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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBack-Up DocumentsCity of Miami Climate Resilience Committee Legislation Resolution: City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 www.miamigov.com File Number: Final Action Date: A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CLIMATE RESILIENCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDING TO THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION TO DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER TO TRANSITION TO NON -GAS POWERED LEAF BLOWERS FOR ALL CITY LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS, TO REQUEST ALL CURRENT CITY LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE CONTRACTORS TO VOLUNTARILY COMPLY FOR THE DURATION OF THEIR CONTRACTS, TO REQUIRE NON -GAS POWERED LEAF BLOWERS IN ALL FUTURE BIDS FOR CITY LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE WORK, TO ISSUE A POLICY WITH A TRANSITION PERIOD TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF GAS POWERED LEAF BLOWERS WITHIN THE CITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, climate change currently affects the City of Miami (City) residents, businesses, and visitors in numerous ways, and both adapting to and mitigating the effects is a priority; and WHEREAS, a leaf blower is a widely available gardening tool used to manage leaves, clippings, and other debris; and WHEREAS, 2-stroke engines are common in gasoline -powered lawn equipment and are inefficient as approximately 30% of the fuel does not complete combustion, releasing several pollutants; and WHEREAS, phasing out noisy gas -powered leaf blowers has environmental, health, monetary, and quality of life benefits; and WHEREAS, in January 2020, Mayor Francis Suarez announced a carbon neutrality goal of reaching net zero city-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Since then, the City has released a greenhouse gas inventory; and WHEREAS, the City of Miami adopted The Miami Forever Carbon Neutral Plan in November 2021 as a roadmap to Carbon Neutrality by 2050 with actions to reduce emissions, strengthen the local economy, and enhance climate justice, and has an interim goal to cut Citywide greenhouse gas emissions by 60% from 2018 levels by 2035; and WHEREAS, the City of Miami is a signatory of the We Are Still In pledge, a promise to uphold the goals set out by the United Nations Paris Climate Agreement at a local level, which includes a goal for emissions reduction equal to or greater than the US goal under the Paris Climate Agreement (26-28% by 2025); and WHEREAS, according to data for 2020 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, fossil fuel -powered lawn equipment emitted more than 30 million tons of carbon dioxide, the leading cause of global warming; and Page 1 / 3 WHEREAS, testing in 2011 by the vehicle reviewer Edmunds.com compared the emissions of 2- stroke and 4-stroke leaf blowers to a 2011 Ford F-150 found that the leaf blowers emitted approximately seven times or greater oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and 13.5 times or greater carbon monoxide (CO) than the vehicle, generating 23 times CO and nearly 300 times more non -methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) than the Ford F-150; and WHEREAS, running a gas -powered leaf blower for one hour emits the same smog -forming emissions as driving a light -duty passenger vehicle from Miami to Baltimore, and running a 2-stroke blower for half that time is the same as driving the Ford F-150 from Texas to Alaska; and WHEREAS, according to data for 2020 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, fossil fuel -powered lawn equipment emitted nearly 22,000 tons of fine particulate pollutants, including fine PM2.5 that have been linked to respiratory ailments, reproductive and mental health issues, and even premature death, equal to the amount produced by 234 million typical cars; and WHEREAS, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study found that Gasoline -powered landscape maintenance equipment (GLME; leaf blowers/vacuums, trimmers, edgers, brush cutters) accounted for 43% of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and around 50% of fine Particulate Matter (PM). Two-stroke engines were responsible for the vast majority of fine PM from GLME; and WHEREAS, workers using commercial equipment are exposed to high levels of VOCs and fine PM when they are close to the emitting sources, made worse when they operate the equipment several hours each day and several days a week in seasons of use; and WHEREAS, other members of the public, including children, may also be exposed to high levels of emissions from commercial landscape maintenance equipment (GLME) used routinely around residential neighborhoods, schools, parks, and other public spaces; and WHEREAS, 'Valuing Quiet: An economic assessment of US environmental noise as a cardiovascular health hazard' published in the National Library of Medicine, states that environmental noise pollution increases the risk for hearing loss, stress, sleep disruption, annoyance, cardiovascular disease, and has other adverse health impacts. The analyses suggest that a 5 Decibel noise reduction scenario would reduce the prevalence of hypertension by 1.4% and coronary heart disease by 1.8%, with an annual economic benefit estimated at $3.9 billion; and WHEREAS, the World Health Organization recommends a general outdoor noise level of 55 decibels, but the more than 11 million gas -powered leaf blowers that operate in the U.S. and Commercial grade gas -powered leaf blowers emit noise orders of magnitude higher than levels deemed safe and which can travel long distances and be heard within buildings due to the low -frequencies that differentiate them from battery -powered leaf blower noise; and WHEREAS, due to the many benefits, cities and towns across the U.S., including neighboring Miami Beach and Key Biscayne, have enacted regulations and bans on gas -powered leaf blowers; and WHEREAS, many comparable alternatives exist, including plug-in or battery -operated leaf blowers and non -motorized tools such as rakes and brooms; and Page 2 / 3 WHEREAS, a transition period will provide a reasonable phase -in period during which City staff can conduct outreach to inform and educate residents and landscape maintenance companies about the provisions and benefits of this Resolution and related best practices.; and WHEREAS, the Climate Resilience Committee finds that it is in the best interest of the City and its residents to recommend to the City Commission that it direct the City Manager to transition to non - gas powered leaf blowers for all City Landscape maintenance operations, as more particularly described herein. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CLIMATE RESILIENCE COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: Section 1. The recitals and findings contained in the Preamble to this Resolution are adopted by reference and incorporated as if fully set forth in this Section. Section 2. The Climate Resilience Committee strongly supports actions to reduce emissions, improve air quality, reduce unnecessary noise, and improve health. Section 3. The Climate Resilience Committee hereby recommends to the City Commission that it direct the City Manager to transition to non -gas powered leaf blowers for all City landscape maintenance operations, to request all current City landscape maintenance contractors to voluntarily comply for the duration of their contracts, to require non -gas powered leaf blowers in all future bids for City landscape maintenance work, and to issue a policy with a transition period to prohibit the use of gas -powered leaf blowers within the City. Section 4. The Secretary of the Climate Resilience Committee is directed to transmit a copy of this Resolution to the Mayor and City Commissioners. Section 5. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption. Page 3 / 3 THE CITY OF MIAMI CLIMATE RESILIENCE COMMITTEE BYLAWS ARTICLE I NAME The name of the board is the Climate Resilience Committee ("Committee"). The Committee was created and established pursuant to City of Miami Ordinance No. 13857, adopted September 12, 2019 and codified in Chapter 2, Article XI of the Code of the City of Miami ("City Code"). ARTICLE II PURPOSE AND POWERS Section IL1 Purpose of the Committee. The purpose of the "Climate Resilience Committee" ("Committee") is to serve in an advisory capacity to the City Commission. The Committee shall recommend changes to the Code of the City of Miami, Florida, as amended ("City Code"), and City of Miami ("City") policies and procedures necessary to help the City, its residents, businesses, institutions and natural systems to: respond, adapt and thrive in the face of increasing acute shocks and chronic stresses related to climate change and mitigate the causes of climate change via advancing efforts to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. The impacts of climate change on the City include: increasing flood risks related to sea level rise, increasing groundwater levels, and more intense storms compounding the impacts of seasonal high tides, rain, and storm surge; increasing high heat days; salt water intrusion; drought; extreme weather events; water and vector -borne illnesses. This Committee will evaluate and make recommendations to strengthen the city's physical, environmental, economic, social and human capacity to be resilient to these impacts. As an emerging global city, Miami seeks to anticipate, adapt and flourish in the face of change. Section IL2 Powers of the Committee. The Committee shall have the power to: (1) Hold public meetings to receive public and expert input; (2) Review any and all available information pertaining to climate resilience, including but not limited to its impacts on infrastructure, public health, water supply and quality, ecosystem health, housing, and socioeconomics. (3) Review any and all issues related to the use, disposition, and/or development of City - owned waterfront property. Nothing herein is intended to interfere or conflict with any existing provisions in the City Charter or City Code setting forth procedures concerning the development and/or disposition of City -owned waterfront property. Page 1 of 8 Amended 2023 (4) Request reports regarding the above from city depaitinents through the city manager's office or designee; (5) Comment on reports from city departments through the city manager's office or designee regarding updates to city infrastructure that may relate to the city's ability to adapt to increasing flood, heat, and storm risks and mitigate causes of climate change; (6) Comment on reports from city departments through the city manager's office or designee concerning changes to the city's zoning ordinance and other land development regulations, flood damage prevention, or historic or environmental preservation regulations that may relate to the city's ability to adapt to sea level rise and its adverse impacts; (7) Review City recommendations for investment priorities related to city infrastructure, including but not limited to roads, transportation, solid waste facilities, storm water facilities, buildings, and communities and residences most at risk from climate change, sea level rise, and their adverse impacts; (8) Review recommendations for applicable resilient design standards and best practices for adaptation, mitigation, and other considerations related to climate change, sea level rise, and their adverse impacts; (9) Review staff recommendations for appropriate climate change and sea level rise projections to be used in City infrastructure projects and planning; (10) Recommend, from time to time, matters pertaining to the city's ability to adapt to climate change, sea level rise, and their adverse impacts to be considered by the city's planning, zoning and appeals board; the city's historic and environmental preservation board; or other relevant city boards, committees, or commissions; (11) Recommend any changes to the City Code, policies, guides, and standards, including but not limited to the matters listed herein, necessary to help the city and its residents adapt to and prepare for the adverse impacts of climate change and sea level rise; (12) Undertake joint investigations or alliances regarding the above with educational, academic, not -for -profit, and other governmental entities and offices; (13) Subject to city commission approval, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld, engage experts who, as independent contractors, will provide analyses, reports, recommendations, and other resources, which shall be paid from funds available to the committee; and (14) Prepare an annual budget to be presented to the city commission for approval. ARTICLE III THE COMMITTEE Section IIL1 Composition of the Committee. The Committee shall consist of nine (9) voting members and shall be appointed and confirmed in the manner described in section 2-1272 of the City Code. Section III.2 Officers. Page 2 of 8 Amended 2023 a) The Committee shall elect a Chairperson and a Vice -Chairperson from among the members of the Committee and shall serve at the pleasure of the Committee. b) The Chairperson and the Vice -Chairperson shall serve a term of one (1) year unless removed from office due to resignation, death, suspension, physical incapacitation, removal by an affirmative vote of fifty percent (50%) plus one (1) of all Committee members, or removal pursuant to section 2-1272(e)-(f) of the City Code. c) The Chairperson and the Vice -Chairperson may not serve in their respective office more than two (2) consecutive terms unless the term -limit is waived by a vote of fifty percent (50%) plus one (1) of all Committee members. d) The Committee may establish additional offices and elect officers to those offices as it deems necessary by an affirmative vote of fifty percent (50%) plus one (1) of all Committee members. The Committee shall clearly describe the purpose and duties of any newly established officer. The Committee shall select the newly established officer from among the members of the Committee and those additional officers shall serve at the pleasure of the Committee for a term of one (1) year and may not serve in their respective office more than two (2) consecutive terms unless the term -limit is waived by a vote of fifty percent (50%) plus one (1) of all Committee members. e) The Chair, Vice -Chair and other committee officers will be selected through a process of nomination, including self -nomination, and voted by Committee members at a regular Committee meeting. Once nominations are made at the meeting, the Committee shall vote by a roll call vote. Section IIL3 Subcommittees. a) The committee may create subcommittees as necessary. b) Each subcommittee shall be composed of at least three (3) Committee members. The chairperson and members of each subcommittee shall be selected by the majority of the members of the subcommittee and shall serve at the pleasure of the members of the subcommittee. c) Decisions of all subcommittees are subject to ratification by majority vote of the full Committee, or a unanimous vote of the quorum that exists because of either abstentions or vacancies resulting from removal, resignation, death, suspension, or physical incapacitation. d) All subcommittees shall comply with the requirements of the Sunshine Law, Chapter 286 of the Florida Statutes, and the Public Records Act, Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes. e) Subcommittees should report their activities to the full committee at each meeting. Page 3 of 8 Amended 2023 f) g) Subcommittees shall be reviewed annually to ensure they are actively serving the committee's purpose. Each Subcommittee should have the following defined elements (see appendix A for details): • Purpose of the Subcommittee • Powers of the Subcommittee • Composition • Collaboration o Partner alliances o City's Depaitments liaisons • Annual Budget & Priority Actions Section III.4 Terms Limits. a) Term limits are pursuant to Section 2-1272(d) of the City Code. Sixty (60) days prior to the expiration of a member's term, the member is to actively reach out to the appointing official to alert the appointing office of the term expiration and seek to be re -appointed or replaced. Members are encouraged to advise the appointing official of qualified individual(s) for their replacement. ARTICLE IV MEETINGS Section IV.1 Order of Business. a) The first and last orders of business shall be public comment periods. b) The second order of business shall be approval of minutes. A copy of the minutes shall be distributed to the Committee members prior to the meeting to enable the members to review the contents thereof. If edits are made to the minutes, the amended minutes shall be approved at the next regularly scheduled meeting. c) Regular Committee meeting agendas shall include the following standing items in order determined by chairperson: a. Review of previous action items b. Reports from City staff c. Reports from Sub -Committees d. New business e. New action items f. Agenda items to be considered for next regularly scheduled meeting d) Additional permanent or temporary standing items and their duration on the agenda can be proposed by members of the Committee through the Committee liaison and brought to a vote of the Committee at a regularly scheduled meeting. e) All business that shall come before the Committee shall be taken up in such order Page 4 of 8 Amended 2023 as they appear in the agenda. Agenda items may be taken out of order at the request of a Committee member with either the approval of the Chair or an affirmative vote of fifty percent (50%) plus one (1) the Committee members present. f) The agenda shall be prepared by the chairperson. Committee members may request the Committee liaison to place items on the agenda subject to approval by the chairperson. Any request for an item to be placed on the agenda and any supporting documentation shall be provided to the Committee liaison at least seven (7) days prior to the properly noticed meeting. Any item or documentation submitted to the Committee liaison after the seven (7) day deadline shall not be included in the distribution of the agenda and will need to be introduced by the Committee member at the meeting at the discretion of the chairperson and shall be heard at the same meeting upon an affirmative vote of fifty percent (50%) plus one (1) of the members present. The agenda and supporting documentation shall be distributed to the Committee and made public no less than five (5) days prior to the properly noticed meeting. Each agenda item will include a time limit for discussion. g) Agenda items not acted upon by the Committee at the conclusion of the meeting shall be continued automatically to the next regularly scheduled Committee meeting. h) Resolutions of the Committee shall be drafted by the City's staff. Resolutions shall include the name of each Committee member and identify the member's vote in the affirmative or the negative, or the member's absence or abstention from the vote. Section IV.2 Time Limits. a) Meetings shall be called to order no later than ten (10) minutes after the noticed time. Meetings shall not exceed more than two (2) hours after the meeting has been called to order. Once the two (2) hour time limit has been reached, the Committee may extend the meeting for no more than one (1) additional hour by an affirmative vote of fifty percent (50%) plus one (1) of the members present. b) The chairperson may establish time limits for agenda items and Committee discussion. If any Committee member wishes to extend the time limits for discussion of agenda items, the Committee member may make a motion to extend time and an affirmative vote of fifty percent (50%) plus one of Committee members present shall extend the time limit for discussion. c) The public shall have the opportunity to speak at a properly noticed meeting. A member of the public shall have the opportunity to speak on any item before the Committee for no more than two (2) minutes, subject to an extension of time at the discretion of the chairperson. The chairperson shall allocate a maximum of 15 minutes as the first and last order of business of each properly noticed meeting for Page 5 of 8 Amended 2023 public comments, subject to an extension of time at the discretion of the chairperson. Section IV.3 Quorum. a) Quorum shall consist of six (6) Committee members physically present at a properly noticed meeting. Committee members shall not send a representative or proxy to sit in their absence. b) If at the time a meeting is called to order there is no quorum, the Committee may choose to host a workshop and discuss any item on the agenda. However, no official action may be taken by the Committee members present. If sufficient Committee members become present to constitute quorum after the commencement of a workshop convened due to a lack of quorum, the workshop shall continue as if no quorum is present and the Committee shall not be able to take any official action. Section IV.4 Attendance Requirements. a) It is expected that all members of the Committee shall attend every meeting. b) Any Committee member shall be automatically removed if, in a given calendar year: 1. He or she is absent from three (3) consecutive meetings; or 2. He or she is absent from four (4) of the Committee's meetings; 3. Provided that regardless of their compliance with subsection (b)(1) and (2) hereinabove, members must attend at least fifty percent (50%) of all the Committee meetings held during a year. c) A member shall be deemed absent from a meeting when he or she is not present at the meeting at least seventy-five percent (75%) of its duration. d) The provisions of this section may only be waived once (1) by a four -fifths (4/5ths) vote of the members of the full city commission. e) The provisions of this section shall not apply to municipal Committee members, as defined in F.S. § 112.501, as amended, and to those individuals who are members of city Committees and who are: 1. Reservists in the United States Armed Forces or members of the Florida National Guard, and have been ordered to active military duty for national, state, or homeland defense and due to such duty cannot attend Committee meetings, of 2. Employees of agencies whose services are considered essential for national, state, or homeland defense and due to such services cannot attend Committee meetings Page 6 of 8 Amended 2023 3. Employees who have taken a leave of absence from their employment pursuant to the terms of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA); or 4. Granted an absence waiver by a super -majority of the municipal Committee members present at the meeting. f) Committee members may attend meetings by telephone. A Committee member's telephonic appearance shall not be applicable for purposes of quorum. g) Decorum. Any person making impertinent or slanderous remarks or who becomes boisterous while addressing the board shall be asked to discontinue such conduct immediately and may be barred from future audience before the Board. No clapping, applauding, heckling, or verbal outburst in support or opposition to a speaker or his or her remarks shall be permitted. Persons exiting the meeting room shall do so quietly. Same guidelines should apply to board members while addressing the public and each other. Section IV.5 Voting. Voting shall be in person or by telephone only. Absentee voting or voting by proxy shall not be allowed. The decision of fifty percent (50%) plus one (1) of the members present and voting, in person or by telephone, at a properly noticed meeting at which a quorum is present, shall constitute the decision of the Committee. Section IV.6 Rules of Procedure. Robert's Rules of Order shall be the final source of authority for all questions of parliamentary procedure. ARTICLE V AMENDMENTS These bylaws may be amended, added to, or repealed by a vote of fifty percent (50%) plus one (1) of the members of the Committee at any properly noticed meeting at which a quorum is present. ARTICLE VI CONFLICT In the event of a conflict between the Code of the City of Miami and these bylaws, the authority of the Code shall supersede. ARTICLE VII PRESENTATION GUIDELINES AND MATERIALS Presentations shall be accompanied by relevant supporting materials, as set forth in guidelines to be adopted from time to time by the Committee and kept on file with Office of Resilience and Sustainability and the Office Liaison to be made available to the board, representatives from City Administration and the public. The presentation shall follow the following guidelines and incorporate relevant supporting materials to address stated criteria to be considered by the Board in its Page 7 of 8 Amended 2023 deliberations and recommendations. The following is a list of general presentation guidelines to be considered when making a presentation to the Board • It is recommended that presenters incorporate title of the presentation, person giving the presentation name and contact information. • It is recommended that presenters incorporate visual aids into their presentations (ex.PowerPoint presentations are a commonly used visual aid, though not the only accepted format) • Presentations should be straightforward, easy to understand and clearly communicate the points the presenter would like the Board to consider • Presentations are generally limited to 10-15 minutes, and as such, materials should be of a length that allows the presenter to present his or her presentation within that time frame. • Font size should be large enough to be read clearly both in hard copy and when projected on screen • Include slide / page numbers for easy reference. • Updates from City Departments should follow same guidelines • All presentation to the Committee should be made available to the public upon request via Webpage and provided to board member along with the monthly agenda in advance if possible. ARTICLE VIII REPORTS (a) Pursuant to the City Code, the Committee shall submit reports to the City Commission and present the findings and recommendations of said reports at a meeting of the City Commission on at least a quarterly basis. (b) The Committee Chairperson shall coordinate with staff a meeting with the City Manager every six (6) months. Page 8 of 8 Amended 2023