EC SUM 2011 09 14
Chanhassen Environmental Commission (EC)
Regular Meeting
September 14, 2011
Members Present:
Dennis Hansen, Amy Wenner, Glenn Kaufmann, Matthew Myers, David Christianson, Katie
Mahannah
Members Absent
: Robert Kircher
Staff Present:
Jill Sinclair, Environmental Resources Specialist
Guests Present:
Rollie Neve, Laurie Susla, unnamed person
Minutes:
July minutes were approved.
Trees and Stormwater Summit Review:
Katie reviewed the main points of the conference: using trees to offset stormwater impacts, how trees decrease
the need for grey infrastructure and that the primary factor in their stormwater impact is canopy coverage. She
mentioned that most case studies were set in urban areas, but they were still applicable for suburban areas such as
Chanhassen. One of the interesting facts of the day was that the longest tree trench in the world will be built
between Mnpls and St. Paul as a part of the light rail project. A tree trench is a trench filled with structural soil
located under pervious or impervious surfaces and used to grow trees. The commission thought the information
from the conference should somehow be incorporated into the Green Print where applicable. It could also be used
in selecting Environmental Excellence award nominees.
Environmental Assessment Report for Chanhassen:
Katie showed the commission the most recent draft of the Chanhassen Green Print and the Minneapolis Green
Print. The commission will focus on the four topics when compiling the green print for Chanhassen. Each topic
will have a brief description, ‘target’ section and ‘trend analysis’ section. A relevant picture from Chanhassen
will also be included. ‘Recent City and Commission Activities’ could also be a topic and would include anything
that’s happening over the last year. Web links, carefully chosen and meaningful, will be included for each topic.
Katie would like to delegate the topics. Glenn offered to work on stormwater. The commission also assigned
Bob to this topic. Matthew will work on Urban Forestry, Denny and Amy water quality and David water
conservation. The timeline is to have the report completed by the next joint meeting with the City Council,
possibly March or April. Each section should be one page. The report would be posted on the web page. The
commission discussed and agreed that BMPs would be included only later as recommendations or in the report
within the ‘target’ or ‘recent activities’ sections. Next month the commission will review the sustainability
program sponsored by the PCA.
Environmental Excellence Award:
The commission discussed possible nominees for the award. A suggestion was made to encourage the Lotus Lake
association to submit an application. Matthew volunteered to do a search in the Villager of the past year for any
suitable projects mentioned in the paper.
General Discussion:
The commission discussed submitting an article to the Villager on leaves and water quality or holiday waste.
Amy will work on an article.
Amy acknowledged the guests and introduced the commission to them. She explained the educational role of the
commission and its focus on 4 main topics – urban forestry, water quality, water conservation and stormwater
management. Laurie Susla introduced herself and explained the current situation concerning zebra mussels in
Chanhassen. Commissioners asked if there’s been a lot of public interest in the topic. Ms Susla replied that there
have been lots of letters to the editors and there are local groups and organizations concerned with this problem.
She said that the folks involved with Christmas Lake have been successful with getting the Minnehaha Creek
Watershed District on board. Her group has been asking for support to ensure that the park hours be enforced
which would limit access hours and hopefully allow her group to provide education to more boaters. She
informed the commission that there is an education session on zebra mussels on Oct. 12 at the library. The
commission thanked her for attending and had a brief discussion about how to incorporate the issue into their
educational projects.
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The next meeting will be held Wednesday, October 12 at 6:00pm.
Meeting adjourned at approximately 7:30 PM.
Minutes prepared by Jill Sinclair