- Yes.
Oh, there. All right.
Welcome to the Environmental Concerns Committee
meeting for August.
It's been a couple months.
Let's check to make sure we're live streaming.
We're good on that. Okay.
We're going to start with our roll call over here.
Rachel Yandel. Member David AK. Chair.
- John Cruiser. Member
- Katie Bloom, member.
Excellent. And as you can see, if you're watching,
there are some empty seats up here.
So if you are a resident of the city of Kalamazoo
and you have concerns about the environment,
you are eligible to be on this committee.
So go to the city's website
and submit your application, please.
All right. We are ready to go ahead and get started.
We have an agenda. Everybody should have received that.
Do we have any requests for changes to the agenda?
No. If there's no request for changes,
can we get a motion to approve?
I will. Motion to approve the agenda. Second. All right.
We are good to go with the agenda.
We did meet last month and there are minutes.
Do we have somebody who would like to either ask for changes
or to motion for approval?
Motion to approve.
Motion to approve. Thank you. I'll second that motion.
All right. Any objections? All in favor?
Aye. Okay, good. Aye. All right.
Communications. We're moving along.
Justin, would you like
to catch people up on C sustainability?
- Sure. Yeah. So this is kind of, Ooh, it's loud.
You know, pulling from the last couple months.
So one was the textile
pilot, you know, that was very popular.
A lot of folks have asked me if we're gonna continue,
we won't be able to continue that,
but I'll give you the results and kinda the rationale
why we can't continue.
So we collected 1,565 pounds
of textiles that was collected by students at Western
The Moda is the name of the group.
Merchandising Opportunities and Design Association.
That was all led by my previous intern Dagney.
So, yeah, so they collected, you know, almost 2000 pounds,
almost a ton of textiles in a day there.
317 pounds weren't really usable for them, so they sent them
to a company called Trashy that recycles them.
But, so those students are currently sitting on about 1200
pounds of textiles.
It's not sustainable for them to continually pull in,
you know, 1200 pounds every quarter to work on.
But that those textiles, they're gonna be used in student
fashion design projects.
Gonna be working with students
who are studying fashion design at Western.
Next thing on the agenda here I have is
the Rain Barrel sale.
So about 87 Rain Barrels were sold through the partnership
with the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council
and like five Composters,
those were dropped off or picked up.
Some folks got them painted. We might start
to look at doing more of those every year.
So maybe two a year. But
that was another successful event there.
And basic species pulls at Glen North, Glen Park North.
Great turnout there, you know, about seven folks showed up.
We pulled about, you know, 10 or 12 bags of garlic mustard.
We have a Master recycler program coming up.
I'll see if folks can get that There.
Folks can sign up there. So it, this is a partnership
with the Michigan Recycling Coalition.
They're working with communities
and organizations to train folks on kind of how to recycle,
you know, recycling's, replete with confusion.
It, it's a mess, right?
You, so this course is kind
of designed to cut through the noise.
So it's modeled on the Master Gardener program.
So it is a time commitment.
It's six weeks long, two hours, but food will be
provided, it'll be Tuesday evenings at the new CPE offices
and then graduate from the course.
You're considered a master recycler
and be a, hopefully be a resource in the community
to answer some questions and things like that.
Talk with your neighbors. Those classes will start 8 25
folks can scan that QR code
to sign up Michigan Green Communities.
So it's kind of this internal state
municipality certification program.
Kalamazoo certified Gold.
Again, it doesn't mean there are no environmental problems
in Kalamazoo, it just means
that we're hitting benchmarks laid out by
the Migrant Green Communities Coalition.
Just submitted an Eagle infrastructure
organic infrastructure grant, looking
to expand the composting program with that money, working
with the Audubon Society on Lights Out education
and kind of awareness programs here in the falls.
Birds start to migrate. And that's it.
Happy to answer any questions on that
or any other city sustainability
topics. Go ahead.
- Can I ask you, can I ask you about number six, the
or Eagle Organics?
How will you expand on that?
I mean, I, I know they were in different neighborhoods,
but are you expanding like to universities?
Businesses?
- No, not universities,
but it'll be more neighborhoods, more bins
in included in that.
We asked for a hybrid pickup
where we could do backdoor service if folks have mobility
or transportation issues, you know, they could work with us.
We could pick up their material and bring it to sites.
Yes, looking at Metro store enclosures too.
So metro stores, enclosures, are these kind
of all self-contained compost
and recycling pickup boxes?
Right, so right now the codes
and ordinances require dumpsters to be contained, right?
So you have to have a fence around them.
But folks can still get in the top.
These Metro Store enclosure.
Enclosures are a giant cube that sits on top of dumpsters
and then residents for the multifamily unit where we plan
to post these can use a key code or a QR code to get in.
So it should cut down in contamination and and other issues.
- Thank you, - Justin.
One quick question on the Lights Out campaign.
Do you have more information about the dates, when
that is gonna be active
and maybe times when you'd like people to leave lights off?
- Yeah, Rachel had shared some, I'll leave it for Rachel,
but yes, we have more information on that.
We have a whole, yeah, a nice flyer
that Audubon Society put together.
We're looking at starting around September 1st.
You know, I dunno if there'll be some events we're
working on putting some events together.
But yeah, Rachel has that PDF and we'll share more on that.
- Excellent. Thank you. Any other questions for Justin
before we go to public comments?
- Alright, - Let's go to our first public
comments of the evening.
If you are looking to call in, we do have a number.
I wanna read that and then we'll take comments from the
audience and then see if there's calls.
The phone number to call in
to make a comment is
8 8 8 3 8 2 9 5 5 6.
Again, that's
8 8 8 3 8 2 9 5 5 6.
Justin, do you want to monitor
that while we have people come up and talk?
Okay. Do we have anybody in the audience who would like to
give a three minutes comment?
- Hello everybody? Yeah, you hear
- Me?
Not yet. He's got a
- Testing.
Yeah, there we go. Hi folks. I'm Iris Potter.
I just wanted to ask Justin about number five on there, city
of Kalamazoo awarded gold status
by the Michigan Green Communities challenge.
Wonder if you could talk a little bit about that.
That would be really helpful.
Other than that, thank you so much for all the work.
Appreciate it.
- We will come back to answering that
after we go through other comments.
Do we have another comment from the audience?
- Hi. Oh, start. Okay.
Hi, my name is Tom, I'm speaking.
Hi, on behalf of Asylum Lake Preservation Association,
where I serve as a board member, we're asking the city
to create two new Zoning districts, a green space district
and a conservation district,
which is on your agenda tonight.
As you know, Kalamazoo has no base Zoning category
that reflects green or ecologically sensitive lands.
The NFP helps, but as an overlay,
it layers conditions on base zone
that still permits development.
Largely as the zone allows,
a dedicated conservation district works differently.
Some conservation Zoning still permits development,
but at a radically lower density
and with far stronger protections today,
land like the asylum lake preserved corridor
or Oakland Memorial Beach Park, sit in residential zones
that don't match how the land actually functions.
Dedicated districts also shift the burden of proof, meaning
that a developer must justify departing from it
rather than forcing residents
to defend each parcel case by case.
This is well-established practice, not a novel experiment.
In a letter we've shared with you, we've listed just a few
of these cities, counties,
and townships that already do this.
Places with dedicated conservation
and natural resource districts and separate green space
and recreation districts.
Kalamazoo has neither today,
and we could lead
among Michigan cities in adopting them closer to home.
Ann Arbor offers a different inspiring example.
Their green belt program established in 2003
and funded by a 30 year millage has preserved thousands
of acres of open of farmland
and open space around the city,
supporting local agriculture, recreation, natural resources,
and habitat protection.
In 2004, the city added a blue belt
boundary aimed specifically at protecting its
drinking water resources.
Though not a Zoning tool, it is worth studying
as a land acquisition program.
Program like this could pair well
with green Zoning districts
in time for Imagine Kalamazoo 2035.
Our request to this committee is pretty concrete.
First, encourage the city to draft both districts
for the Zoning Ordinance.
Second, have those designations reflected on the future land
use map and third study,
which parcels across the city would benefit
and bring a draft framework back to the community.
The full list of our requests is in the letter we've shared,
which also outlines how these districts could apply
to public land and
how private owners could subsequently opt in.
In closing, thank you for placing this issue on your agenda
and making it a priority for the city.
We look forward to continuing
how your committee can continue to lead on this issue.
Thanks.
- Thank you. Do we have any
other audience comments?
Justin, do we have any
callers then?
Do you want to take just a a moment to
address Iris's question before we move on?
Oh, while you're, while you're doing that, just,
so we've also had three emails since the last meeting.
One person opposed to data centers, one person in favor
of a deer call, and then a letter in support of
Elpas proposal for the green Zoning.
So we've got those three letters as well. Justin?
- Yeah, so here it is.
The, my green communities, it's municipalities, you know,
Oakland County, Holland, Ann Arbor.
We're all kind of together.
This is kind of the, the trade group, I guess for
Michigan sustainability professionals
and municipal government.
So here we are. It's not really loading well,
but yeah, every year, you know, we report to them
what we're working on and you get points for certain things.
It's not different than like stars
or ASI at the university level or anything like that.
So, you know, every year I tell them that we completed our
greenhouse gas plan.
We have, you know, X, Y, and Z.
We're doing staff, internal staff trainings.
We have no idling policies. It's things like that.
So every year I check those boxes and then we get certified.
I think it starts at bronze, silver, gold, and platinum.
There's two platinum communities.
It's Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor. Yeah, this is it.
This is the trade group. You know, this is where I kind of
connect with folks who are doing this type of workforce,
cities and local governments in Michigan.
This is where we get our CLC fellow, I dunno if you
I'll remember Atel.
And then we just worked with another student, Tori.
So they work on small projects through graduate students,
generally from the University of Michigan
that also worked on integrated pest management.
And Tori put together a master environmentalist program.
So that's my green communities.
It's all in line if folks wanna explore it for further.
- Yeah, I just, - I just pulled it up
and you can go to Michigan Green Communities if you just put
that in your search bar, you'll get all the information.
Thank you. Okay, let's move
on to our reports.
I think we'll approach it a little bit differently this
month because we're short staffed
and we've been talking about how
to do this a little bit more effectively.
Rachel, you've got some reports for yous.
Just a second. Do Kate, do you have anything? I don't. Okay.
I'm not assigned. That's what I thought.
John, do you have any updates on yours?
- I got a little bit on, is that better? Yep.
I've got just a little recap on the natural features.
- Why don't you do that and then we'll go to Rachel's,
- The Natural Features Protection Review Review Board.
I think we discussed this in May.
They did the approval of the Sport Youth Sports Complex.
They did a phase two site plan review
that was basically in regards to
some declining ill health dead trees and some bat habitat.
The Natural Features Protection Review approve that.
So that project is moving forward in June,
they discussed the phase one of the site plan for the mill
and park improvements projects at 6 0 7 East Kilgore.
I believe they approved that the July meeting was canceled
and the August is scheduled for the 27th of this month.
- Thank you. Any questions?
Okay, Rachel.
- Okay. I do not have any updates
for the planning commission,
but I have some updates for the Native Species
and Urban Landscape subcommittee.
First, we were talking about the lights out.
I did send out A PDF Just
before the meeting, so maybe you have that in your inbox.
And there is a QR code on it
that has information on a pledge where people can
sign up, put in their information
and pledge to do the lights out commitment.
It is September 1st through October 31st from 11:00 PM
to 6:00 AM And the suggested
options to help migratory Bo birds are putting outdoor
lights on timers in motion sensors, wherever possible
down shield exterior safety light
or limit lighting to ground level turn off
or dim interior lights, especially on upper floors.
Reduce lobby and atrium lighting where possible
substitute task and area lighting or draw blind and shades
after 11:00 PM and use warmer lighting, so yellow lights
and lower wattage light bulbs.
In addition, Gail is going to be hosting a window collision
workshop at the New City facilities on cross
crosstown Crosstown.
Yep. And that should be, did you guys confirm
that it'll be six 30
on September 8th?
September 8th. Thank you. I missed the date.
And she'll be discussing how to monitor bird collisions
and also mitigate bird collisions
and also a demonstration of application of
bird safe window techniques.
- Rachel, real quick, who that event on, just repeat
that, September 8th at six 30 at the city
offices on Crosstown.
Yes. Who is welcome to attend that.
And does, is there any kind of advance registration
or anything people need to take?
- Not - That I'm open. You can phone a friend, Rachel.
Yeah, we'll be sending out some social media.
Everything's cutting in and out.
Yeah, it'll be open to everyone.
I haven't set a cap, you know,
I doubt we'll hit the cap, but yeah.
You know, we'll get folks down there.
This is Gail's passion. I don't know if anyone knows Gail
Walters, but yeah, she'll show you how
to make your own Windows bird safe for cheap.
You know, sometimes it's just like drawing on the windows.
Sometimes you can put up netting and things like that.
So yeah, there'll be registration.
Folks can come down there at six 30
and learn a little bit from Gail.
- And so there will be solutions appropriate to homeowners,
renters, business owners, institutions, all the above.
- Anyone with a window, yeah.
Could probably benefit from this. Yep. Yeah.
So none of this is really permanent.
So you know, students are there, they're renting an,
renting a house or an apartment somewhere, assuming
that your landlord doesn't have a problem
with just the colors or whatever on the window.
It can be all wiped off or washed off.
It's, it's not about, you know, buying expressive equipment.
It's about using what you have to kind
of mitigate your impact on the natural world.
- Thank you. And yeah, Gail Walters is,
was a long time member of this committee is important
with the Ottoman Society.
She is one of the key figures in
managing the Peregrine falcons in town.
So she's does a lot. And this is a passion.
She's very
knowledgeable. Anything else, Rachel?
- The only other thing we briefly discussed is that moving,
looking into next year, that there will probably be,
talk about updating city codes
and ordinances on native lawns
to combat just general overgrowth of lawns.
But that's more to come next year.
- That's a issue that I really hope that we can be
significantly engaged in.
Yeah. So it doesn't, you know, go in the wrong direction.
Yeah. Any
other thoughts or questions for Rachel
or any of our other committees
before we move to our unfinished business?
Okay. We move kind of fast through our committees today
because I want to make sure we have time to get into these.
So I have on here our first item for unfinished business.
It says, discuss subcommittee, working session, date,
times, and location.
I don't know if that's from last month.
What is exactly do you mean there? Yeah, so
- At May's meeting there was a motion
to create a small subcommittee,
or not a subcommittee, a special meeting that would meet
outside of this meeting to discuss.
John, you were leading that one.
If you wanna elaborate
or we could make a motion to swipe that motion. Yeah.
- It was basically a follow up of your suggestion in regards
to the restructuring of some of the reports
and the committees that we're reporting on.
And just getting the feel for what our members feel like
so we can come to the table with
some serious discussion instead
of having a discussion about the discussion.
- Yeah. And I saw you have some thoughts written up
that you showed to me.
Do you want to share those
with the committee for consideration? Yeah, I, I,
- I do, and you know, thi this is my opinion,
my opinion only that we as a committee spend a lot
of our time discussing
and recommending the city commissioner's issues
that are impacting and important to our community.
But I feel sometimes that we're being a little bit
reactive instead of proactive.
And I think that we would be
more effective being a little bit more proactive on things
that are, that we're hearing from the community,
that we're observing from the community, friends
and family issues such as the, the deer issue,
Kalamazoo County potentially overseeing the management
of Asylum Lake Preserve,
which we have discussed as a committee.
Unfortunately, the City Commission has not addressed that
yet, even though we did as a committee make a recommendation
to the City Commission.
I believe that sitting with the city manager right now,
but nothing is being done.
Green Zoning that we're talking about now
and land use, I mean, our, our task is
to monitor significant environmental trends
affecting the city of Kalamazoo and advise the city manager
and city commission regarding environmental matter matters.
This committee also serves as a citizens forum
for environ environmental issues.
And it's my opinion that some of the reports are,
like I've said, a little bit reactive instead
of being proactive, we're kind of behind the,
behind the curve on this
and I think we'd be better served
being in front of it a little bit.
- Thoughts?
- You said that very well.
I had some of the same thoughts
and wrote down proactive versus being reactive.
Part of it is, and I'm new to this, so maybe I
need more education on this,
but I think that when we collect minutes from the other
committees about all we can do is
react to what they've done.
And in some cases it might be too late.
So for me, I look at this
and I think, well, somewhere along the way there's goals
and objectives for each committee
that they possibly set each year.
Maybe, maybe not, I don't know.
I come from the academic viewpoint of prepping for
what I want to accomplish
and thinking what, what are we,
what do we want to accomplish?
What do we want to see happen in this community?
And then, then there is that piece where we do have to react
to things that come up.
So I, I'm looking at how can we be
more proactive and,
and we really, the Environmental Concerns committee, the,
all these other committees fall into this as well.
And so we're playing catch up in some cases
and I don't know, I don't know how we fix that.
- Rachel, what are you thinking?
- I don't think I have anything new to add at this time.
I do agree with Katie that there is an element
where we're always going to be reacting to something
that comes up and meeting once a month that is going
to happen in terms of
actually working on narrowing down some of these committees
or flushing them out a little bit.
Yeah, I think we're kind of in a tight spot right now
with only limited members.
- Yeah. So let me think.
There's a couple things that
that I think are important context.
If we look at the committees that we have,
what those committees represent for the most part is
an accretion of interests.
You know, the history
of the Environmental Concerns Committee over time,
different interests that committee members have had
and turned into projects.
And those projects turned into subcommittees that,
that the committee that we worked on.
And those kind of just linger as long
as they, as long as they can.
So the, the, a lot of those, that's where they came from.
The other thing I think that's important context is
what is the purpose of the Environmental Concerns Committee?
We heard a big part of that.
The other part of it, which, which you didn't mention, John,
is, and this I think goes to one
of the fundamental problems that we face as a committee.
One of the reasons I think that we have
such a difficult time maintaining
and attracting memberships is
that the city does also have an obligation to work with us
to discuss issues with us that are relevant
to environmental concerns.
And that is absolutely 100% ignored on every single
environmental issue that comes before the City Commission.
If the City Commission continues
to treat us like we don't matter at all, it's going
to be hard to get people to donate their time to come here
and, you know, put in serious effort to try
to make the city a better place.
So I think that this goes two ways, John,
Katie, everybody's right.
We do need to focus in on what we can accomplish, listen
to the citizens and try
and bring those, those concerns to the city.
But the city does need to bring us into the loop.
As an example, the data center thing are,
is anybody going to try to argue
that data centers are not an environmental issue?
There was not a single communication from the city
to the Environmental Concerns Committee about data
centers, not one.
So if the city's gonna continue to sideline us
and pretend that we don't exist, it's gonna be really hard
to be an effective committee.
So Commissioner has to please take
that back to your colleagues.
But, so yeah, let's move forward with what can,
what we can do, and I think what we can do is,
is what you captured.
There are a few of the things on here where,
where we're integrated
and I think we should, we should make sure
to prioritize keeping those.
An example is like the tree committee.
The tree committee is, is the one
city committee on which the Environmental Concerns Committee
has a, a voting chair.
So we, we do need to make sure we have a member on
that committee that attends all those meetings
because we, we are integrated into that, that
that decision making process.
The other ones, you know, we can keep ones
that we're going to work on.
So like what Rachel's doing right now with the,
with the native LA landscapes
and with the birds, those are great projects
and we should continue to be pushing those forward,
particularly because we have somebody on the committee
who can spearhead those.
So I, I think that's a good thing to keep.
Then the other things that we're taught,
we'll be talking about the stadium
lighting, the green Zoning.
Those I think could represent project specific tasks.
So instead of trying to create a permanent committee
that will exist for months or years
or we do what we need to, to come up
with a recommendation on those issues and then present it.
- Yes. I,
I, I, I totally agree.
I think that that's, we have to be flexible on that.
And I think we're somewhat pigeon
streamlined on these reports.
- I concur. Maybe one
of the things we can make a point of doing
each month is when we get to the New Business,
we can take a moment for all the commissioners to go around
and say, what are things that you have heard
that the com from the, from the community that the,
the ECC should start to think about and potentially address.
- Yep. - So for the,
the, the only thing that makes me nervous about this
is because if we look at, at city committees such as the,
the National Features Protection Review Board
and Parks and Rec to some degree, but,
but more so the Natural Features
and Planning Commission, those two committees
make a lot of important decisions very early in the
process of issues.
And it really probably makes sense for us
to at least monitor what is happening there.
- And I, I'd like to add that the city, again, just
for on the record, that the city commission, you know,
factors into what, what we have to suggest and, and,
and take action on that.
And that's part of my frustration is, you know,
sometimes I feel complete inaction, particularly with our
statements that we've made where nothing seems to happen.
And that's very frustrating.
It's very frustrating from our standpoint.
And it's particularly frustrating from the community
standpoint because it's like they're almost a,
a sense of helplessness or it doesn't really matter
or they're not interested, which I think will,
will go back into green Zoning is
like, it's not important,
but yet if you look at the city's website,
the environment is stressed over and over and over again.
It's, it's, it's part of the goals.
We, we've got eight IK 2035 coming up
and it's one of the main points.
But yet is that just talk in words
or is it actually action as well?
And I have a sense that it's more just words as I like
to say, greenwashing more than actually taking action on.
- So what I, I agree a hundred percent
what I think could work.
And so I'm going to see how we, we feel about this.
Rachel, you're currently monitoring the planning commission?
Correct. Okay. John,
you're currently monitoring the NFP board, correct?
- Yeah. And Parks and - Rocks. And Parks and Rec, right.
Kate, do you have an interest in
helping with being on the tree committee?
- Yep, I can do that. I can fill in, when I look at this,
I kind of break it down into groups like one
and four go together, 11, 5, 3
and six go together, two, 10 and nine.
And I may have missed one somewhere in there,
but I'm grouping them together in categories of
what really fits and aligns with each other.
And, and that's how kind of they,
they fit when issues come up
and they should have communication between them.
So if we can look at 'em from that perspective
and then I'm, I'm willing to, I'm willing to work
with the whatever assignment I need, you need me to do
because I'll just learn about it and deal with it.
So I'm pretty open and flexible to doing that.
But that's how I kind of broke 'em down
and looked at it is how do these go together?
So is that of any help
- That is helpful, but I think we can,
we can cut even further to see, to see how it works.
Okay. So if we did, John stays
with NFP
and where did Clark Parks and Rec?
Kate, you will grab the tree committee.
Rachel will stay with planning
and whatever you want to name your other group.
'cause you, you can keep it native species and,
or you can call it whatever you want.
And then I'll just serve as chair for the time being.
And then beyond that
we'll work on issues as we can create projects
to, to investigate.
That's a pretty big cutting back on things. Is that
- Five and seven, - Is Rita also
on a air and quality?
Which one is, has she typically been
- Her Her report is air quality. Okay.
- But that's not a, that's just her giving reports.
- Right. And that goes back to what John was talking about.
If air quality is definitely an issue in Kalamazoo
and we need to be aware of it,
but if what we would be looking at is
how can we find an actual recommendation?
What is an issue we can approach and come up with a solution
and a recommendation rather than just reporting on what the,
the air quality is.
- Right. So is the odor task force still
- Operational?
The odor operational?
- No. 'cause that fits with it.
And that's where I would think
that would be coming from. But is that
- There's a, there's a long history that Okay.
That I won't completely dig into here,
but I've kept that on there really just as a,
as a kind of a sore thumb.
Okay. Because it has not met in years,
even though it was never officially disbanded.
- I did look for it and yeah. Okay.
- So if, if we're all in agreement,
I'm just gonna go through that again.
So, so Justin can note it though, it will be in the,
the minutes we'll have the NFP
and the Parks and Rec with John.
We'll have the planning commission
and native species, urban landscape with Rachel,
with the tree committee, with Kate.
And then I'll just, my service will be the chair
of the, of this committee.
And then when Rita comes in, we'll we will see
how she feels about that.
And the same with Luke. But beyond those core
tasks, we'll be trying to be more project based.
- Okay. - If that sounds good.
I suppose it would probably require a,
a motion to that effect.
And then a second and a vote.
- Okay. So moved that we divide
the responsibilities for the various committees
and boards as outlined
by our chair Mr.
Beak. Okay. Is that good
- Enough?
That's excellent. I support
- Second.
- So following Robert's rules, any discussion of the motion?
All in favor?
- Aye. - Aye. Any opposed?
All right Justin. We'll have a change to the agenda
for starting with next month.
- Alright. And then just so there is
that motion floating out there,
we are not gonna create a separate meeting of this group,
so we motion to rescind that?
- Yeah, that's mooted at this point. Okay.
So then the next thing we'll move to, we've got two
more project task items here.
We've got discussion of green Zoning
and then discussion of stadium lights.
John, these are both items that you're leading.
So would you like to start with the green Zoning?
- Sure. First of all, I want support
and applaud alpha statement supporting the green space
and conservation Zoning districts.
I think it was very well written
and thank you for that input.
And I see no reason why the city cannot develop
this classification.
The implementation of green space
and conservation Zoning districts is in alignment
with the city's stated goals
found in the sustainability plan
and the climate action plan.
Both of those emphasize the urgency of taking steps
to protect our environment and act responsibility.
Even on the Kalamazoo City website, it, it says it is urgent
that we take steps to protect our environment
and to act responsibly
to reduce our impact on climate change.
The community recognized this by identifying
environmental responsibility as a goal during the cal,
during the Imagine Kalamazoo visioning process
and through the declaration of a climate emergency
by the City commission.
Kalamazoo does have programs in place
to protect our natural, our local natural
resources and works.
And we're exploring new programs
to make essential public services more sustainable
through these programs.
Our city government
and I'm I'm quoting from the government,
from the city website,
our city government can help contribute to the culture
of environmental stewardship.
That is a vital part of our community.
And one of the guiding principles of IK 2035
is sustainability, which is the support,
the long-term health
and resiliency of community and environment.
And if anybody looks up what sustainability is,
there's three parts of sustainability.
I think one, we're doing a great job as a city, as part
of the silo, but I think we're missing the other portion of
that silo, which is our natural environment.
And the three main parts are the environment,
which is protecting nature, cutting waste,
and using clean energy society, treating all people fairly
and supporting strong communities.
And then it says the economy, growing wealth in a smart way
that does not use up all the resources and why it matters.
It saves natural habitats, stops climate change,
keeps water, air, and food safe for everyone
and helps businesses last longer, but not wasting materials.
And in the simplest terms,
sustainability is about our children
and our grandchildren and the world.
We will live them, leave them.
And I don't think there's anybody that can say that.
Protecting our natural spaces, increasing biodiversity
and saving these areas that are not developed
is not a very proactive step in better health,
better opportunity for people.
That's my green space.
- So I have a motion I'd like to make
and then perhaps we can open it to discussion.
I'd like to move to ask the city commission
to direct the Kalamazoo planning
and Zoning to establish green space
and conservation Zoning districts in the city of Kalamazoo
in their Zoning ordinances within the next six months.
- We have a motion. Do we have a second?
- I I support that
- We have a properly made and seconded motion.
Do we have discussion?
- I think my only hesitancy is
I do agree with putting a, a timeframe on it
is six months realistic
as
- I I'm I can, I'm willing to amend it
because I do, I understand that.
And
- How about with an update on progress in six months?
- Yes. I can amend that
to an update on progress within six months.
- What I, I'm so I'm, I think this is a great idea.
L let's think about this, this
very carefully drafted letter that we, we have from Alpha.
I think that letter covers
the issue very well.
Lays out the argument, proposes the two types of,
of additional Zoning.
I I think that we could
send that letter with, with our support
as a recommendation
to the city. I agree with that.
- I I agree. I I actually think that, you know,
in the past we've, the question has been raised well
what is green space?
And I did try to do a lot of research and,
and look at what other cities are doing
and pull that all together.
And, and I think this has done it nicely.
I think it gives you some links to look at
what other cities do,
but it also gives definition to the two categories.
If I had any reservations at all, it's, it's in the use
of the term conservation Zoning district because of, just
because of the conservation district that exists exist
and show making sure that we can define those two.
But I think the terminology is less important than
the concept of moving forward to
identify these different Zoning areas that,
that I do believe the residents
of Kalamazoo have spoken on at various, you know, planning
for the future in Kalamazoo.
I, I see the green tags on little stickies.
Green zone, green zone, green zone.
And here we're giving definition
and a process to it.
And so I think this is our first step in saying to the city,
we're coming to you with something definite
that we need you to do.
And we hope to hear back from you very soon.
- I, I would support that.
So I think based, based on the motion
and the discussion, we could send this document to the city
with our recommendation that we would like
to see the city act on this
and report back to us within six months.
Yes, that's sounds like the motion. Yeah, I support that.
Yeah, I support. So all in favor of that motion?
- Aye. - Okay.
Justin, do you need me to write something up for you
so you can do that or is that clear enough?
- No, I can handle that and I'll send it
to you all again just to confirm
before it goes to the clerk.
- And just to clarify, 'cause we had this with one
of our previous motions, Justin will send it to us
and we will, we will have what, 48 hours after you send it?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll say 48 hours in writing here.
- Okay. So if you have any, any changes
or edits to what Justin sends to us, please respond
to let him know and, and within 48 other 48 hours.
Otherwise he'll send it as is. Sound good? Yes.
Then the next, I'm happy to see
that we are able to move that forward.
Good work John, everybody
and thank you for Alpa for pushing that forward.
Then the next issue on our unfinished business is
the stadium lights.
- I'll go ahead and take the lead on that.
Western Michigan University has proposed,
I don't know if they've actually begun the installation of
installing stadium lights at the western Michigan Stadium
soccer area, which is located on Parkview Avenue,
basically behind the Gibbs Gibbs house,
somewhere in that area.
And part of the response that the community has had,
and I think we as a committee have is how will the lighting
affect the quality of the environment, particularly
as it relates to the asylum lake preserve
and the surrounding neighborhood.
I don't know, I don't even know what the status of, of
that progress is.
I mean, I could go through and read some emails.
David, would you like me to?
- That's the, the one thing I have as a,
as a concern as we we push this forward is
the recognition that that universities essentially operate
as their own fiefdoms.
And so the city has almost no control over
what Western does.
So we can request that the city request Western
to do things, but the city, even if they wanted to,
can't really force Western to do anything.
So just, just wanted to put that out there so we're aware
of the context.
But yeah, catch us up on the, on the key elements
of this discussion that you've been having.
- Basically the key elements are that they had a study,
a light study done by a light engineering firm
that has claimed that there will not be any impact
on the adjoining neighborhoods and
nor will it have any direct impact on
the asylum lake preserve, particularly as it relates to
our, you know, our, our our native fronts, the birds,
the animals and stuff like that.
Because there has been concern
and studies on the impact of light on
how it affects migration
and other, you know, habits of our wildlife.
And they are claiming that it will not.
And there has been some debate on that.
And they're also claiming that it would be from,
they say the games would start between five
and seven, typically end around 10 o'clock.
So not only would it be the light noise,
the light pollution, there also be some
potential noise pollution with the stadium speakers
and additional car traffic that, that sort of stuff.
- And yeah, I looked through those emails
and unfortunately Western basically said we make enough
money for the city, so you should just accept it.
Which it's not,
not in that, that's, as you mentioned
before, talking sustainability, that economy is one leg on
that stool of sustainability,
but it's only one leg on that stool.
- Yeah, that's, that's what they're saying.
- Okay. So I, I can appreciate that, I can appreciate
what they're saying.
Having worked with universities for a long time.
But I also know that living close to this area
and talking with various people who study birds
and, and the light effect and all of that
and all kinds of biological things.
I think that one thing we can do and
and should do perhaps is send a letter
of our concerns to the trustees
of Western Michigan just to let them know.
I think that it, sometimes communication doesn't always go
to the right people or doesn't always get
where it needs to go.
And in this case, I, I do think just a simple letter
of outlining what our concerns are
from an environmental standpoint, recognizing
that we have no authority is one step
to having a working relationship with the university.
'cause if we don't share our concerns, they don't have
any reason to change anything.
But if we share our concerns and go to a trustee meeting
and share them, then sometimes we have
expressed our value in a new way to them.
- I like the idea, but
before we go any further with it, I want to ask Justin,
I'm sure you don't know the answer to this,
so it might be something that that'd be really useful
if you could follow up.
Do we, as the environmental concerns committee have the,
don't wanna say authority
'cause we don't have any authority.
Are are we empowered to send a letter
as the Environmental Concerns Committee to an
outside entity such as Western?
- Yeah, it's a good question. I will follow up on that.
Also, looking at western's trustee meetings.
I mean, there are also general public comments
that are taken in person at those meetings,
but I'll check on the letter
and you know, I guess that's always a second
option going in person
- Because I, I like the way you approach it
because in, in John's emails that I was reading, yeah,
there was a lot of correspondence.
So there's correspondences happening,
but how do we create a potentially systemic reform?
Could we, what you're suggesting is good,
but could we use this as a way to say
the Environmental Concerns Committee stands ready
and eager to coordinate
and assist Western in addressing
its environmental impact on the city.
- Yes. I think that is well said.
- So not just asking 'em to do something,
but offering our help and cooperation.
- Right. And I think going to these meetings has value.
I just know from my own personal experience,
being there in person and saying it
and looking at people face to face makes a difference just
as it does in the city or the county
or anywhere that we can, we, we can relay
there's both concerns, but there's, there's awareness.
I mean, they are the, the university,
Kalamazoo College, they're all a part of who we are
and what we are in this community
and we have to live together and we have to work together.
So I just always wanna find a way to make that
and to personalize it.
- I'll go to re a second Rachel,
but just kind of following up.
I do think there's a very low chance of success.
Yeah. But it's, it's an avenue that needs to be explored.
But I think there is some chance of success
because I believe western's new administration is
interested in having a positive community impact
much more so than previous administrations.
So I I think this
is at least worth attempting, Rachel.
- Yeah, I mean, I agree with everything that's been said.
I like the idea of if we are able to just sending over
a letter of our thoughts.
So yeah, I think the next step would just be finding out if
that's something that we are, like you
said, empowered to do.
- Okay. - To facilitate this in
a way that moves faster
rather than more slowly.
John, you've been at the front of this
and you have more knowledge on this
issue than any of the rest of us.
Are you willing to draft a first make to make a first draft
of this letter and share it with the committee
for, for some feedback?
- Yeah, I'd be willing to, to do that.
I'd like to ask for Katie's.
- Yeah. Yeah. - I I do have some other emails
that I did not print out.
So I can,
- And we won't send it until we get the, the go ahead
and even if we, if we get the feedback
that it's not appropriate for the ECC to do that,
we can send the letter as individuals.
But you know, I, I do think there's, there's some
value to saying that it comes from
the Environmental Concerns Committee.
Okay. I think that's a good place to, to take
unless somebody else has something more on that issue.
Excellent. We are productive today. Alright.
We have two items on our
New Business and we will see
how we want to move forward with those.
We'll do this New Business two items and then
after that we'll come back to public comments.
So if you're listening or watching
and want to make a comment,
we will have time for that shortly.
Okay. So the, the two issues are urban deer complaints
and data center moratorium.
We can start with the Urban Deer complaints.
I have some thoughts on that,
but let's see what other people think first.
- Okay. I'm not very shy.
So as long as I've lived in Kalamazoo,
which is not quite 10 years, the the deer has been an issue.
And, and recently I was at an award ceremony
where we gave a neighborhood award to somebody
who served on a deer committee
and somebody yelled out, how'd
that work, how did that work out?
And they said, great for the deer. That was the response.
But here's the thing, I, I don't wanna reinvent the wheel.
I don't want another ad hoc committee or a study group.
Here's what I do think is, is is something that we could do,
which I think is more proactive than reactive.
But, so first of all, I,
I have some connections at at Western in the biology
department and I learned
that there was a student wanting to study the deer.
And I said, they've been studied and studied and studied.
How about you compile the studies?
So I, I don't know if that went anywhere,
but my suggestion was they call Justin.
And here's what I do think, I think that what we need
to do is compile what's been done
and who's been everything from the conservation district to
what their recommendations are, to put all of that together
and then for us to take a look at where we can go with that.
Because there have been a lot of different studies
and we all know what, what the different options are.
And it is a very difficult, I I think probably it's one
of the most divisive things we could talk about almost
despite many other pressing issues.
It is divisive, but along those same fields, it came
to my attention that I know Western has at least two
internships through their biology department.
We're interns, and I know you have interns already probably,
but I'd like to see us strengthen our relationship
with the university
and utilize those interns for projects like this
where things could be compiled and,
and not have to go to a different committee.
But it's a good thing for a student to do.
So my re my recommendation is, is that we
see if Western or Kalamazoo community,
I'm gonna get it wrong, community college, have someone
that wants to work specific to this compiling things.
Just give us a sense of direction from there.
And I even think that it's, I know that
for their internships they get credits.
I can't, all I can do is suggest
that the city offer a stipend.
Do they do any stipends now or is it all unpaid?
Do you know?
- Yeah, so I mean, nothing
that you said was wrong necessarily,
but Chris Broadband tonight bring on six
or seven interns a year from Western.
So I don't want people, people to think
- Right. Students
- And we're not - Working with
- The university and have a good relationship.
Yes. So we've been bringing on students
through the Broncos lead program,
which is a program at Western that pays students
to in intern with universities.
I can't say that I don't have a budget.
Occasionally there'll be money. We had the past, the,
my Healthy Climate Core people who were paid.
So yes, I cannot guarantee any student any
money to intern with me.
But I have worked with a lot of students from Western
and are always happy to take on more.
- Okay. Yeah, I I knew they probably had quite a few
and that was my recommendation was they call you.
But I really think that this is something we should just
get it together and then make a
recommendation and it's gonna be painful.
- Did we, didn't we have someone from DNR come in to speak
to us on this issue?
- We can. We, we did like,
well, I don't want to change the tone of debate until, John,
do you want to jump in?
Do you want to, before I go,
- The only thing that I can add to that is, you know,
I'm big on connecting the dots
and I think this deer issue is absolutely related
to the green Zoning issue and green space issue.
If we look at why we have, well, part
of the reason why we have a deer issue is
because we're losing more and more of their habitat.
And so they're, they're migrating into residential areas.
So I think these, all of these issues are connected
and I think we do need to do a little bit more study.
And it is an absolutely complicated polarizing issue.
- Yeah. There's studies and there's studies, right?
The study that the city cooperated on a few years
ago is an example.
That study was done by somebody who was very openly looking
for a way to justify a call.
I mean, there, there, there's, that's what
that study was designed to do, was
to justify having a deer call the DNR.
The DNR gets funding from hunting licenses. Yeah.
So yeah, we can have studies,
but that doesn't necessarily mean that that's the solution.
John hit on the point.
I mean, I am not in favor
of chasing our tails, going
after bandaid solutions when a
systemic solution is what's necessary.
You cannot kill your way to deer management.
It's not possible.
Every community that advertises the success
of their deer management program, which is euphemism
for deer killing programs, they're temporary.
They, they create a smaller number of deer
for a year or two, and then the deer come right back.
You kill the deer, the deer come back, you kill the deer,
the deer come back and it's, it's just a treadmill.
It's not gonna change. Yeah.
Killing deer is not going to reduce the number
for more than a couple years.
Habitat is needed, you know, as we continue to
encourage the destruction
of all the green space in the city,
the deer have to go somewhere.
Where is the biggest pressure that,
where are the complaints about deer coming from?
Almost exclusively, they're coming from Oakland windchill,
Oakwood, the neighborhoods surrounding the few remaining
islands of green space in the city.
That's very clear.
And then, you know, you got some on the edges of v
and some of the edges of West Maine,
but they're places where our, they're, they're corridors.
What's not being promoted is exclusion,
you know, putting fences
around things you don't want their deer to eat that works.
There are also non-toxic,
non-chemical sprays that you can use.
We actually use some to protect some trees
that turned out to be really effective.
It's called deer repel. It stinks.
The, the active ingredient is
putrid egg salads is what it's called.
And smell and garlic. Yeah. Yep.
And it smells, it's that sulfur smell that it,
that makes it so effective.
So I think before we have any dis
before I would support any discussion
of a call and just one vote.
I mean, we could do whatever we want as a committee, but
before I would support any discussion of a call, there needs
to be a program designed to
help homeowners protect their, their property
that they want protected with fencing
and other types of, of repellent
and behavior alteration rather than
immediately going to killing.
So I, I, yeah, I, I'm open to having the discussion,
but I think that we need to put more
solutions on the table than just a coal.
- I would agree with that. I was, I was in the
landscaping industry for almost 50 years
and there's a lot of educational opportunity there
and there's a lot of, not a lot,
but there are some very effective products that help deter
the deer from eating things.
There's different types of plants that can be planted.
You know, there's a big movement towards native species.
Unfortunately, sometimes the native species are
deer magnets.
So I think a lot of it boils, does boil down to education
and, and having a,
a commitment from all parties involved instead
of just, let's kill him.
Because I don't think that's a viable alternative.
- It, it's, you know, it's,
it would create some temporary relief,
but it's not gonna fix the problem.
- No.
- So I respect that view.
I use all those products.
I have nearly an acre of, of property
and I do the native planting,
and I do almost every plant that the deer can't eat
or shouldn't eat or wouldn't want to eat.
But I can tell you I've had up to 17 deer in my backyard,
even after I spray my deer out.
And I, I think that, I think that there have, there's,
there's a variety of ways to approach it.
And I can tell you if I had to fence in my yard,
it would be thousands of dollars.
And if that's what I would have to do, I'm,
I would maybe have to do that.
But I've chosen to just, my yard happens to be one
of the pass throughs between asylum and Kline stock.
But at the same time, I, I, I hear
what people are saying in the community
and I think that we, we,
when we put the burden back on them, as the guy
who won the award said it was great for the deer.
But I think we have to be willing to look at
not necessarily what DNR says.
I mean, I would like to hear from other biologists
and people in the field who have done this
and find out what other cities have done
because I, I did come from a city where they did a coal
and that, and it was effective.
I lived out in a rural area for over 30 years.
I've had more deer since I've lived here in 10 years than
what I ever had out next to a farm
and a lake in over 30 years.
So I, I hear what people are saying,
and I think they're saying that this isn't working
unless the city wants to start paying to put fences
around everybody's yard.
So I, I think there's two sides to it.
And I, what I'm looking for is some
of the more hardcore science that says
this is what is effective.
Because I know that we talk about castration
and other people say, no, that that's not effective.
And some people will say, well, yes it is.
But I'm looking to the science
to say, here's what we can do.
And that's why I recommended a student that's kind
of a third party pull together what we have done
and suggested and, you know,
what is the deer population in the city
and where are the problem areas?
So that was kind of my thought is
let's pull together the information.
What is the deer population?
And we know sometimes, you know, with various diseases,
it's kind of taking care of its own.
But I, I think we have to have a foundation of
where we're at before we make a recommendation to the city
or any further.
So is it feasible to have a student work on
compiling this information for us, do you think?
- Yeah, so I spent too much time in school myself.
When you say this information, I need specifics.
Are we talking about a deer population study?
What are we really wanting a student to find out?
- I, I do think it is the deer population study.
I, I'd like, I I I do wanna know
the deer population study.
We also need to know the, what do I wanna say?
I wanna know the science behind the different methods,
whether it's just fencing in the yard or doing a coal
or doing the chemical castration.
I mean,
- Yeah.
So there won't be any castration.
The DNR does not allow for that anymore, it's coal
or nothing with the Michigan DNR.
You wouldn't get any permits for that.
But yeah, this is something a student could definitely do a
literature review on a lot of this stuff.
Right. And for the last two years, requested special funding
to get a deer population study done by drone,
and that has not been marked as a priority for the city.
- Maybe - That's where we start then.
Okay. That's my recommendation then that we start
with the deer population study.
- And it sounds like Justin's on, on the same page there.
So that is something that would have to come from the city.
And the, that's the other only other thing
that I'm a little bit hesitant with this,
if there's, if there's any forward movement on any kind
of deer plan that the Environmental Concerns Committee needs
to be involved, but we are
volunteers and it's absolutely not appropriate
for the city to drop the most controversial environmental
issue in the city in our laps in order
to avoid it themselves.
So we, we absolutely should be involved,
but this is too big of an issue for us
to tackle on our own.
- Okay. I - Agree. But yeah.
- Yeah, - Absolutely.
- Anything else on the Deere issue
or any of the other items?
- The data center, - Oh yeah, that's right.
The data center. I missed the, that one.
All right, go ahead. So, yes, we had, the city has
just as of, I think it was last night, voted
for a 12 month, right, 12 month moratorium on
data centers and battery storage facilities,
and also crypto mining in the
city comments.
- I wanna, I wanna applaud the city
commission for doing that.
And I would also like to see that the City Commission incur,
hopefully, is encouraging the planning commission to
create new Zoning regulations, specifically written
for this new development.
I know that the City of Portage has faced the same issue.
The City of Portage did come out with a moratorium,
and then they passed it off to the Planning Commission.
And the planning Commission implemented new Zoning
regulations, specifically designed for data centers.
It's a new issue
and a lot of the Zoning laws were written a long time ago
that, you know, predates any thought of data centers and AI
and cryptocurrency.
So I, I hope that the planning commission here will
take the ball on this and,
and make this a, a urgent priority.
Justin, do you have any feedback on that or input?
- I mean, nothing beyond, you know, what I sent you all,
so I hope that this is not the end of it.
I guess we're all, we've all probably, I don't want this
to be the mission accomplished banner
because, I mean, data centers use energy,
but everyone everywhere uses energy.
And that article that I'd sent you, you know,
data center energy use is expect to be 17% of the usage as,
as it continues to grow, which means there's 83% out there,
scope one and two emissions are the driver
of emissions in cities.
So I hope that this doesn't stay constrained
to just data centers
and we start to think about energy use,
energy production more broadly.
It's kind of a soapbox thing more than, you know,
any type of recommendation.
But I just, yeah,
- So I, my first thought was I,
I really wanted to, I, I think it's good
for the Environmental Concerns Committee
to endorse the action that the city took on the moratorium.
The same time, I, I think when I went
to the educational session on data centers
and such, someone said, you know, you really have to stop
and think about, you know, what does your city wanna be?
Who do you wanna be? What, what do you wanna grow into?
And I think it ties into our green Zoning
and our conservation district of what do we want, where
it's comes down to what land do you wanna use for what?
And I, so I, I endorsed what they did,
but I do wish that
the next step had been to put together an ad hoc committee
that included citizens, not just planning
and Zoning, not just city staff who are gonna come back
and report in three months, but to put together a committee
because this is, this is broader.
This, this does involve the energy sector.
This does involve a lot of different sectors
to put their heads together
and say what's best for the city of Kalamazoo,
and here's our recommendation
because there are people outside the city of Kalamazoo
employ employees that will bring expertise.
So I really felt the next step was that ad hoc committee
to make some type of recommendation.
And someone from the Environmental Concerns Committee should
be on that ad hoc committee.
So I would be willing to entertain a motion that we
recommend the city take this step with an ad hoc committee
composed of all the different entities
that could possibly be involved.
And that, that, I think that includes the county
and surrounding townships to say,
where do we wanna go with this?
Because we, we have to, we have to come up with something
that is concrete and I want us to have a seat at the table.
- I think the city is in the process of trying to figure out
how they're going to move forward.
But yeah, this will be a good exam, a good test of whether
or not they're going to include the Environmental
Concerns Committee, we should definitely be involved.
- Yeah, I, I agree with that.
I think this is something that's very nuanced
and I don't think I understand fully the impact,
like obviously broadly the impacts of a data center,
but then what would be the best practice in terms
of suggesting Zoning ordinances
and things like, I don't know the specifics of that.
So I don't know if it would be possible to maybe have one,
a local zoner maybe from Portage since they have passed
something, speak on what they have done,
and also find someone who's more knowledgeable about the
environmental impact to be able to speak on what's the best
practice for setbacks, noise limits, like all
of those more technical things.
- Should I put that into a better motion?
I don't know that my motion was.
- Well, so let's,
I I think you've got a good point there,
Rachel, to follow up on that.
John, you mentioned that Portage
is approaching this issue through Zoning.
- They they have, yep.
- Are you familiar with any of the folks
who are behind
that Zoning process in Portage?
- Do I, do I know them? Yes, I do not. Okay.
Just this is just what I have read
and researched on, on how they've approached it.
So knowing that we were gonna have this discussion,
- I am willing to see if I can make
contact with anybody down in Portage who is
involved in that Zoning process
or who was involved in that Zoning process.
And if I'm able to,
and if they're willing, I will connect them
with Justin about getting them on the agenda to
give a short presentation to us about how
that worked in Portage for next month.
Does that sound like a good place to start?
- Yeah, I would. I'm looking at it right now.
And the Portage Planning Commission on voted,
they adopted a new technology campus
called TC Zoning District that would define
and regulate data centers and related technology uses.
And that was after a public hearing.
I, I can forward you
- Yeah. Please do
- This information.
Yeah, because they're,
they were pretty specific about building heights
and all of the Zoning regulations and where it could be,
because I think right now data centers, the way
that it's defined in within the city
of Kalamazoo can be located in an industrial area.
And I think they need to change that.
- So if, if people think that's a good place for us
to start, I will get that information from John
and then find the appropriate person and make an invitation
and copy Justin on that.
So they're on the agenda.
- We do have a motion on the table though,
so I either have to withdraw it
- Or we have, well, it wasn't seconded, so Oh, okay.
Yeah. Okay. So it is, it's still out there
to be seconded if somebody wanted to, okay,
- Here, here's one thought is my justification is
that I think that sometimes when the city makes decisions,
the citizens step up and say, you didn't involve us.
Yeah. And I, and I was involved in something
with the city here where I pulled out their policy
and it had to do with street changes and street design.
And it said, if you live within 300 feet, you have
to be notified and pointed out
to the city that didn't happen.
So if you say you wanna involve citizens, involve citizens,
and this is this debate.
I, I mean, I see, I see posts on social media
where people are just ranting about it.
And I think, do you, Could you explain to me
what you think a data center is and how it works?
We have a lot of education to do,
but I think one of the ways that the city can
improve the relationship with citizens is
to involve citizens.
And that means that you bring together a group,
you bring together some of the experts from the entities,
but you also include some of the community.
So that's my thought between behind and had ad hoc group,
because if they're going to do this,
they're gonna have to start now.
It's not gonna be, it's not gonna be a three month process.
That's gonna be a a,
it's probably gonna be a multi-year.
So that's my 2 cents.
- I would second the motion of
or recommending to the city to create an ad hoc committee
- With environmental concerns committee involvement.
- Yes, - I support that.
That's a good idea.
- Any in a, any opposed? Obviously not. No.
So Justin, we've got a recommendation.
We'd like to request that the city create
a ad hoc committee to investigate data centers
and their regulation
and to include the Environmental Concerns Committee
in that process.
- Yep. The only thing, I mean, if the whole committee,
the whole ECC is joining, that needs to be an open meeting.
- You could say representation from the
Environmental Concerns Committee.
- I think I'm thinking have a seat at the table on,
- Do we wanna pick who that is now?
- Let's see if they do it.
Yeah, I I mean we could, but
- I mean, honestly, I, I could bring in some
of these experts and we could just take the full two hours
in one of our meetings to have it recorded
and answer questions
and invite people to one of our meetings.
Or we could do a special session
where I invite these experts in.
I have no trouble or problem doing that.
I know most of these folks. So we could
do a fourth Wednesday
and then have everyone here in chambers
to discuss and have the experts.
- I, I would just say that if we're gonna do that,
I would like to coordinate that with you so
that we can avoid the complete dog
and pony show that the county put on,
which was nothing other than a public relations
blitz in favor of creating data centers.
- Yeah. We can bring in who you folks want.
- Okay. - I mean, I, I think that's good to ed
for education for us,
but I still think that we want citizen involvement and,
and the experts in various groups who are going to within,
you know, however long it takes,
they've got a year moratorium to turn around
and make a recommendation to the city.
And I assume planning
and Zoning is, is very much a part of that
because it's Zoning regulations just like the,
the green zone and the conservation, we have to figure out
where's it going to be.
That's the reality. Where, where
and what, how big do we wanna
- Be?
Well, we can have a dedicated meeting
that we will publicize and invite the public to.
That will be a data center educational event.
Okay. That will be hosted by
or put on by the Environmental Concerns Committee.
Yeah, I, I think both are good ideas. Yeah.
So we'll follow up on that
and we'll see what we can come up with.
Alright, any other thoughts on the data centers?
Alright, we've got one more round of public
comments here year,
if you are wanting to call in.
That number is (888) 382-9556.
Again, that's
8 8 8 3 8 2 9 5 5 6.
While Justin is checking to see if there are any there.
Well, we'll just let just Adam check.
We will open the floor for public comments.
One last quick round while we wait
to see if anybody calls in.
You have to
- Each other.
It's not that far away. It's for the notes. Pick it up.
Oh yeah. Right, right. Okay.
First of all, thank you
for sending forward the green Zoning recommendation.
I do have a question because I lost track.
Is it a recommendation to the planning commission
or to the city commission?
City. City, thank you. That's what I thought.
But just wondering,
it is gonna be important until any other committees
or whatever are set up that people
attend the planning commission meetings
and monitor that it's gonna be really important
and provide input
and also that they would be looking at it in the larger
sense as member Bloom mentioned
regarding the lights.
I will talk to someone whose house directly abuts,
abuts the Kay College field.
So, and see what kind of effect has been there.
We also, I should have finished that part about the
green Zoning, but we do need to ensure that
it all gets into IK 35.
So on down the road, I know that
six months, that's one thing sometimes the planning
commission doesn't meet.
So it's just something to keep in mind
regarding the deer.
I'm co-founder of Kalamazoo Animal Animal Advocates
and I've been monitoring for one thing, the emails
that have come in and there have been very
few in the last year.
I agree that it is
because of loss of habitat is a main, main thrust of it.
And we can use the golf club as one
of those examples why deer are hitting
windchill oakwood quite a lot.
And thank you chairman nack for pointing out
what has happened with calls and that we really have to,
and this is so important.
Look at this system, the whole system.
And I appreciate you pointing out the bias study
that was done in the past.
So just points of information.
I'm not sure if you know,
but in the past,
Kalamazoo Nature Center has done a call
in the last two years.
They have not. And one of the reasons, one
of the main reasons is
because of episodic hemorrhage disease
and we have lost many deer
in this area due to that.
So Ms. Bloom referred to
that, and that is vi
- In terms of
presentation, that
any recommendations,
and I'm alluding to that email that came in,
there were no recommendations laid out
situation and didn't necessarily talk.
I do want education
because I think that the reason why I'm not getting many
of the website, the work that people have done, talk people
about it has been very,
I also will my report
that couple years ago.
So thank you.
- Thank you, thank you.
Wanna make another comment?
- Hi again. Iris just covered a couple
of these points already,
but related to the urgency on some of the your priorities.
Public Media Network article from just about a week ago
reiterated that commissioners have until August 21st
to submit final feedback on current goal
and outcome statements
before staff finalize the document for public release.
So that's just a couple of days away.
I don't know if any conversation here tonight is related to
that deadline, but perhaps furthermore,
work on the strategic vision
and master plan will continue in parallel
through the remainder of 2026 and early 2027.
So everybody here might know that,
but perhaps listeners don't.
And on their website, they give some pretty concrete dates.
August 31st through the 27th of September,
the draft will be available for public review.
So that's coming out pretty soon.
Community subject matter experts will participate in fo
focus groups at Western to develop
and refine strategies
to achieve the strategic vision goals and outcomes.
That's mid-September
and September 28th through October 5th.
Staff will review and incorporate public comments
and finalize the strategic vision draft.
And October 19th, their strategic vision is anticipated
to return to the city for potential approval.
And then early 27th work will continue on the master plan
per my individual input on the 2035 design at phase at a
community event, I believe it was earlier
this year, it was very cold.
The city should establish a natural resources director
or manager level position with staff as well
as a sustainability position at that level, responsible
for coordination, restoration, land management partnerships,
grant acquisition supported by dedicated reoccurring funding
and parallel environmental protection should pair this
capacity with stronger regulatory
and investment tools such as strengthening the na, the NFP,
reevaluating setbacks and so on.
This builds on the existing master plan direction
to pursue protection of environmental areas
through conservation easements, deed restrictions,
development, right transfers,
land conservation partnerships, and transfer to public
or partner nonprofit ownership.
Katie mentioned something about participate,
public participation.
That's, I feel very strongly about that.
And I believe that the, the community input collected
through public participation should be clearly summarized
and available to the, the public.
Not just a, not just making the, the
public participation but then summarizing for the public.
And then finally update rezoning, Ordinance,
amendment criteria to include the sixth standard, which
- Participation.
- Thank you. Very good points from both
of our, our people in the audience.
Justin, did you see anyone on the phone lines? Okay.
All right. We've got good public comments today.
We have our last item on the agenda
is do we have any Commissioner comments
that you would like to make to close this out?
We'll start with Kate.
No, thank you. I, I have none.
I will just say before we pass it to Rachel, thank you.
People who showed up today, it's always nice
to have some people in the audience.
And again, I just wanna repeat,
we do have seats available on the committee.
Anyone who lives in the city of Kalamazoo
and has an interest in environmental issues
is eligible to be a member.
So reach out through the city's website
and send us your application.
No comment here. All right, thank you. I'll
- Jump in with one.
I know we talk about plans a lot,
but the city's also asking how to spend its money.
So 2027 budget development here is open for Public Comment.
There's a quick survey, I'll show you the survey here
so folks can see, you know,
what city services are most important to you.
Select up to three. So we have water spurs,
so we're looking, the city's looking for input.
They want to know
what citizens believe the city should spend its money on.
So that's open through the mid through August, I believe,
but sooner rather than later would probably be best.
So, and this goes hand in hand with IK 2035
so folks can have a say in that.
- Thank you. Thank you Justin. Thanks Justin.
All right with that last announcement,
we are officially adjourned.
I'll see you next month. Alright, good.
That was a busy meeting. That was a good meeting.
Get things done. Thank you Justin.
Alright, thanks Justin.