in the future. Now, if a property is nominated and that nomination is accepted, then the county and the property owner go about having an appraisal of the property determined and potentially going forward with the contract of sale and purchase for that property in accordance with the county's policies.

Okay. So the city is not involved in it at all? So why is it on our agenda?

The city is not involved in the program except that the city commission makes a recommendation to the county on that nomination request. And the city commission did not support the nomination, and therefore, the county did not move forward with pursuing that property.

Well, one more question. Would this fall under our tree acquisition fund that we could say we would like to spend some money on this?

It could. And one of the next items on your agenda is our recommended natural resources review review and recommendation for environmentally sensitive lands. Now, this particular property is not in that presentation. But if you all wanted us to add that to the commission's list for consideration, We can evaluate it according to our matrix and potentially include it in the recommendation to commission. So yes, the environmental protection could be.

Right. Now, being said, we can only deal with willing property owners. If this property owner is not still willing to work with the local government, whether it be the county or the city, to have that property acquired, then we can't guarantee acquisition of the land is what I'm trying to communicate.

Yes. Okay. Would we make a motion on this or what?

I have a question first before we make the motions. Calm yourself. My question is, what's the mechanism that determines what comes in front of us?

So this usually would be any future in front of the environmental advisory board.

Yeah. Right. Because it always seems like we are more than a day late and a dollar short on any of this stuff.

A lot of this could come to the Board if it's brought up as an agenda item. So in theory, a lot of the items that we bring are items that U. S. Members would like to discuss. So this is usually how the agenda is determined.

Now potentially, because I believe that I see where you're going to the important being proposed, which was one of the wishes of the Board Board. Correct. Potentially, this is something that can be also brought up where it would be any relevant agenda items that are upcoming to your attention. So it would be a mixture between what the members are requesting and what we have done as far as what I'm normally putting on the agenda as of now. But that doesn't mean that we cannot tweak and improve the process as So we move

what I want us to be able to do is to get a recommendation in front of commission before something's already done, right? That's kind of an easy way to think about the filter that I'm thinking, right? We're not going to solve it here. But I think we've got to figure that out, right? Because it's frustrating, right?

This is a good example of one that's frustrating, right? That's an easy one that somebody should have said, wow, EAB ought to take a look at that. But it's clear that that's not really what the mindset is. So

are you proposing that we ask the city to apprise us of any lands that could be possibly looked to be bought by the funds? Is that the requested item?

So that's I'm saying so that would be part of it. But I'm just thinking broadly, right? What's the mechanism that determines what comes in front of us? Because we're constantly we're always behind. That's what I'm curious about. Whether it's 100%, right? When we talk about the property stuff, for sure, we're going to want to see

that. I'm

just saying broadly, if it impacts the environment, right, or any honestly, if it impacts anything on that scorecard, right? Because we set the scorecard up to match right up against what our charter is. So I guess what I'd like to do is I'd like city to maybe think through how we get to that point. I think that's a goal. Can

we at least make a motion, at least on this topic, about properties, parcels of land that become available that we, as a board, have a input on how we recommend them as a board to the city to have a vote, like we recommend yay or nay possibly purchase or pass.

I'd like to make a comment. You said they ran it through Parks and Recreation. Is that their default for land acquisition?

It depends. It depends for what purpose is the parcel being acquired for. For example, we, with natural resources, these are funds that are part of the environmental protection funds. And then this is why we are going to on behalf of Natural Resources, I'm going to be presenting this presentation to the Board. But it really depends which department is acquiring the parcel.

Well, the reason I I had a ulterior motive in asking that question because I wonder why staff from Parks and Recreation did not raise his hand and tell us about it since I mean, what other purpose this That's

year what I'm talking about. We want them

to come back with that recommendation. I didn't put you in script. I

believe it didn't come to the board because they weren't looking to do it through the city's fund. They were looking to do it through the Sarasota Counties, which we have nothing to do with.

Yeah. But Parks and Rec was involved. I'm

just

a little confused about the role of Parks and Recs. I would think that if he knew about it now, I don't know if he knew about it. If he knew So about it

I understand what you're saying about, right? It was through a county program. But in my mind, if city commission is voting on environmental issue in the city limits, we should be seeing that ahead of time. And

if I may, just a quick comment. So the county because in this example, the acquisition would be through the county.

No. It doesn't. Jim, you wanted to talk about approval before a property was purchased?

Yeah. If a property someone wants to have the city look at buying up a property, if those items can be brought to our attention so we can advise making a recommendation. I believe that's an approve of motion to put forward.

I'm

I'm know,

sure I'm

as it came before parks I and recreation as it is related to the duties and responsibilities of this board.

That's what I asked earlier.

Let me finish. Let me get on the roll Okay? Okay.

I'm just trying to keep us all

doing right? Right. The other aspect of this that the property owner requested it in order to facilitate the purchase of the property by the Camel County for conservation Which I believe is within a Manatee protection zone has a conservation restricted zone overlay and is in a Class A floodplain. Okay. Somebody explain that to me.

Over the recommendations of Parks and Recreation and staff. The commission voted not to do it. These are aspects that we need to look at as it relates to environmentally sensitive lands because it's within their total vision of economic development other than anything else, right, is not acceptable because it would take away a prime piece of economic development property, which based on the present rules of the ULDC would be very expensive to develop. Okay? Thank you.

Y'all need to oh, I'm not done yet unless I got three minutes left. Okay. Thank you, Missy. Alright. There's the aspect of the things we need to look at. As I said, it went before parks and rec. It went before planning. It went before development services, I think. Or what's it? Was it yeah. Exactly. But never came before this board. Okay. Now I'm done. Thank you.

And the commission should reverse that so that property can be placed if the property owner is still interested, okay, which I'm sure they are because it's not cost effective for them. Do you feel I have to bring in there? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Can we ask the owner for permission to survey the trees on the property and see if they fit into our if there's any big trees, heritage trees, something that would bolster our argument before everybody to

The recommendation is Board should be they should have pissed and done it.

Well, we can't change.

Hold on. Dude, you can't. You're done. You're done, man.

I apologize.

So I'm just wondering if maybe somebody could do a swing by or a drive by or get some permission and say, we'd like to take a look to see if we find this falls under our purview because it's very hard to tell a tree cover from here. Well, the these old eyes, it's hard. I mean, unless you zoom in, I mean, I can see some on the highway

What are you recommending?

I'm recommending that first, before we go before the city, at first, we get permission to go out and look at the property and see if it's something that is worth preserving. I know the wetlands out I didn't know we were going the city.

I just

Well, I'm I don't know that we're going before the city either. Okay? Don't be pedantic. But I'm talking about we at least look have eyes on the property, be at some of the staff, and get a report back as to what they think. Can we make a motion for that?

If I may make a quick comment, Chair. We, actually, the natural resources team, we were able to get our eyes on this property. We have some information regarding the environmental conditions of this site. That shared? Can that be shared?

Or, can we put that on for our next meeting or something? I mean, how do we get our hands around this to, move forward with further discussion?

Whatever. Absolutely. It's something that we can provide. It's there are some photos associated with this parcel.

But mostly, I want to see what is actually

I'm going to you to leave if you're not quiet.

I want to know what's actually the staff, Natural Resources, thinks about this property if they can make a memo or something to us or a report or if they're in favor of it. You guys are the experts.

We can provide our our environmental assessment of this property and share it with the environmental advisory board. Just wanted to also remind you that our presentation in front of commission is coming up later this month, which is, I believe, December 9, if I'm not mistaken. So we will be discussing the land acquisition program

in front

of commission on December 9. However, because of time and because of deadlines for which these agenda items work, we may not be able to make any changes. However, we can make mention of any potential thoughts by the EAB and any potential support towards the options that I will give to you in one of the next items upcoming, which is the Okay. Land

So I jumped the gun. Fine.

Okay. Any other comments or questions on this item specifically? Right. I just want to make sure that we have the point of I want us to get to a point where we're seeing anything environmentally related prior to it getting voted on by the commission. Great. Thank you. Item 26 dash four, discussion and possible recommendation regarding city of Northport land acquisition program utilizing the environmental protection fund.

Can you see it okay?

Yes, sir.

All right. So I will update the esteemed Board about the land acquisition program team. Strong evaluate and acquire environmentally sensitive lands We throughout the city, preserve natural resources and support the Unified Land Development Code and the city's comprehensive plan. Another goal is to enhance the ecological integrity, public health and community resiliency, reduce flood risk, preserve vital wetlands and habitats and utilize strategically the Environmental Protection Fund. Why this matters to our city?

We're rapidly growing and changing. There's an ever increasing strain on our city's natural resources. Flooding and water quality issues already are associated with a significant cost of our city. Preserving key parcels can reduce flood risk and infrastructure costs. Balanced development equals sustainable growth.

And this also matters because it may offer economic benefits by increasing property values, attracting tourism and reducing costs related to flood control and other services. So natural flood protection reduces infrastructure costs, cleaner water equals lower stormwater treatment expenses, Green space increases nearby property values. Investing in conservation enhances the community's quality of life by providing recreational spaces, improving air quality and fostering the sense of connection with nature. So there are other programs that exist. One of them was mentioned through the county, and that's just one way to partner and work with others.

So few zones were identified within the city limits.

Can we blow that up, please?

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

You're welcome. And just as a reminder, the presentation is available on the agenda as well. So we have identified five regions with parcels of interest within those regions. Now as part of this presentation, we are avoiding bringing up any specific parcels because of how this may affect the future market value of these properties. However, we have a list and we have identified each of these and we have graded them based on certain parameters and I will go through some of these points in the presentation now.

So some of these benefits that I mentioned earlier, they work with reducing the city's long term flood management costs, protecting water quality and aquifer recharge zones and maintaining critical habitat for native and protected species. I mentioned the green space opportunities and how these may align with other conservative conservation methods and other forms of acquiring parcels to accomplish a more balanced city landscape. Funding mechanisms. So the funding source comes through the Environmental Protection Fund entirely. However, there may be opportunities to partner with other state and regional players to accomplish more.

So the acquisition strategy, it follows several steps. '20 And have a criteria. And And some of these include gopher tortoise, enlisted species, habitat, heritage trees, other trees of concern, plant coverage, invasive coverage, watershed impact, connectivity to other parcels, whether it's adjacent to waterways, neighborhood green space need, human disturbance and whether it's within a floodplain. Also, the size of the lot, the cost that maybe the cost would be also a factor, of course. And then the final scoring would ultimately determine which of these add the most ecological value to this program, so to say, the best bang for the buck.

As you can see, there are different scoring guidelines. Zero would represent that there is no value and three would be would represent very high value for each of these categories. So I talked about the many benefits and they're ultimately the reason why we are doing this. So the potential land acquisition program is ultimately supported by the comprehensive plan within at least two elements of it. And we also have the floodplain management and CRS programs.

So there will be value towards each of these. And ultimately, the goal is for Northport very pleased progress the we this program or they implement their program and other ways to support land acquisition. That's just one example of another jurisdiction that does that. Ultimately, we are going to seek three options from ultimately, we have three options to recommend, and we will seek for commission to recommend one of them. And this would be option one, which is to pursue properties in order of ranking.

Under this option, staff would pursue all parcels identified by the Natural Resources Division in order of their staff ecological ranking. Each acquisition would depend on the presence of a willing seller, the property's fair market value and the availability of funding. If a property owner is willing to sell or requests a price above the appraised value or if funding is insufficient, staff would move on to the next parcel on the list until all identified properties have been considered or available funding has been exhausted. Option two would be for staff to focus acquisition efforts on the 10 parcels within the highest ecological value as identified by the Natural Resources division. Efforts would be limited to these parcels unless no willing sellers are found.

If none of the top parcels are available, staff would proceed down the ranked list in order for ecological value until funding is utilized. And then option three, it prioritizes floodplain, wetlands and stormwater impacts of any potential lots. So this one this option would focus not that much on listed species and vegetative coverage, but rather the floodplain benefit potential benefits and stormwater management potential by the properties. So the next steps would be to once commission recommends an option and directs staff to pursue, the next steps would be for us to contact willing property owners and then complete the appraisal process for each of these and then go through the steps to aim to acquire these properties of ecological value. So a balanced approach to growth means protecting what makes Northport vibrant, and it's, in our opinion, one of the most effective ways to invest environmental protection funds and collaboration with local environmental organizations to partner with land trusts will be a big part of this as well.

And I believe that this will open some exciting options that did not exist before for our city. And so with that being said, I can answer any questions that you may have.

Jessica, any questions? No. Tim?

The only thing I would have is if we're able to give any input on your three criterias of the land, like how you're looking for them, if we can have an input on which one we'd advise.

So I was going to ask a similar question. Of those three options, right, what is the differences in my total acreages, number of lots and that sort of thing?

Ultimately, the total acreage would depend on willing sellers and it would I'm depend on your

about in terms of here's the universe, understanding that you have to have a willing seller. I get that. Right.

I would like to, as a board, have an option on which of the three methods the city should present and go for as the board. I think that's a fair assessment.

I agree. 100%. That's why I'm asking this question as I'm curious.

I disagree.

Hang on, and you'll I

will You'll welcome. Give you

plenty of time.

Now because can I have a quick look at the options again? Just husband walked himself out of the house and I was dealing with that during part of the presentation. You don't have to read it to me. Staff recommendations in order of

rock. So

Yeah. Okay. I I got that. Okay.

And I also wanted to to include the natural resources staff who will also be making their recommendation Right. Okay. As well. So ultimately, yes, what we would like is that formal recommendation from you as a as a board. But just to go over again, we have the same same list.

However, the options determine in which priority order we are going to go. And option one is basically pursuing all of these properties within the order of ranking, cumulative order of ranking for all criteria from listed species to a potential floodplain benefit. Option two would be kind of to narrow down our search, our work with just the 10 highest ecological value properties that we've identified. And all of or the majority of our efforts will be limited towards these 10 properties. Now if none of these are available or feasible, then we would expand and move to others.

So ultimately, it would be a similar list and similar priority. However, this one is saying, okay, let's prioritize the 10 that we like the most and have the highest scoring, and then we go from there. Where the other one, option one, would be let's put all of them aligned and let's quarter of

had

of floodplain prevention, which parcels may have the most ecological or the most value towards potential floodplain protection and stormwater management. So which ones have the most potential towards that? So this one is more limited and is concentrated on floodplain issues and concerns.

That's why I was

asking Thank him you.

So do we have a sense of what that difference is? I'm trying to get to that so I can get aligned on because I'm 100%. I think we need that phone on it. Do you have a sense for that, Stephane? So your first two items on there is the same universe. You're just approaching them in a different Correct. It's more of a bandwidth issue, really. But the third one carves out everything that's not floodplain, stormwater, that sort of thing. I'm just curious if we have a sense for what that difference in total acreage is.

So the total acreage, I can pull up some additional information that may help answer that. So the total acreage would be there are large, fairly large parcels, and there are many smaller ones. Total acreage would be in the tens of acres. However, we have with our limited funding, we are just going to prioritize with the maximum that we can acquire as far as environmental score.

So if you got and how much please remind me what's the war chest that the city has for this? Me. What's the war chest that the city is working with?

So it's $2,500,000

$2,500,000 Yes, sir. Thank you.

And I wanted to show you, these are attached in this agenda item. So you can access them at any time. But we have the potential environmental score, the size and why, what are some of the notable features of the parcel that we're interested in and then the zone that's associated with this parcel. And earlier, I showed you that map with the different zones, one, two, three, four and five. So you can see this one would be in the order of ranking based on all factors.

So that would be if we consider option one or two, actually option one. But hopefully, that summarizes what we have in mind.

That was helpful. Thank you. Want to So I make a motion about would

like to make a motion.

Before you guys make a motion, we do have

another public comment under Great. This So you're here to make a comment?

Thank you very much. Property was on the list prior to the commission's vote not to allow it to be put into conservation, which again, at the property owner's request, I myself am partial to option one. Okay. But I understand option three. One of the things that that that we need to understand as we look forward to acquiring environmental property is many of the things that were discussed in the commission's workshop today, especially the presentation that was put forth as it relates to the branding of the city.

And the branding of the city primarily was focused on our natural environment and the beauty of our community as a branding factor. Well, that is what we should focus on as far as economic development is the beauty of this community community and its natural resources. Right? Not blind focus on economic development. And one of the other things is that that the development of the interchanges.

Okay? Like activity center six and ten. Right? That have the potential to provide us with the majority or a great percentage of the economic development the city's looking forward to. We cannot lose sight of our natural resources and the finite that we have.

I'm gonna let that go. I'll sum it up, but you need to be more informed of what is going on and you're not being. And that is a tragedy, especially as it relates to the duties and responsibilities of this board. Thank you. And I'm gonna be off.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Okay. If I may, chair, before any motions are are made, I wanted to also bring up that the natural resources staff, they are recommending option one to commission as part of their item coming on December 9. And also, if the board would like, as part of as part of a motion, you can also bring up that recommendation towards that activity center property that we just discussed as part of the previous item. So that would be a recommendation that you can make if you would like as part of your overall recommendation towards the land acquisition options that we have.

Okay. Thank Tim, you have a motion.

So I'd like to make a motion that the environmental board gives their input on which of the three we believe the city should focus on.

I second it.

Yeah, I agree. All four? Aye. Aye.

So do we now weigh in on which option?

Yeah, right. Do you want to

They an option, a motion to recommend recommend a particular option, Heather?

That's what he

He was just making a motion that they're going to

To discuss it now. Right. Doesn't hurt.

Right. Would you like to comment about it? Or do you want to just pick the vote? Any comments?

I'm clear on the three options.

Yes. I feel comfortable. Yeah.

Well, let's vote.

Great.

My recommendation is option three.

That's good. I'm thought one also.

That's not a motion.

So in theory now, someone needs to make a motion and vote for each option that you would like to vote on.

And that has to be you because I don't get to make them.

Okay. All in favor of option three?

I just need a motion

to whatever

option you want, make a motion for that option.

Oh, I see. And then we need a second. Okay.

All those in favor of option one?

Are

you seconding?

Yeah. I second that. Okay.

And now you can can take a vote.

All right. Voting on option one. I'm an aye.

Aye. Kim? Nay.

Nay. Okay. Does it have to be a majority?

No. Passes two to one.

Okay. That passes.

And then with the

So then we have a second thing where do we want to make a recommendation that property that we're talking about before, should that be included as a target for this program? Does anybody want to make a motion along those lines?

Okay. Can we have a discussion?

Yes, we can.

Okay. It's my understanding that, including that property, according to Stefan, would not be possible before the meeting on December 9 with Natural Resources that not included that in their, recommendations. And, that might be a stumbling block or something. Am I right of understanding that?

So we have a list with properties and this one, I need to verify whether this one is It's available. On there.

Okay. It it is on step one.

Okay. Yeah. Well, then

This is what I thought that we Well, we'll just it's not there. Well, this has to

postpone it, I think. I mean, it feasible? Chair, if I may.

There is no time for Natural Resources to update their list and ranking for the presentation for commission on December 9. But that does not prevent this board from making a recommendation to the city commission that they would like to see that property added.

Okay.

I make a They just won't be able to provide the overall ranking and review. We'll just be able to provide the history and the board's recommendation.

So I make a motion that we do that, include property.

I second it.

Okay. So we will include the property as All in

favor? Aye. Perfect.

Thank you.

Good. Thank you for that suggestion, Stephane.

Thank you.

Excellent. Any other questions, comments on that particular topic? No. Item 20 six-five, presentation and discussion regarding potential future development projects in Northport.

Thank you, chair. Give me just a moment. Hopefully, you can see this okay. One is a recreational vehicle, RV, trailer and boat parking with made

progress pleased

in this proposed development master plan, which this is a development master plan proposal, contemplates such this project. And we have approved this master plan with the following conditions. The tree survey indicates more trees than what is proposed for preservation on the site plans. During the site development review, it is recommended to keep this buffer in its natural state. So basically, these are this is a project that's at an early approval state, and there will be additional comments and requirements as we get further to the development review committee process.

And here's here's a plan of what the proposal seeks to accomplish. And this is the parcel location also showing what's available right now. And infrastructure. Some of our comments pertain to the fact that they need to plant all trees and landscaping in accordance with code regulations. Right tree, right place policy, no medium or large canopy trees should be planted within 20 feet of overhead utilities.

Palms that can grow taller than 10 feet must be placed within a setback equal to their maximum front length plus three feet. A root barrier must be installed when a tree is within 10 feet of any street, sidewalk, driveway, underground utility or structure. This is per the ULDC Section 4.3.2. The property owner or their successor is responsible for maintaining all landscaping materials in healthy conditions as approved indefinitely. They must also replace any landscaping materials that are damaged, diseased, dead or considered hazardous.

So we are working with our developers to educate them and to remind them that it's a requirement by the Unified Land Development Code and it's something that they need to take into consideration. The Natural Resources Division has also tightened its process towards root barrier enforcement as part of the review process. So that's something that we wanna stress to our applicants as early as possible. Sarasota Memorial Hospital Phase two. So this is basically a continuation of the initial phase where we have some comments about the landscape plans, including the root barrier and the maintenance in perpetuity as well.

This is a project that I'm sure you're all familiar with. And these are the comments that we have as of right

now. Alright. Questions, comments about that?

I'd like to make a motion that we remove this type of item from our agenda because there's nothing this board can actually say on what does and doesn't get developed or how it's developed. So I think this is just wasting Stefan's time and our board's time because we can't tell them they can't do anything different. They just have to meet the codes. So we're not the planning and reviewing boards. I mean, yeah, it's nice information that we get to know, but there's nothing we can do. So why are we talking about it or looking at it?

Okay. Any further discussion on the motion? I'll second it. All right. Let's have a vote on removing that item. Aye. Aye. No. Motion carries. Any other questions or comments on this section?

Well, it was always nice to know what was going on. Some things are just informative. They don't have to serve a purpose. We don't have to wonder what are they building there now when we're driving by someplace. We used to get that information here at this meeting. I guess it's available online.

It is. Thank

you. Any other comments or questions on that item? Great. Future agenda items. Jessica, do you have any future agenda items?

I did. One of the cities near us, Temple Terrace, near Tampa, actually hired an outside company. I don't I'm not sure of their structure, if they have any boards like we do here in Northport. They But they hired an outside company to identify all the trees within their tiny city, which were invasive and which ones were native. And it only added up to, like, 2,500 trees or something.

But anyway, I thought it was kind of a good idea. I know it's really impractical to do here in Northport. But, they had a very strong rec their commission strongly recommended something along the lines of, okay, we're gonna replace trees with natives, and we're gonna do this as, you know, sort of like what Northport, is their city of trees, Tree City wanted? And I was wondering, you know, the way that you can, there's a way that you can count a crowd, right, without doing individual things. And I was wondering if we had any capacity, like with a drone or something, to just fly around the city and come up with an estimate of how many

So would you like to have that on the next meeting's agenda? A discussion about

A discussion about, just what exactly do we have. And it's I would have to I would say limit it to city. What should we limit it to city discussion. Oh, Okay.

So what you'd like to see on there is a discussion about identifying what our tree

I Like, you had one Censuses. With wildlife. I

know exactly what you're

talking Okay. Because I was thinking with the drones nowadays, it might be Great. Easy, and we we could just say, okay. There's so many oaks in this acre, and we can extrapolate the information to whatever. Is that so let's talk about that next time, I was hoping. Yep.

Do you have any other items you'd like on the future agendas?

That was it.

Thank you. Tim?

Yep. I have one. It's a proposal about how the funding is used, like broken up for, like, planting trees, buying trees.

So a discussion around.

How the funds the tree funds are being used, like allocated. Because I don't think the city currently has a process of x amount goes to this, y amount goes to that.

Discussion and possible action regarding how the environmental fund is spent.

Yeah. I have a proposal everybody can look at if they want

to. Yeah.

And I would suggest the staff look or the board members look at it as well and take it.

Well, if it comes out on the agenda, it'll be on there. Okay. I'm good. I'll read it online.

Okay.

Great. Love it. Do you have any others, Jill?

That's it for today.

No? I'm good. Any public comment?

Yes. One public comment. Go Chuckie.

Chuck English. I wanna bring to board's attention some history. The Mahakahatchee Creek Environmental Park was developed based on a vision. And that vision is similar to what and this is loose, what New York Central Park is. Uh-huh.

The initial vision of that park was to be the environmental learning center of this community. It wasn't the environmental park. It was Maakahatchee Creek Environmental Learning Center initially. That was the vision. Somehow that vision's gotten lost and they think they can replace it with a building.

That's not what that park was designed for. I know because I was part of this committee that laid the foundation for that park to include assisting in the writing of state law to abolish the North Port Water Control District who were gonna channelize it. That vision was put forth by many individuals that are no longer here today. I just want to let the board know that I am gonna go after that vision the same as it was before and that that learning center should be designated and adopted as it relates to the Myakahatchee Creek Environmental Learning Center, which was initially its purpose for existence, not a building. Thank you.

Any other public comment? We are adjourned. Thank you.