Agenda - 6-a - Potential Addition of an Environmental Impact Section to Agenda Abstracts

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5 Attachment 3 ORANGE COUNTY COMMISSION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT MEMORANDUM To: Orange County Board of County Commissioners From: Bradley Saul, Chair Orange County Commission for the Environment Date: February 11, 2019 Re: Recommendations pertaining to the inclusion of Environmental Impacts on County Agenda Abstracts At their regular meeting on April 26th 2018, Commissioners Jacobs petitioned staff to determine options for the inclusion of an environmental impacts statement on all County agenda abstracts. On November 8th, staff brought several options to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC)with the recommendation that the Commission for the Environment (CFE) consider these options under BOCC guidance and make a recommendation. Per request by the BOCC, the CFE reviewed options for including environmental impacts on agenda abstracts. At our November and January meetings, the CFE learned from County staff how the agenda abstract process works and the BOCC's motivation for considering environmental impacts of agenda items. The CFE endorses this initiative. Attached to this memo is a draft agenda abstract template which includes our recommended approach. Below we discuss our rationale and potential shortcomings for your consideration. Our inquiry revealed a few main difficulties to including environmental impacts on agenda abstracts. Brennan Bouma walked the CFE through several example agenda abstracts that made the following clear. One, the potential environmental impact of an agenda abstract's contents range from none to considerable. Two, the degree of that impact can be clear for some topics and much more subtle for others. Three, the ability to identify and succinctly explain environmental impacts will vary depending on the expertise and knowledge of the abstract writer. With these three complications in mind, the CFE chose a template that allows for a free response in the impacts section. The template includes a summary of the County's Environmental Responsibility Goal and Objectives adopted December 5, 2005. This summary serves as a prompt for the abstract writer to consider an item's impact. The template also encourages abstract writers to include a"more information needed"response if the writer is unsure about an item's impact. It is our hope this will flag abstracts for additional consideration when needed, either during the agenda review process or elsewhere in the decision making process. Attachment cc: David Stancil Contntissioas far the Fk,,virovtncev�t 010 Or6 pLge coi. into DFAp- Po gow 8181, NC 2�2�8�1�-2¢S-2S20