Committee Report - OSEE - 11-9-20 — File 210838

Open Space, Environment and Energy Committee Page 1 of 5 Printed 11/10/2020 November 9, 2020 REPORT OF THE OPEN SPACE, ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY COMMITTEE Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Katjana Ballantyne Chair Present Wilfred N. Mbah Vice Chair Present Ben Ewen-Campen Ward Three City Councilor Present Jefferson Thomas ("J.T.") Scott Ward Two City Councilor Present William A. White Jr. City Councilor At Large Present Others present: Oliver Sellers-Garcia - OSE, Khushbu Webber - Director of Governmental Affairs, Rositha Durham - Clerk of Committees, Peter Forcellese - Legislative Clerk. The meeting took place virtually via GoToWebinar and was called to order at 6:00 PM by Chair Ballantyne and adjourned at 7:06 PM on a roll call vote of 5 in favor (Councilors Ewen-Campen, Scott, White, Mbah and Ballantyne), none against and none absent. Councilor Scott arrived at 6:15 PM due to his presence at the School Committee meeting. Approval of the February 26, 2020 Minutes RESULT: ACCEPTED LED 201857: That the Commissioner of Public Works and the Director of Sustainability and Environment inform the Special Committee on Open Space, Environment and Energy which elements of the AMA's 2016 guidelines on LED lighting could be or have been used to minimize potential harmful effects. Chair Ballantyne gave a brief background on this item. Mr. Sellers-Garcia stated that these items were well underway prior to his employment with the city, adding that he has nothing to add to the discussion and believes that the matter has been addressed. Councilor Ewen-Campen commented that advancements have been made, however there will always be work to do going forward. Councilor Mbah asked if Chair Ballantyne had any conversations with Mr. Morales, a city resident, who was deeply engaged in this subject. Mr. Sellers-Garcia was asked about the lighting in the new high school building and he replied that he is beyond hid depth with regard to school building design. He went on to say that lighting in all city buildings has been updated, however. Councilor White inquired if Constituent Services/311 is prepared to take calls about lighting concerns and Mr. Sellers-Garcia stated that it is his understanding that 311 would convert lighting calls into DPW work orders. Councilor Scott said that harmful effects of

Open Space, Environment and Energy Committee Page 2 of 5 Printed 11/10/2020 LED lighting are still being seen. Chair Ballantyne feels that it would be helpful to have the latest data on the subject and to have Mr. MacEachern from the DPW available at a future meeting. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. 204434: That the Administration provide this Board’s Special Committee on Open Space, Environment and Energy with an analysis of the attached communication regarding LED street lights. See item 201857 RESULT: WORK COMPLETED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. Native Species 203365: That the City Solicitor draft an ordinance requiring native tree and plantings for all open space, to meet the goals of sustainability and biodiversity. Chair Ballantyne reported that she met with Ms. Webber recently to discuss this item and the Administration would like to put forth a Native Species Ordinance. Ms. Webber stated that she will be in touch with the Law Department to figure an approach to arrive at the amounts of native species plantings. A working draft of the ordinance is attached to these minutes. Chair Ballantyne said that there will be language to exempt state-owned land from the ordinance. Councilor Mbah asked if native species have been incorporated in SomerVision and Ms. Webber doesn't think that it is specifically stated in SomerVision, but it is something that the Administration is interested in pursuing. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. 205683: Tori Antonino submitting comments re: #203365, calling for a native planting ordinance. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. 206495: That the City Solicitor consider the attached language in the drafting of a Native Tree and Plantings Ordinance, as ordered by #203365. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. 207999: 3 residents submitting comments re: #206495, the proposed native plant ordinance.

Open Space, Environment and Energy Committee Page 3 of 5 Printed 11/10/2020 RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. 208567: Elizabeth Lundgren submitting comments re: #206495, the proposed native plant ordinance. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. 208920: That the Director of SPCD develop a plan to plant a native species pollinator garden along the Community Path. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. Flatware 207884: That the City Solicitor draft an ordinance to ban the use of plastic flatware. Chair Ballantyne noted that the city has been moving away from the use of plastic, thus she would like the Law Department to draft an ordinance to ban the use of plastic flatware. Councilor Mbah asked if the new high school has dishwashers to accommodate the cleaning of flatware and Mr. Sellers-Garcia replied that it probably does, but suggested that Mr. Raiche in the Engineering Department be asked that question. Chair Ballantyne had discussions with the School Department about 2 years ago, and at that time, they indicated that they were not in a position to clean flatware, should plastic flatware be banned. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. Open Space, Fields Master Plan 205709: That the Administration immediately pursue creation of a public fields and recreation area in the Inner Belt District pursuant to the Fields Master Plan. Chair Ballantyne commented that OSPCD was planning to submit some information for this meeting, and Ms. Webber commented that the information will be submitted to the City Council at its next meeting. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. Brownfields 204968: That the Director of SPCD provide this Board with a list of all city owned parcels, indicating any brownfields, and any plans to remediate those sites and use them for housing.

Open Space, Environment and Energy Committee Page 4 of 5 Printed 11/10/2020 Ms. Webber has no updated information to share but she will try to get a response as soon as possible. Councilor Mbah said that people need to get moving on this, adding that there are free resources that can be employed to gather data. Councilor White noted that many of the city's schools and parks were around before brownfields were a concern, and as such, there shouldn't be a preponderance of city-owned brownfield property. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. 210689: That the Director of Public Space and Urban Forestry work with the Ward 3 Councilor to facilitate a community meeting to plan a replacement tree(s) for the large Elm tree in Prospect Hill Park that appears to be succumbing to Dutch Elm disease. Councilor Ewen-Campen reported that the community meeting has taken place and the consensus was to replace the elm with a white oak. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. 207376: That the Director of Sustainability and Environment and the Director of SPCD formalize and implement a modern urban forestry management plan, including best practices and a resilient species list. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. 210135: That the Director of SPCD and a representative from the MBTA discuss with the Committee on Open Space, Environment and Energy, the plan to recapture the trees and green space lost after the decimation of the GLX forested corridor. Ms. Webber reported that the city is actively negotiating with the MBTA on a strategy to green and restore the ecosystem along the GLX corridor. Maintenance requirements and operational safety will be examined and a clearer picture of what may be done should be available in the next 2-3 months. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. Planning Documents 209624: That the Committee on Open Space, Environment and Energy provide feedback on the SomerVision 2040's chapters on 1) Public Space & Natural Environment and 2) Climate & Sustainability with respect to metrics, key tasks, and other strategies as noted within. Ms. Webber told the committee that the Administration will be presenting SomerVision 2040 at either the November 24th or December 12th City Council meeting.

Open Space, Environment and Energy Committee Page 5 of 5 Printed 11/10/2020 RESULT: WORK COMPLETED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. Mark Complete 205711: That the Administration present a Heat Island Impact Analysis on the proposed replacement of Conway Park's grass fields with artificial turf. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. 202992: That the Director of Sustainability and Environment and the City Solicitor advise this Board on the feasibility requiring certain commercial and multi-family buildings to require composting as a part of regular waste disposal. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. 208590: That the Administration revisit the proposal to institute citywide curbside composting. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Ballantyne, Mbah, Ewen-Campen, Scott, White Jr. Handouts: • 2020-1106 Native plant ordinance telcon KW and KB (with 203365,205683, 206495, 207999, 208567)