MEETING MINUTES Jersey City Environmental Commission City Hall 280 Grove Street, Jersey City NJ Michelle Luebke, Acting Chair

Transcription

1 MEETING MINUTES Jersey City Environmental Commission City Hall 280 Grove Street, Jersey City NJ Michelle Luebke, Acting Chair Meeting: Date / Location: Jersey City Environmental Commission Public Meeting Council Chambers, City Hall, 280 Grove Street, Jersey City, NJ Attendees: Prepared By: Commissioners/City Representatives Gregg Lanez Michelle Luebke Takeya Meggett Dr. Alexander Mirescu Mario Verdibello Gabriel Ristorucci Kate Lawrence, Secretary Kate Lawrence, Alison Cucco Presenters John Cecil and Donald Donnelly of the New Jersey Audubon Public Participants John George, Elna Mukaida, Luis Rios, Tom Gibbons, Julia Somers, Mark Hilen, George Stafford, Silvia Solaun, Wynnie-Fred V. Hinds, Matt Trump Date Prepared: 22 November 2017 ROLL CALL Acting Chair Luebke called the Commission to order at 6:30 pm. Six of the eight active commissioners were present. Commissioners Solowsky and Cucco were absent. SUNSHINE ANNOUNCEMENT Secretary Lawrence confirmed that the meeting agenda was sent on Friday, November , to the Jersey Journal, Jersey City Reporter and the City Clerk s Office. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES Acting Chair Luebke made two corrections to the draft October meeting minutes. October 2017 minutes were unanimously approved with corrections. COMMUNICATIONS TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION The Environmental Commission received three (3) environmental notifications for various projects in Jersey City. The notifications will be available for review in the Planning Office for at least a year. SCHEDULED SPEAKERS: JOHN CECIL AND DONALD DONNELLY OF THE NEW JERSEY AUDUBON John Cecil, the Vice President of Stewardship for New Jersey Audubon, and Donald Donnelly, the Stewardship Project Director-Forester at the New Jersey Audubon Wattles

2 Page 2 of 4 Stewardship Center, spoke about the group s Sparta Mountain Forestry management plan project. The area was heavily abused over the years for natural resource extraction. Thomas Edison used to have his Edison Factory in the area and there were a number of mines. Because of the site s history there are different plant and animal species at Sparta Mountain. Historically, the area is supposed to have constant disturbance. Fires every years led to natural flora/fauna structure of forest. Without these fires the species in the area have changed. Since the 1950 s the U.S. Forestry Service has been taking continuous inventory of forests in the United States. This has produced a good trend analysis with a high degree of certainty. Upwards of 75% of the forests in NJ are structurally similar. This leads to problems for animal species that live in either very young or very old forests. Audubon is looking at certain species (esp. birds) as indicators for forest habitats. There is an interconnectivity of animal species and wildlife areas of different ages Audubon/NJ Wildlife Service got a grant from the National Forest Service to develop a better forest management plan. The Sparta Mountain forestry management area is approximately 3,400 acres. In order to create the plan they pulled in comprehensive data. The data confirmed that the forest was majority old growth with encroachment of shadetolerant species. One animal species that the group looked in particular is the Gold Wing Warbler, which is in danger in New Jersey. To meet the objective of managing the forest area they are cutting trees in pockets to create staggered forest age. This method also allows for old growth forest. Ultimately they would like to add application of prescribed burning. This method is trickier because of nearby homes. Trying to achieve 9% young forest, 9% old forest, and the rest in the middle. Currently at 5%. The wildlife management plan received public comment and approval by DEP. Forestry activities compliant with an approved forest stewardship plan using best management practices are exempt from Highlands approval and the Freshwater Wetlands Act. There have been concerns about rare species there are buffers being placed around these species. Also buffer of 300 feet around private water bodies. Commissioner Verdibello expressed concern about the clear cutting. Commissioner Mirescu asked about BMP s for urban forestry. John Cecil stated that the Audubon does not work in urban environments that often, but only really in large forested areas. But he advocates for reforestation of urban areas. Tom Gibbons asked about quantifying ecosystem values. John Cecil agrees that they could do more. A member of the public asked about how the forestry management plan will affect the watershed. John Cecil said they don t expect any effects at all. They haven t seen any localized effects so far. Commissioner Meggett have you ever used conservation groups? Answer; yes Commissioner Luebke have you done tests on water quality or just visual analysis? Answer: Just visual analysis. Commissioner Verdibello: what is the advantage of clear-cutting on such a drastic scale? Answer: These are relatively small clear-cut areas. The cut areas experience different

3 Page 3 of 4 species. The scale of disturbance is not actually great when looked at from an historic perspective. OLD BUSINESS Letter to Mayor, Advising the City to Plant 25,000 Trees Commissioner Lanez will resend the link to the Google document to the rest of the Commissioners All comments on the draft letter are due by December 12 th. JCEC s Secretary Lawrence stated that she was able to reactivate the previous but is having difficulty getting them to function properly. Commissioner Mirescu recommended calling Google support. Plastic Bag Ordinance Acting Chair Luebke stated that she is revisiting this topic. Commissioner Mirescu volunteered to participate. NEW BUSINESS Natural History Tours in Arlington Park Commissioner Meggett stated that the tours were unfortunately cancelled but that they will be rescheduled for the spring. Listserv for Community Groups Commissioner Luebke recommended the use of Robly This item was tabled to the next meeting due to lack of information Commissioner Verdibello s Sustainability Letter Commissioner Verdibello is working on a draft of a letter regarding sustainability issues like lead pipes. A representative from the highlands Council recommended that the EC attend the meetings for the NJ League of Conservation Voters and talk about the lead pipes issue. LSP Marina Development Letter This item was tabled for lack of information 2018 Environmental Commission Meeting Calendar The draft calendar was unanimously approved. The 2018 meeting dates are as follows: January 16, February 13*, March 20, April 17, May 15, June 19**, July 17, September 18,

4 Page 4 of 4 October 16**, November 20, and December 18. All meetings except for those marked by an asterisk will take place in Council Chambers at City Hall. Dates marked with * will take place in room 204 in City Hall. Dates marked with ** will take place in room 213 in City Hall. Meeting dates will be distributed to the City Clerk s office and local newspapers per NJ Open Meetings Law. CLOSING REMARKS AND OTHER BUSINESS BY COMMISSIONERS None GENERAL PUBLIC PARTICPATION George Stafford of the NJ Highlands Coalition passed around a draft resolution of Support for Sustainable Open Space, Farmland, Historic Preservation and Stewardship Funding for New Jersey for consideration by the Jersey City Environmental Commission Elna Mukaida, a resident of Jersey City, stated concern about the effect new developments have on the availability drinking water in Jersey City Julia Somers of the NJ Highlands Coalition stated that although the Sparta Mountain Forestry Management Plan sounded good on paper there were actually myriad problems with the plan and the process. Silvia Salaun of the NJ Forest Watch/Friends of Sparta Mountain echoed this sentiment. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. NEXT MEETING The next Environmental Commission meeting is scheduled for 19 December 2017 at 6:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers, City Hall, Jersey City, NJ

5 Notifications to Environmental Commission as of November 21, 2017* DATE PROJECT NOTIFICATION FROM NOTIFICATION TYPE PERMIT/CERTIFICATON REQUESTED 10/23/2017 Hudson County Chromate Approval of Remedial Work Honeywell International Inc., Study Action Work Plan Plan Areqa 3 Site 071 and Communipaw Sites (068, 069, 070, and 130) 10/23/ Thomas F. McGovern Drive Dresdner Robin Notice of Submission Form TWA 1 Treatment Works Application PERMITTING/ CERTIFYING BODY NJ DEP, Div. of Water Quality 10/19/2017 Senate Place Apartments, 25 Senate Place Approval of partial Termination of Deed Notice Termination of Deed Notice *Copies of notices made to the Environmental Commission are available for review by the public for up to one year at the office of the Division of Planning, 30 Montgomery Street, Suite 1400, Jersey City,