Environmental Commission

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION MINUTES May 5, 2025 Board or Environmental Date: May 5, 2025 Commission: Meeting: Special Called to 7:00 p.m. Order: Quorum: Yes Adjourned: 9:00 p.m. MEMBER ATTENDANCE: Present/Absent Christy Truitt Chairman Present Jeff Abeln Commissioner Absent Jacquelyn Casazza Commissioner Present Karen Lilly Commissioner Absent Mark Frigo Commissioner Present Barbara Kwiatkowsky Commissioner Present John Day Commissioner Present Chris English Commissioner Present Maggie Frigo Student Commissioner Absent Also Present: Kristina Christie Management Analyst – Public Works Present Elisa Pollina Recording Secretary Absent Kelli Christiansen Village Trustee Absent Sonia Desai Bhagwakar Village Trustee Present Chris Gutman Glen Ellyn Park District Absent PUBLIC A. CALL TO ORDER The May 5, 2025 special meeting of the Environmental Commission was called to order at the Glen Ellyn Civic Center. B. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – C. ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION SPECIAL WORKSHOP – 1. Workshop to Develop Recommendations for Strategic Goals as outcome of the Sustainability Baseline Assessment. (See attached notes) D. NEXT MEETING & ADJOURNMENT 1. The meeting adjourned at 9:00pm. 2. The next EC meeting – May 20, 2025 Submitted by Christy Truitt, Chair Reviewed by Kristina Christie, Staff Liaison 2035 Goals - Proposed by PaleBlueDot for Village of Glen Ellyn April 2025 Waste Management 38% reduction in GHG emissions from 2015 5% less solid waste 70% increase in organics diversion 33% increase in recycling diversion Greenspace and Ecosystems 5% increase in Tree Canopy 7% reduction in turf / increase in prairie grass/native plants 5% reduction of dark impervious surfaces Increased resilience and biodiversity of ecosystems Water and Wastewater 7% reduction in GHG emissions from 2015 5% reduction in water consumption 5% reduction of wastewater Increased stormwater and climate resilience Increased water quality and restoration Health and Safety Reduced vulnerability Increased Infrastructure Resilience Increased Community Capacity Transportation and Land Use 44% reduction in GHG emissions from 2015 2.5% fewer vehicle miles traveled 22% increase in public transit use 15% registered electric vehicles Villagewide 1.7% increase in population density Buildings and Energy 48% reduction in GHG emissions from 2015 15% on-site or purchased renewable energy 5% reduction in electricity use 20% reduction in on-site fuel combustion 10% fuel switching from on-site combustion Page 1 of 9 Waste Management SRS Objective 3, 4 | Mitigation 1, 3, 7 WM 1: Decrease total annual municipal solid waste generated by 5%. WM 2: Increase organics and compostable diversion from 14% to 24% of total MSW handled. WM 3: Increase recycling diversion from 26.4% to 35% of total MSW handled. Greenspace and Ecosystems SRS Objective 1, 4 | Mitigation 8 | Adaptation 4, 5 GE 1: Increase tree cover, particularly in the priority neighborhoods, over the existing tree canopy coverage, by 5% by 2035 and 7.5% by 2040 (equal to an increase of 1.9% and 2.8% of Villagewide land area respectively). GE 2: Increase pollinator supportiveness of lawns and achieve a 7% turf replacement with native grasses and wildflowers (approximately 8 acres annually). GE 3: Reduce heat island effect through “dark” impervious surface coverage reduction of at least 5%, particularly in neighborhoods identified with higher heat island impacts (approximately 4.5 acres annually). GE 4: Reduce invasive species and increase climate resilience and biodiversity of the Village’s tree canopy, parks and greenspaces. Water and Wastewater SRS Objective 4 | Mitigation 7 | Adaptation 1, 3, 4, 5, 8 W 1: Promote reduced water consumption and wastewater generation Villagewide with a targeted reduction of 5% each. W 2: Update design standards and implement plans to meet projected climate-change stormwater and flood mitigation requirements. W 3: Increase groundwater, stream, river and wetland water quality protection and restoration. Health and Safety SRS Objective 4 | Adaptation 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 HS 1: Assist the Village's climate vulnerable population in preparing for and mitigating climate change impacts (prioritized based on elevated risk sensitivities as outlined in the Village’s Climate Vulnerability Assessment). HS 2: Increase resilience of Villagewide buildings, infrastructure, mission critical, emergency services and health care facilities to potential impacts of climate change. HS 3: Educate, engage, and empower the public on health and safety risks of climate change impacts. Page 2 of 9 Transportation and Land Use SRS Objective 2, 4 | Mitigation 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 Villagewide TL 1: Increase battery electric vehicle (BEV) use to 15% of vehicles on the road (from approximately 277 vehicles to 2,727 vehicles Villagewide). TL 2: Decrease community wide Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by 2.5% . TL 3: Increase public transit commuter ridership from 9% to 11%. TL 4: Increase average population per developed acre by 1.7% (from 8.1 to 8.4 ppl/developed acre). Municipal Operations TL 5: Achieve 25% or greater conversion of municipal operations non-emergency response gasoline vehicles and equipment within the municipal fleet to EVs. TL 6: Achieve 15% conversion of municipal operations diesel fuel utilization to renewable fuels. TL 7: Increase fuel efficiency of remaining combustion engine fleet by 7.5%. Buildings and Energy SRS Objective 2, 4 | Mitigation 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 Villagewide BE 1: Improve total Villagewide building energy efficiency by 5% for electricity and 10% natural gas (all building sectors). BE 2: Increase adoption of high performance building construction technology, achieving 0.5% Net Zero households and commercial properties Villagewide. (Net Zero buildings are energy efficient buildings that produce as much energy on-site as they consume in a year) BE 3: Achieve 10% residential and commercial and industrial building "fuel switching" from on-site fossil fuel combustion to electrification or renewable fuels. BE 4: Increase customer owned or purchased renewable electricity to 15% of Villagewide residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial building electric use (10% on-site and 5% green source purchase). Municipal Operations BE 5: Improve total government building energy efficiency by 7.5% for electricity and 12.5% natural gas. BE 6: Achieve 20% government building thermal “fuel switching" from on-site fossil fuel combustion to electrification. BE 7: Increase renewable energy to 100% of government building electric use (on-site and green source purchase). Page 3 of 9 Environmental Commission Feedback The Environmental Commission recognizes that the % goals proposed by PaleBlueDot are sized to enable the Village to achieve Net Zero carbon goals by 2050. The Environmental Commission had general agreement with the proposed high-level goals, but Chair Truitt expressed a desire to better understand the assumptions for the proposed % change in each area - and suggested deferring support for the % goals until discussion at the workshop with PaleBlueDot. Chair Truitt also expressed concern about asking the Village to agree to measurable goals in areas outside of municipal responsibility. An example, Glen Ellyn’s responsibility is to provide a residential recycling service, however, it is outside municipal scope to notably impact how that service is used by residents or to impact the scope of what the provider recycles, therefore we hesitate to encourage the Village to set a measurable goal for change. This same concern applies in areas other than Waste Management. Some goals compete with each other - for example, increasing tree canopy reduces land area that can support native prairie plants and/or solar panels. Further evaluation of scope is warranted. There may be value in setting Municipal vs. Villagewide goals in Greenspace and Ecosystems category, enabling the Village to set measurable goals based on municipally-owned land. In the Health and Safety category, suggested updating the goals with specific threats (hazards such as flooding or drought, extreme temperatures, pollutants, or energy outages) vs. “climate change impacts” as specificity would help in action planning. The Environmental Commission recommends moving forward to Phase 2: Action Planning, where each goal area can be explored further. After collaborative Action Planning with Trustees, Staff, and other Commissions, measurable goals per category can be set with support from all groups. Page 4 of 9