Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 03/30/2015 - Special

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City Planner Anderson stated that the Planning Commission requested to hold a joint meeting with the Board in April and believed that would occur on the regular Board meeting date for April. Chairperson Stodola stated that perhaps Subcommittees would be a good method of discussing this item further. Board Member Lewis stated that he believed that the next agenda should include time to discuss the topic which the Board should focus on for the next year and then a Subcommittee could be formed to further research that aspect. Board Member Bentz stated that this item should be a homework aspect that the Board Members research on their own so that when the item is discussed during the meeting it does not encompass a lot of time. Chairperson Stodola stated that because the joint meeting will occur in April, the Board should come prepared to the May meeting with their ideas. Board Member Bentz suggested that the Board Members email their ideas to City Planner Anderson. City Planner Anderson suggested that the Board Members email him their topics of preference, which he can then draft into a case to provide a more streamlined discussion. City Council Liaison LeTourneau suggested holding the joint meeting in May and letting the Board move forward on this topic in April. City Planner Anderson stated that he would look into that option but noted that he was not in attendance at the Planning Commission when the idea was brought forward. He advised that he will follow up to determine if that would be possible and will email the Board to advise them if the joint meeting would occur in April or May. 5.04: Discuss Water Conservation Alternatives City Planner Anderson presented the staff report. Board Member Lewis stated that in his opinion, the top soil requirement should remain intact and any additional measures would be a bonus and could be incentivized. City Planner Anderson stated that his interpretation from the discussion one year ago was that the focus became strictly top soil and nothing else and the City should allow the ability for builders to select from a menu of options that could be implemented, one of which could include top soil, in order to achieve the same goal. He stated that based upon what they have seen in the field and the cost of top soil (which could range from $3,000 to $5,000 for a single home) he would question if that top soil requirement should remain or whether there are other opportunities that still achieve the same water conservation goal. Environmental Policy Board / March 2, 2015 Page 5 of 7