HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Natural Resources & Conservation Committee - 11/04/2020NATURAL RESOURCES & CONSERVATION COMMITTEE
Meeting Minutes for Wednesday November 4, 2020 at 6:00pm
Electronic meeting attended by Ashley Parker, Ray Gonda,(Chr), David Crawford, Corey Santorello, Colin
McIntosh, Jessica Grillo, Jean- Sebastian Chaulot, Larry Kupferman, Drew Shatzer & Lisa Yankowski
(phone)
No public attendees
1) Welcome & virtual meeting review done by Ashley.
2) No additions, deletions or changes.
3) No comments from the public but Corey had questions for Ashely. He found an area with
Buckthorn at Underwood and wondered where else it would be at Wheeler.
4) Minutes from 10/7 meeting: Move to adopt by Lisa, adopted unanimously.
5) Ray- NRC Work Plan and priorities will be changing due to our new mission & duties as set by
the city council. (ref: SB Natural Resources & Conservation Committee Mission Statement &
Duties)
a. We had developed a work plan for 2020, with the top priorities being. Tree Stewardship,
Habitat Connectivity & Expansion of use of Management Plans. Of a lesser priority:
Managing invasive species, Pollinators, Conservation of Aquatic Resources, Conservation
of Agricultural Resources & Internet Software Tools.
b. Our work was interrupted by Interim zoning and city sponsored identification and
evaluation of open spaces around the city. How do we include future protection for
these areas. We were working with city planners and had developed a list for developers
to receive highlighting areas of concern for future developments. We hoped to provide
information to aid in presenting better reviews to the Development Review Board (DRB).
We had collaborated with several developers on existing plans and were aiming to be an
advisor for other city committees.
c. We feel the need to change direction and with our new duties from the city, design a
new work plan for 2021. We are an advisory committee to aid in the protection of
natural resources in the city of South Burlington. The plan will need to be more expansive
to help private property owners looking to modify their properties, (refer to the new
Mission Statement).
NRCC Charge:
http://cms6.revize.com/revize/southburlington/ADOPTED_NRCC_Charge_2-18-2020.pdf
d. The committee decided by consensus that different reps will attend the DRB meetings
determined by project rather than a single rep to report on all projects. Future
discussions will be needed to best structure this strategy to meet this need and to not
overly burden individual members. David will be our rep for the next Obrien Bros
development between Kennedy Dr and Old Farm Rd. Nominated by Lisa, 2nd by Larry.
Unanimously approved.
1. (Note: when attending meetings, be sure to identify yourself as a
member of the NRC/Conservation Committee or as a private citizen.)
6) Joint committee meeting about the proposed dog park was attended by Larry and Lisa. It is
felt a task force is needed to better understand: How do you manage the behaviors of owners
and their dogs in our natural areas. How does the NRC feel about this? What are the concerns
of other city committees? It is hoped to present these thoughts to the city council at the
January 2021, meeting.
Jess, Lisa and Corey will tag team the Dog Park Task Force meetings and Corey will
represent the NRC on the Task Force for the dog park. Ray nominated the trio, David 2nd.
Passed unanimously.
Some points from the Dog Park Task Force meeting:
Dog park committee --> policy writing & interpretation
Dog park joint task force --> outreach/culture building
Our role? --> to important natural areas, habitat blocks & habitat connectivity.
Full Poop bags all over the walking paths, especially in winter at Red Rocks especially
PSA- either print or video. Highlighting needs of dogs (room to run, etc.) but also needs
of non-dog users. Some people may not realize they're adversely impacting other users and
may actually change their behavior to be more accommodating.
Drew’s thought: Appeal to individual responsibility. Tends to work with Vermonters
Link to the Joint Committee Meeting Agenda Packet with the Dog Recreation
Management Report: http://sbvt-
records.info/WebLink/ElectronicFile.aspx?docid=194307&dbid=0&repo=sburl
7) Chair comments: Ray discussed how frustrating is to try and have deep
discussions and develop ideas during committee meetings. More work tends to
get done in work groups and not in a formal “sub-committee”.
a.