Agenda 03-19-24; 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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4 1 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked how the VAD program benefits farmers. 2 Kim Woods said it is a pride in agriculture program by showing a sign and people can see 3 that. She said that it can also potentially protect the farm owner from nuisance issues in the future. 4 Regina Baratta of the Commission for the Environment reviewed some of their biggest 5 accomplishments in the previous year: 6 • Provided ranking and comments to the BOCC for four cycles of the Climate Action Fund 7 program. 8 • Reviewed and submitted recommendations for the two cycles of Climate Action Tax Grant 9 application for Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools 10 • Reviewed and provided recommendations for the Orange County Climate Action Plan 11 • Created a draft No Net Loss Canopy Policy for Orange County Government 12 • currently under staff review 13 • Reviewed and submitted recommendation for Piedmont Wildlife Center Outside Agency 14 Funding Request Application 15 She said that they perform the following tasks: 16 • Co-sponsor"Nature of Orange" Photography Contest 17 • Liaison to Intergovernmental Parks Work Group 18 • Review and comment on environmental issues 19 • Identify priorities for the Lands Legacy Action Plan 20 • Conduct special studies pertaining to Orange County environment 21 • Conduct environmental education outreach 22 She said that they plan to do the following in the next year: 23 • Provide support to Climate Action Plan implementation 24 • The CFE will review and rank grant applications for the fifth cycle of the County Climate 25 Action Grant 26 • Engage with the right of way task force 27 • Involvement with the development of the update Land Use Plan 28 • Progression on no net loss tree canopy retention 29 • Introduction of an Invasive Species Management Policy 30 • Advocate for the incorporation of the Eno-New Hope Landscape Connectivity Report in 31 future county documents and plans 32 • Continue to support the Upper Neuse River Basin Association and their approach to 33 solving water quality issues in the Falls Lake Watershed 34 The CFE will work with staff to develop a Greene Tract "Headwaters Preserve" 35 She said they would like to revisit the scoring criteria for the climate action plan grant. She said 36 the commission would like to review and comment on county rezoning requests. She said they 37 would like to monitor federal regulations and enforcement for PFAS. She said they would like to 38 continue to address equity and inclusion across all plans. She said they will have several new 39 members and they have created an orientation sheet to explain what the commission does. She 40 said that may be helpful for other advisory boards. 41 Chair Bedford requested that Regina Baratta send the orientation sheet to Deputy Clerk 42 to the Board Tara May. 43 Vice-Chair Greene said the state of the environment report should be updated in 2024. 44 She said the update probably isn't going to happen this year, but it's a valuable document. She 45 said that she hopes that the commission will update that in the future. 46 Regina Baratta said that the plan is to update the document in 2025 using data from the 47 land use plan and climate action plan. 48 Commissioner Richards said that as the county adopts its strategic plan, it will be helpful 49 for all advisory boards and commissions to align future activities with the objectives in the strategic 50 plan.