Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 01/05/2015

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Involvement with the Comprehensive Ran update, potential ordinance amendments, and review of land use applications will provide the EPB the opportunity to review existing standards to determine whether they are accomplishingtheir intended outcome. In essence, the EPBwill be involved with establishing the vision and goals for natural resources, drafting standards to accomplish those goals, and applying those standards to proposed projects. This 'full circle' approach should provide the EPB with invaluable insight regarding natural resources standards and identify areas where improvement or amendments are necessary. It will be the goal of the EPB to regularly (annually) review the relevant chapters of the Comprehensive Ran and the zoning tools in place to determine whether current policies and /or standards are adequate to accomplish thevision of the community. Ensuring that the residents of Ramsey are well informed on emerging and current issues is critical. Thus, education and community awareness have been identified asa key function of the EPB. The EPBwill strive to keep the public informed of new and existing issues as well aswhat actions the aty istakingto address those issues. The i ntent will not only be to keep t he citizenry well i nformed but also to provide explanation and /or darification on why certain standards are in place and how they are intended to address a specific issue. Thiswill primarily be accomplished through mediums such as the newsletter and website, but may also include of her outlets such as QCTV. Emerging issues Staying informed on emerging issues and 'hot' topics is another critical role for the EPB. As the City's primary advisory board on natural resources, the ER3s role, at least in part, isto stay ahead of emerging issues facing the City by researching and understanding how it may impact the City. Depending on the topicand other factors, this could be accomplished through the use or establishment of asubcommittee comprised of no more than three (3) existing EPB membersthat would report bade to the EPBasawhole during regularly scheduled meetings. Based on the EPB's review and analysis of an issue, the EPB will workto formulate optionsfor consideration by the aty Council asto how best to addressor mitigate the issue. Thiscould include, but is not necessarily limited to, focused educational pieces, recommendations for Best Management Practices (BMPs), ordinance amendments, and /or comprehensive plan amendments. '? Review of Zoning Code As new technologies and ideas develop, updates to City Code, and more specifically the Zoning & Sjbdivisions Chapter, may be warranted. The EPB will routinely, or as time permits, review sections of Oty Code to ensure they are still relevant and will accomplish the stated goalsof the Comprehensive Ran relating to natural resources. If, through this review, the EPB identifies opportunities for improvement, outdated or conflicting standards, and /or sectionsthat do not support or will not achieve the goalsof the Comprehensive Ran, it will recommend pertinent amendmentsto the Ranning Commission.