[Environmental Commission on August 14, 2024.]
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TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14TH.
THE TIME IS NOW 5:42 PM I AM CHAIRWOMAN CATHERINE, AND I CALL THIS MEETING OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION TO ORDER.
WE WELCOME YOUR PARTICIPATION.
WE WELCOME YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE LANGUAGE OF YOUR PREFERENCE.
AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST TRANSLATION OR OTHER ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES TO PARTICIPATE, PLEASE CALL 4 6 9 9 3 4 7 3 8 2 AT LEAST TWO DAYS PRIOR TO OUR MEETING.
OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE ON SEPTEMBER 11TH AT 5:30 PM I DON'T HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS THIS EVENING.
SO WE ARE GOING TO GO RIGHT INTO OUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER THIS EVENING.
I'M GONNA RECITE OUR SPEAKER GUIDELINES.
SPEAKERS MUST OBSERVE THE SAME RULES OF PROPRIETY DECORUM AND GOOD CONDUCT APPLICABLE TO MEMBERS OF THIS COMMISSION.
ANY SPEAKER MAKING PERSONAL AND PERTINENT PROFANE OR SLANDEROUS REMARKS, OR WHO BECOMES BOISTEROUS WHILE ADDRESSING.
THE COMMISSION WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE MEETING.
EACH SPEAKER WILL BE GIVEN THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK WHEN YOUR TIME HAS ENDED.
PLEASE CONCLUDE YOUR COMMENTS.
OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS MR. GREGORY JACKSON.
PLEASE STATE YOUR ADDRESS AND BEGIN.
MR. JACKSON, IF YOU'LL JUST PRESS THE MICROPHONE BUTTON SO WE CAN HEAR YOU.
I'M GONNA START YOUR TIME NOW.
HELLO AGAIN, CITY OF DALLAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY.
I AM HERE HOPEFULLY FOR THE THIRD AND FINAL TIME TO ESTABLISH THE FACT THAT I AM SEEKING THE RESOLUTION OF A VERY DEADLY AIR INTOXICATING PUBLIC SAFETY CRISIS BECAUSE THIS COMMISSIONER'S CHAIRWOMAN, MS. CAPTAIN BAAN, HAS REPEATEDLY ABUSED EXCUSES AND FALSELY CLAIMED THAT I AM SEEKING THE RESOLUTION OF AN INDOOR AIR QUALITY PROBLEM IN THE DALLAS COUNTY JAIL AND THE HUTCHINSON STATE JAIL UNIT.
I AM NOT SEEKING THE RESOLUTION OF ANY INDOOR AIR QUALITY PROBLEM.
AGAIN, I REPEAT THAT I AM NOT SEEKING THE RESOLUTION OF ANY AIR DOOR QUALITY, INDOOR AIR QUALITY PROBLEM IN THE JAIL OR ANYWHERE ELSE.
HOWEVER, I AM SEEKING THE RESOLUTION OF AIR INTOXICATING CRIMINAL ACTIVITY THAT IS A PUBLIC SAFETY CRISIS THAT INTOXICATE ALL OF US CITIZENS OF DALLAS, AND IT ALSO INTOXICATES PEOPLE OF THE ENTIRE DALLAS FORT WORTH METROPOLITAN AREA WITHIN AT LEAST A 100 SQUARE MILE RADIUS FROM WHERE THE AIR INTOXICATING CRIME IS BEING COMMITTED.
THIS AIR INTOXICATION OF THE PUBLIC POPULATION HAS A LONG HISTORY OF NUMEROUS DECADES OF AFFLICTING DEATH AND ANARCHY ON THE PUBLIC POPULATION OF DALLAS AND THE ENTIRE DALLAS METRO AREA, ET CETERA, FOR THE FACT THAT PUBLIC OFFICIALS ARE ABUSING EXCUSES TO REFUSE RESOLVING THIS AIR INTOXICATING CRISIS.
PEOPLE ARE BEING PROVOKED TO ACTS OF VIOLENT VIGILANTE ACTIVISM, ALSO KNOWN AS TERRORISM, TO FORCE THE AGENDA FOR THE RESOLUTION OF IT.
AS A RESULT OF MY COMMUNICATION WITH MS. CATHERINE BEON, THIS COMM, THIS COMMISSION'S CHAIRWOMAN ON ALMOST A DAILY BASIS, I KNOW FOR A DEFINITE FACT THAT MS. BEZA IS WELL AWARE THAT I AM NOT REPORTING ANY INDOOR AIR QUALITY PROBLEM.
AND I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT MS. BEZA IS ALSO WELL AWARE THAT THE AIR INTOXICATING PROBLEM THAT I SEEK TO HAVE RESOLVED IS A VERY DEADLY PUBLIC SAFETY CRISIS THAT IS IDENTIFIED BY VARIOUS UNDENIABLE SYMPTOMATIC SENSATIONS.
THE CITIZENS OF DALLAS AND THE CITIZENS EVERYWHERE ARE DEPENDING ON THE CITY OF DALLAS AND ARE WAITING ON THE CITY OF DALLAS TO START THE PROCESS FOR THE PERMANENT RESOLUTION OF THIS GLOBAL PANDEMIC.
IF EXCUSES CONTINUE TO BE ABUSED, REVIEWS RESOLVING THIS AIR INTOXICATING CRISIS, THE VIOLENT VIGILANTE ACTIVISM SLASH TERRORISM WILL NEVER CEASE TO CONTINUE.
THEREFORE, I ASKED THE QUESTION, CAN THIS COMMISSION ADVISE THE CITY OF DALLAS TO SPONSOR PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF THIS AIR INTOXICATING PUBLIC SAFETY CRISIS BY SPONSORING A NATIONALLY TELEVISED MAJOR INTERNATIONAL NEWS CONFERENCE AS MEANS TO START A PROCESS FOR THE PERMANENT RESOLUTION OF THIS DEADLY AIR INTOXICATING PUBLIC SAFETY CRISIS? ALSO, I ASK, CAN I CORRESPOND WITH ALL VOTING MEMBERS OF THIS COMMISSION VIA EMAIL TO INFORM THEM WITH MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS CRISIS?
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THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS.YES, THE EMAILS FOR THE COMMISSION MEMBERS ARE PUBLIC, AND MS. HANSEN CAN GET YOU THAT INFORMATION.
OKAY, AND THE OTHER QUESTION, YOUR TIME IS CON, YOUR TIME IS CONCLUDED.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND FOR BEING HERE THIS EVENING.
IT WASN'T A COMMENT, IT WAS A QUESTION.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S MOVE ON TO THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES.
UH, I'LL TAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM JULY 10TH.
THE JULY 10TH MINUTES ARE APPROVED.
WE'RE GOING INTO OUR FIRST BRIEFING ITEM.
ITEM A IS AN OVERVIEW OF THE DALLAS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SCREENING TOOL.
I DON'T THINK MR. EVANS IS WITH US THIS EVENING, BUT WE HAVE NATALIE, UH, RICK LINS WITH THE, UM, OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY, OUR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COORDINATOR.
WHENEVER YOU'RE READY, GO AHEAD.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT INTRODUCTION.
WE ALSO HAVE OUR DBI TEAM WITH US AS WELL.
UM, I'LL GO AHEAD AND LET THEM INTRODUCE THEMSELVES.
WE'LL JUST KIND OF GO DOWN THE LINE HERE.
OMI JI, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE.
DAVID DENIM, GIS PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR, OFFICE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, MGA
THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR JOINING US THIS EVENING.
UM, STEPHANIE, DO WE HAVE THIS SLIDE PULLED UP? OKAY, WE'LL JUST PAUSE FOR A EFFECT HERE.
I'M GONNA USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO CALL ROLL, WHICH I FORGOT TO DO.
DISTRICT TWO WILL NOT BE HERE THIS EVENING.
DISTRICT THREE? YEAH, MICHAEL.
DISTRICT FIVE, DISTRICT SIX IS PRESENT.
TAMIKA DORE, DISTRICT EIGHT, UH, PRESENT.
IT'S PRESENT, BUT CAN'T GET ON AUDIO.
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DISTRICT 12, UH, BARRY LACKMAN.YOU MR. HOFFMAN? I SAW MR. MARQUIS IS PRESENT.
MR. MARTIN WILL NOT BE ATTENDING THIS EVENING.
MS. GILL? I BELIEVE I SAW PRESENT.
WHEN WE RESOLVE THE POWERPOINT ISSUE, WE NEED TO MOVE, MOVE SOME OF OUR STEPHANIE, MS. HANSON, WHEN WE RESOLVE THE POWERPOINT, WE NEED TO MOVE SOME OF OUR PANELISTS FROM ATTENDEES TO SPEAKERS.
SO IF YOU CAN MOVE COMMISSIONER MURRAY AND COMMISSIONER WALLACE.
DO WE NEED A FIVE MINUTE RECESS TO CONTACT IT? WE'RE GONNA TAKE A FIVE MINUTE RECESS, FRIENDS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP.
WE'RE GOOD ON THE ATTENDEES THERE.
SO WE CAN JUST CLOSE THE ATTENDEE LIST THERE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, NATALIE, IT'S YOURS.
THANK YOU, STEPHANIE OVER THERE.
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OKAY, WELL, IF EVERYONE HAS THE AGENDA, WE'LL JUST KIND OF GO ALONG SO I DON'T FURTHER DELAY Y'ALL.UH, YOU KNOW, WONDERFUL TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES HERE.
UM, SO FOR THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'LL GO OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE'RE DISCUSSING HERE TODAY.
WE'LL GO OVER ABOUT THE TOOL KEY FEATURES, UM, WORDS INTO ACTIONS.
WE'LL PREVIEW THE TOOL, WE'LL SEE FINGERS CROSSED BENEFITS, AS WELL AS NEXT STEPS.
UM, SO THE NEXT SLIDE IS COMBINING TOOLS IN TECHNOLOGY.
WE HAVE A SCREENING TOOL, AND THEN OF COURSE WE HAVE OUR GIS APPLICATION.
UM, THIS SCREENING TOOL IS USED TO HELP IDENTIFY AREAS WITH POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ISSUES, A COMBINATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC INDICATORS THAT ARE GREATER THAN USUAL, AS WELL AS OTHER FACTORS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST.
AND FOR THOSE UNFAMILIAR WITH GIS, THIS IS AN APPLICATION THAT USES DATA SETS WITH LOCATION REFERENCES, AND IT'S ABLE TO PUT POINTS ON A MAP FOR YOU FOR A VISUAL PRESENTATION.
AND THESE DATA SETS FOR THIS PARTICULAR TOOL ARE PRIMARILY OBTAINED FROM THE EPA AND CENSUS DATA.
UM, SO A FEW THINGS, UH, TO KNOW ABOUT THE TOOL, OUR GENERAL MAP BASICS.
UM, WE HAVE OUR CENSUS BLOCKS, WE HAVE OUR LAYERS, UM, AND THEN WE HAVE OUR CALCULATIONS FOR EACH LAYER AND BASICALLY KIND OF REPRESENTING HOW EACH PICTURE OR EACH COLOR BLOCK APPEARS.
UM, SO FOR OUR MAIN CALCULATION OF THE EJ INDEX, IT'S A PERCENTILE THAT COMBINES ENVIRONMENTAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION TO RANK THE CUMULATIVE IMPACTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL BURDENS ON HEALTH.
UM, SO IN THE EXAMPLE I HAVE, WE USE PM 2.5.
ESSENTIALLY IT HAS AN ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATOR AS WELL AS A DEMOGRAPHIC INDEX.
AND THEN THAT IS CALCULATED FOR EACH CENSUS BLOCK.
UM, NOW OBVIOUSLY THOSE WILL CHANGE BY THE AREA AS WELL AS THE INDICATOR.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, THAT'S WHAT GIVES YOU THE DIFFERENT SHADES FOR EACH CENSUS BLOCK.
UM, THE DARKER THE COLOR, THE HIGHER THE PERCENTILE, AND THEN THAT INDICATES A GREATER LIKELIHOOD OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL BURDEN, COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING.
UM, SO SOME OF THE KEY FEATURES FOR THIS TOOL IS THAT IT HELPS IDENTIFY EQUITY PRIORITY AREAS IN COMPARISON TO THE REST OF THE CITY, AS WELL AS THE STATE, USING THE EJ INDEX HEALTH INDICES AND SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC INDICES.
IT ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO VISUALLY COMPARE DISTRICTS AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS, UM, SUCH AS OUR COUNCIL DISTRICT CHART, AS WELL AS OUR HEAT CHART.
UM, OTHER KEY FEATURES INCLUDE 25 EJ INDICES, 16 SOCIOECONOMIC INDICES.
AND ON THE, UM, ACTUAL AGENDA ITEM ATTACHMENT, IT'S SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT.
SO PLEASE IGNORE THAT MINOR DISCRETION.
AND THEN THE SIX HEALTH INDICES, UM, FOR ESSENTIALLY 47 NEW LAYERS.
UM, AGAIN, THANK YOU GBI FOR PUTTING ALL OF THAT TOGETHER.
THERE WAS A LOT OF HARD WORK THAT WENT INTO THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO SHOW THAT APPRECIATION OVER THERE.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, JUST TO EMPHASIZE THAT THESE INDICES ARE ALL USED AND RECOGNIZED BY THE EPA.
UM, SO THEY'RE INCREDIBLY SOURCED FROM THOSE DATABASES AND THAT THIS INFORMATION IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE, BUT OUR GOAL IS TO USE THAT INFORMATION TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR RESIDENTS TO USE AND UNDERSTAND.
UM, SO THIS IS WHERE, IF EVERYONE'S STILL ON THE SAME PAGE HERE, WE HAVE A BEFORE AND AFTER SLIDE, ESSENTIALLY AT THE TIME OF WHAT THE EPA EJ SCREEN TOOL LOOKS LIKE VERSUS OUR VERY OWN DALLAS EJ SCREENING TOOL.
UM, AND AGAIN, THE IDEA IS THAT IT IS MORE FOCUSED WITH LOCALIZED ACCURACY.
UM, SO IT'S MAKING THE DATA VISUALLY APPEALING, SUCH AS ADDING THE COUNCIL BOUNDARIES.
UM, BUT AGAIN, MAKING IT RELATABLE.
THE CITY LAYER ALLOWS USERS TO COMPARE DIFFERENT AREAS WITHIN CITY LIMITS.
UM, WHEREAS THE EPA ONLY PROVIDES INFORMATION BASED ON A NATIONAL AND STATE LEVEL, WHEREAS OUR TOOL, AGAIN, EMPHASIZES A MUCH MORE LOCALIZED COMPARISON, WHICH IS PARTICULARLY USEFUL WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MAKING BETTER INFORMED DECISIONS.
UM, THEY'RE ALSO ALSO A FEW OTHER THINGS, UM, AGAIN, JUST TO MAKE THINGS USER FRIENDLY.
FOR INSTANCE, UM, ON OUR TOOL AT THE TIME, YOU COULD CHANGE LIKE THE BACKGROUND MAP AND THE COLORS HAVE ALSO BEEN ADJUSTED, UM, FOR EXAMPLE.
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UM, BUT MOVING ON, GOING INTO OUR WORDS INTO ACTION SLIDE.UM, SO THIS TOOL IS ACTUALLY INTEGRATED AS, UM, AN ACTION TARGET IN THE RACIAL EQUITY PLAN.
UM, YOU CAN SEE IT'S ACTION 2.1, UM, TO QUANTIFY NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ON HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES THROUGH DATA ANALYTICS.
UM, YOU KNOW, OUR EXAMPLE, OF COURSE, IS THE SCREENING TOOL.
UM, THIS ALSO ALIGNS WITH OUR ACTIONS LISTED IN THE CCAP, OR EXCUSE ME, DALLAS COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE ACTION PLAN FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH THAT ACRONYM.
UM, SO NEXT SLIDE, WE WOULD BE GETTING INTO THE ACTUAL PREVIEW OR VIDEO OF THE TOOL.
UM, SO I DO APOLOGIZE IF Y'ALL CANNOT SEE THAT AT THE MOMENT, BUT IT SHOWED SOME REALLY COOL STUFF.
UM, SOME OF THOSE INCLUDED NOT ONLY HAVING THE MAP AND THEN SHOWING ALL OF THE WONDERFUL LAYERS THAT DBI PUT TOGETHER, UH, BUT SOMETHING VERY DISTINCTIVE COMPARED TO THE EPAS VERSION IS THAT THEY ADDED AN INDICES BY COUNCIL DISTRICT, UM, WHICH IS ANOTHER WAY TO SEE ALL OF THESE LAYERS, UM, TOGETHER IN A MUCH MORE EASIER PRESENTATION THROUGH CHARTS AND TABLES.
AND THEN IN ADDITION, ANOTHER HELPFUL TOOL IS THE INDICES HEAT CHART.
AND ESSENTIALLY IT KIND OF LOOKS LIKE BLOCKS AND IT HIGHLIGHTS OR KIND OF POINTS OUT LIKE A HEAT MAP, IF YOU WILL, OF HIGHLIGHTED AREAS THAT ARE, FOR EXAMPLE, HIGHER IN CONCENTRATION OR MAYBE LOWER.
IT JUST DEPENDS WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
YOU CAN DO IT BY THE PERCENTILE IF YOU WANNA LOOK AT CERTAIN AVERAGES, OR YOU CAN DO IT BY DISTRICT.
UM, AGAIN, KIND OF UNFORTUNATE Y'ALL CAN'T SEE THAT AT THE MOMENT, BUT I'VE PROMISE IT'S PRETTY NEAT.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THE TOOL, UH, WE ALSO INCLUDED INSTRUCTIONS AND HELPFUL TUTORIALS FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT AS FAMILIAR AS WELL AS OF COURSE, OTHER FAQ SECTIONS FOR THOSE WHO REALLY WANNA DIG INTO THE DATA, UM, AND SEE HOW THE EPA GOT THIS, UM, THAT'S DEFINITELY MUCH MORE NITTY GRITTY INFORMATION.
UM, BUT THAT'S DEFINITELY, UM, ABLE, OR EXCUSE ME, THAT'S THERE FOR YOUR USE.
UM, SO KIND OF MOVING ON FOR THAT, UM, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT I ALSO TALK ABOUT HOW TO USE THE DATA.
UM, THE THING WITH THIS TOOL, IT'S MEANT TO HELP VISUALLY IDENTIFY WHAT IS THERE VERSUS WHAT IS NOT.
UM, AND IT'S ALSO MEANT TO BE SUPPORTIVE FOR FURTHER ENGAGEMENT.
UM, SO ESSENTIALLY WHAT KIND OF THAT ALL MEANS TOGETHER, IT'S FOR BASIC PURPOSES OF BEING MORE TRANSPARENT ABOUT HOW WE CONSIDER ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN OUR WORK, AS WELL AS ASSISTING OUR PARTNERS TO MAKE BETTER INFORMED DECISION, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THESE CONVERSATIONS RELATED TO EJ, OR, EXCUSE ME, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.
UM, AND THEN IT JUST CREATES A COMMON STARTING POINT BETWEEN AGENCY AND THE PUBLIC WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THESE ISSUES.
SO, AGAIN, VERY INTRODUCTORY, VERY STARTING LEVEL.
UM, YOU KNOW, JUST BECAUSE AN AREA SAYS IT MAY HAVE HIGH RATES OF ASTHMA OR, YOU KNOW, IF IT HAS, FOR EXAMPLE, HIGHER LEVELS OF OZONE, UM, THAT DOESN'T MEAN, YOU KNOW, A FACILITY CAUSED SOMEONE'S ASTHMA IN THAT AREA.
UM, IT DOESN'T HAVE ADEQUATE INFORMATION TO SUPPORT THAT.
AND THEN BY THEMSELVES, SCREENING TOOLS DON'T DETERMINE THE EXISTENCE OR ABSENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS IN THOSE, UH, GIVEN LOCATIONS.
UM, SO AGAIN, VERY FIRST STEP.
UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT THEY DON'T PROVIDE A RISK ASSESSMENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, FIRST KIND OF STARTER CONVERSATIONS, UM, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THIS TOPIC AT ALL, OR MAYBE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S IN THEIR AREA.
UM, SO AGAIN, I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY MY FAVORITE SLIDE.
UM, ESSENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, FOR THOSE WHO ARE DOUBTING WHY WE'VE BOTHERED TO MAKE A DALLAS VERSION, UM, THIS TOOL IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE RESIDENTS WITH MORE INFORMATION THAT'S BEEN GATHERED AND CUSTOMIZED FOR EASIER USE AND TRANSPARENCY.
UM, AND THEN FROM THERE WE HAVE GREATER ACCESSIBILITY, UM, FOR, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, PEOPLE ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH IT OR MAYBE UNFAMILIAR WITH THE CONVERSATION.
AND THEN HOPEFULLY THE IDEA IS ONCE YOU GIVE SOMEONE ACCESS, YOU CAN BUILD AWARENESS AND THEN YOU CAN BUILD INFORMED ACTIONS.
AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.
UM, INFORMED DECISION MAKING AT ANY CAPACITY, WHETHER IT'S AT AN INDIVIDUAL LEVEL OR OUR LEVEL OR EVEN AT A NATIONAL SCALE, IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
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WE HAVE THIS TOOL FOR PEOPLE TO USE OUT THERE.SO, UM, LASTLY FOR OUR NEXT STEPS, UM, KIND OF NOW THAT WE'VE REACHED TO THIS POINT, UM, FOR THE AMOUNT, EXCUSE ME, THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF JULY, WE DID A SERIES OF, UM, BASICALLY PREVIEWS OR OVERVIEWS LIKE THIS FOR THE COMMUNITY TO SEE.
UM, AND THANK YOU FOR THOSE WHO WERE ABLE TO ATTEND.
UM, SO WE'RE BASICALLY GOING TO TAKE THAT COMMENTARY, SEE HOW WE CAN APPLY IT TO THE TOOL TO MAKE IT BETTER AND EASIER FOR RESIDENTS.
AND THEN ONCE WE FINALIZE THOSE EDITS, UM, WE'LL ANNOUNCE THE TOOLS AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC, UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, FROM THERE UPDATE AS NECESSARY.
SO WE DO WANNA CELEBRATE THAT WE HAVE COME TO THIS POINT, AND WE'RE BASICALLY TO SHOW EVERYONE WHO CAN'T SEE ME, IT'S LIKE AN INCH SMALL FINGER SCALE, UH, WE'RE THAT CLOSE, UM, TO RELEASING THE TOOL, AND THAT'S EXTREMELY EXCITING.
UM, AND AGAIN, THANK YOU TO DBI FOR HELPING MAKE ALL OF THIS POSSIBLE.
UM, BUT THAT'S PRETTY MUCH THE END OF MY PRESENTATION, SO THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR BEARING WITH ME AND GOING ALONG WITH THIS.
UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE LET US KNOW.
FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE HARD WORK THAT YOU AND THE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND DA DATA BUSINESS, UM, HAVE PUT INTO THIS TOOL.
THIS IS, UH, THIS WAS A RECOMMENDATION THAT CAME FROM THIS COMMISSION, UM, TO ADVANCE THE CITY'S RACIAL EQUITY PLAN.
AND SO, UH, I KNOW THAT IT WAS A LITTLE BIT BEFORE YOU CAME ON, SO WE WERE THRILLED THAT YOU CAME ON TO SUPPORT THIS ROLE.
UM, VERY EXCITED TO SEE THIS TOOL BE ROLLED OUT AND REALLY EXCITED FOR WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THE DATA THAT IS COMING, UM, NOT JUST TO US AS, UM, THE THE RECOMMENDING BODY, BUT ALSO TO OUR POLICYMAKERS AND TO COMMUNITIES.
UM, UM, I, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO COMPLIMENT YOU ON, UH, THIS IS A POTENTIALLY TREMENDOUSLY USEFUL TOOL.
UM, THE FACT THAT WE'VE GOT SOMETHING THAT'S MUCH BETTER THAN WHAT THE EPA CAN MAKE AVAILABLE TO US, OR A LOT OF OUTSIDE SOURCES IS WONDERFUL.
UH, I CAN SEE ALL SORTS OF APPLICATIONS, UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO GOING IN AND FIDDLING WITH IT.
UH, AS SOME OF YOU KNOW, I'VE DONE IN THE PAST WITH SOME OF THE DATA.
UM, ONE QUESTION I HAVE IS, UM, HOW LONG, HOW FREQUENTLY THE DATA WILL BE UPDATED AND, UH, MODIFIED.
FOR INSTANCE, I NOTICED YOUR ASTHMA DATE IS 2019.
UM, AND, UH, WONDERING, AND, AND THEN A SECOND QUESTION I HAVE IS WHETHER THERE ARE ANY THOUGHTS OF COORDINATING WITH OTHER SOURCES OF, UH, DATA IN CERTAIN AREAS LIKE, UH, DALLAS-FORT WORTH HOSPITAL COUNCIL, AND THE, UH, PARKLAND CENTER FOR CLINICAL INNOVATION, WHICH HAVE REALLY GOOD HEALTH DATA, BUT THEIR ENVIRON, BUT YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL DATA'S MUCH BETTER.
UM, I THINK FOR THE FIRST PART OF THE QUESTION, I WILL LET DBI ANSWER THAT.
UM, THAT'S MUCH MORE WITHIN THEIR WELL AND, UH, RESPONSIBILITIES.
THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION TO ASK RIGHT NOW.
MOST OF THE DATA THAT WE GET FROM EPA ARE AVAILABLE EITHER ON AN ANNUAL BASIS OR LESS FREQUENTLY.
WE ARE HAPPY TO UPDATE IT AS FREQUENTLY AS THE DATA BECOMES AVAILABLE.
CENSUS DATA, A CS DATA, THEY'RE NOT AVAILABLE LIKE MANY OTHER, MANY OTHER SOURCES WE HAVE.
SO WE ARE HAPPY TO WORK WITH THE OEQS TEAM AND UPDATED AS, AS REQUESTED, AS NEEDED.
UM, AS FOR THE SECOND PART OF THAT QUESTION, WE HAVE ALREADY BEGUN, UM, POSSIBILITIES OF INTRODUCING SIMILAR DATA.
I WON'T SAY NECESSARILY HOSPITAL DATA, UM, BUT FOR INSTANCE, TALKING ABOUT LIKE SOME OF OUR ERROR MONITORING DATA THAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED.
UM, AND IT'S SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, FUTURE 2.0 PERHAPS WE CAN HOPEFULLY INTRODUCE.
UM, BUT THAT'S CERTAINLY A GREAT IDEA AND, UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO BRING MORE OF THAT INFORMATION TO THE TABLE AND AGAIN, MAKE THIS TOOL AS UNIQUE, UM, AND AS, UH, EASY TO USE IN THAT SENSE, UM, FOR EVERYONE.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMENT.
UH, WE, WE HAD A, UM, UH, FOR, UM,
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WE HAD A, UH, HARVARD ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE GRADUATE STUDENT, UH, WHO DID SOME WORK LOOKING AT THE PROXIMITY OF THE LIST OF POLLUTING PLANTS THAT WE HAD TO THE EPA DISEASE INDEX.UH, AND WAS, UH, HIS DATA INDICATES THAT YOUR, YOUR, YOUR PROXIMITY TO ONE OF THE POLLUTING PLANTS, LIKE THE SHINGLE PLANT OR THE PLANTS IN JPE, UH, IS DIRECTLY CORRELATED, UH, WITH DISTANCE FROM THE PLANT, YOUR CHANCES OF DEVELOPING HEART DISEASE, CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASE, UH, AND I THINK THE THIRD ONE WAS DIABETES, UH, THAT THERE WAS A DIRECT CORRELATION WITH HOW CLOSE YOU LIVE.
AND THAT'S THE KIND OF DATA WE CAN REALLY USE TO PROMOTE, TO, TO IDENTIFY WHAT THE RISKS ARE AND TO AMELIORATE THEM.
ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GONNA GO TO CHAIR ROBERSON AND THEN TO DR.
I WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR, I WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION THAT YOU PULLED TOGETHER AND FOR THAT TOOL.
AND MY, I HAVE A QUESTION IN THE COMMENT.
THE COMMENT IS, ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR PUTTING SOMETHING LIKE THAT TOGETHER, BUT IS IT, UM, IS IT COMMUNITY OR WHEN I SAY IS IT COMMUNITY ORIENTED? WHAT I'M WANTING TO DO IS HAVE SOMETHING THAT A COMMUNITY ADVOCATE WITHOUT THAT, WITHOUT THE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE, COULD GO IN, PLUG IN THAT, PLUG IN THEIR ZIP CODE ADDRESS OR WHATEVER, AND SEE THINGS LIKE THAT.
MO A LOT OF THE DASHBOARDS THAT ARE OUT ON THE CDC AND OTHER WEBSITES ARE SO COMPLICATED.
YOU KNOW, SOME OF 'EM I'M NAVIGATING THROUGH AND I HAVE A MASTER'S IN PUBLIC HEALTH, AND YOU HAVE TO NAVIGATE THROUGH THAT.
SO MY COMMENT IS JUST, IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT BOTH SIDES COULD FIND USEFUL RESEARCHERS AS WELL AS JUST A REGULAR COMMUNITY ADVOCATE.
UM, SORRY, A LITTLE LOUD THERE.
UM, AND SO IN TERMS OF THE COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE, I WILL SAY THIS TOOL IS DEFINITELY, OR EXCUSE ME, IT'S VERY MUCH ATTEMPTED TO BE USER FRIENDLY AND VERY MUCH FOR THE COMMUNITY BASED.
HOWEVER, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF OTHER INFORMATION THAT IS PRETTY SPECIFIC THAT RESEARCHERS MAY FIND, UM, VERY VALUABLE.
FOR INSTANCE, LIKE WHEN YOU GO INTO THE CENSUS BLOCK INFORMATION, THERE IS A LEFT TAB THAT SHOWS ALL OF THESE WONDERFUL CHARTS AND OTHER PIECES OF DATA THAT, UM, I WOULD THINK WOULD BE VERY VALUABLE TO SOMEONE ESPECIALLY, UM, IN TERMS OF COMPARISON.
UM, SO IN THE SENSE, YES, YOU OBVIOUSLY THIS IS GEARED TOWARDS A COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO THINK, UM, ESPECIALLY IF THEY GO INTO MORE OF LIKE THE, WHERE THE DATA IS PULLED ITSELF, UM, THAT COULD APPEAL TO BOTH PARTIES.
BUT I WILL ALSO LET DBI ANSWER THAT QUESTION IN CASE THEY HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD TO THAT COMMENT.
I THINK NATALIE COVERED IT PRETTY MUCH, BUT, UH, YES, THIS TOOL, EVERYTHING THAT'S ON THIS TOOL IS BASED ON CENSUS BLOCK.
AND, UM, SO DEFINITELY CENSUS BLOCK IS ONE OF THE SMALLEST DENOMINATION WHEN WE LOOK AT CENSUS DATA HIERARCHY.
SO DEFINITELY THIS IS, THIS TOOL IS BUILT FOR COMMUNITY AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO COLLABORATE WITH THE US TO SEE HOW WE, HOW WE CAN SPREAD THE WORD.
AND WE ARE HAPPY TO SHARE THE METHODOLOGY, ALTHOUGH THE METHODOLOGIES AVAILABLE, WE ARE HAPPY TO SHARE THE METHODOLOGY AND WHATEVER WE HAVE DONE, IF WE HAVE ANY INTEREST.
THIS IS, I'M SO EXCITED THAT THIS IS SOON TO GO LIVE, AND I, UM, THINK IT'S GONNA BE REALLY, REALLY WONDERFUL FOR THE COMMUNITY.
I WAS, I WONDERING TWO QUESTIONS.
WHAT KIND OF FEEDBACK HAVE YOU GOTTEN FROM THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHERE THERE CAN BE, UM, SOME IMPROVEMENTS TO MAKE IT MORE ACCESSIBLE? AND THEN THE OTHER QUESTION IS, I KNOW YOU'RE WORKING WITH A LOT OF FOLKS, UM, FOR VERSION 2.0, I KNOW, I, I KNOW I, I ATTEMPTED TO GET YOU CONNECTED WITH SOME FOLKS AS WELL AND SAID, I DON'T WANNA BE A PART OF THE MEETINGS AND
BUT WHAT FOR 2.0, UM, WHERE SPECIFICALLY WHAT ARE THOSE COLLABORATION, UM, GROUPS THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT FOR THE NEXT VERSION? THANK YOU, DOC, DR.
UM, SO FOR THE FEEDBACK OF THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS, IT WAS KIND OF A MIXED BAG TO BE, UH, QUITE HONEST WITH YOU.
UM, I THINK NATURALLY JUST WITH THE
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CONVERSATION OF EJ, I THINK PEOPLE ARE EAGER TO HAVE DIFFERENT CONVERSATIONS OTHER THAN THE TOOL, WHICH IS FANTASTIC, BY THE WAY.I WILL HAPPILY TAKE ANY COMMENTS.
UM, AND ESSENTIALLY THE INTENTION BEHIND THESE MEETINGS WERE TO GET THE COMMUNITY'S OPINIONS AND TO GET THEIR THOUGHTS ON THIS.
UM, I CALLED THEM LISTENING SESSIONS ESSENTIALLY.
UM, SO LIKE I SAID, I WAS WILLING TO TAKE ANY FEEDBACK.
UM, I WILL SAY SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS, UM, THAT KIND OF STRUCK ME WERE THAT PEOPLE DIDN'T NECESSARILY FOR THOSE, EXCUSE ME, ALREADY IN THE EJ COMMUNITY, DIDN'T FEEL LIKE THIS WAS AS HELPFUL AS MAYBE WE ARE TRYING TO PRESENT IT.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE NEED TO GO BACK AND KIND OF, YOU KNOW, RESTRUCTURE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND REALLY MAKE SURE THAT ALL GROUPS, WHETHER THEY ARE FAMILIAR WITH EJ OR NOT, ARE COMFORTABLE WITH THIS TOOL OR AT LEAST CAN, YOU KNOW, REALLY GET THE, AGAIN, DRIVING THE SO WHAT IF YOU WILL, OF THAT.
UM, OTHER COMMENTS WERE A LITTLE BIT, UM, I DON'T WANNA SAY EASIER TO NAVIGATE, BUT IN THE SENSE, FOR EXAMPLE, SOME OF THE INDICES SUCH AS LIKE THE PM 2.5, UM, AND TRYING TO GET THOSE DEFINITIONS STRESSED OUT.
UM, MAYBE STRESSED WAS THE LONG, WRONG WORD.
WE'RE NOT TRYING TO STRESS ANYONE HERE, BUT ESSENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, MAKING IT REALLY EASY FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE MEANS AND TO NOT ALARM THE PUBLIC WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THESE VALUES.
UM, SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THAT.
UM, THERE WERE A FEW OTHER COMMENTS.
LIKE I SAID, IT WAS KIND OF, UM, MIXED OPINIONS ON EVERYTHING.
'CAUSE WE DID RECEIVE GOOD FEEDBACK, BUT THERE WAS ALSO FEEDBACK THAT WAS LIKE, HEY, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE COULD DO BETTER ABOUT THIS.
AND I APOLOGIZE, I DON'T HAVE LIKE A QUICK SUMMARY FOR YOU, BUT I PROMISE WE DO HAVE THOSE NOTES PREPARED.
UM, AND AGAIN, I DO WANNA THANK EVERYONE WHO WAS ABLE TO HAVE THEIR INPUT ON THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
UM, AND THEN I APOLO, OH, YOUR SECOND QUESTION.
UM, SO IN TERMS OF PARTNERING WITH OTHER GROUPS, I WILL SAY THAT'S VERY EARLY IN TERMS OF EVEN TALKING ABOUT 2.0.
UH, I THINK WE'RE JUST TRYING TO GET, UH, SETTLED WITH THIS ONE PUBLISHED.
SO BEFORE WE JUMP TOO MUCH INTO, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT PROJECT, SO TO SPEAK, UH, I DO WANNA GIVE TIME FOR US TO, UH, LAND ON THE FIRST ONE.
UM, BUT CERTAINLY IF YOU HAVE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS OR ANY OTHER IDEAS, WE'LL GLADLY HEAR THOSE OUT AND, UH, WORK THOSE OUT WITH DBI OF COURSE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I ALSO DON'T WANNA GIVE THEM TOO MUCH ON THEIR PLATE HERE.
JUST GETTING THIS TOOL HAS ALWAYS, UH, BEEN A PRIORITY AND WE'RE REALLY HAPPY THAT THEY CAN HELP US GET THIS ONE OUT.
UM, HOPEFULLY THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION, SO IT DOES.
I, I DO THINK, UM, LIKE THE, LIKE GETTING MORE SPECIFIC DATA FOR HEALTH METRICS AND OUTCOMES, I THINK THAT'S REALLY CHALLENGING, BUT I THINK IT'S POSSIBLE.
UM, AND I, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK THAT, AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, MY
AND I THINK GETTING THAT BIG PICTURE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND THE, AND THE EJ SCREEN WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL AND VERY SPECIFIC TO DALLAS AND I, I KNOW IT'S A BIG LIFT, BUT I, I KNOW IT'S POSSIBLE.
I APPRECIATE THAT AND WE'LL DEFINITELY TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION MOVING FORWARD.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, I HAVE JUST A COUPLE.
I'M DISAPPOINTED THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO SEE THE DEMONSTRATION, BUT, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF COMMISSIONERS ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING HOW TO DEMONSTRATE THE TOOL, IF THEY CAN REACH OUT TO YOU DIRECTLY, COULD YOU COORDINATE SOMETHING FOR ONE OR MULTIPLE COMMISSIONERS SO THAT THEY CAN LEARN ABOUT IT AND HOW TO USE IT? ABSOLUTELY.
WE'RE ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO HELP WITH THAT.
UM, AND ACTUALLY, LIKE I SAID, A FEW OF THE COMMISSIONERS ALREADY PARTICIPATED IN THESE MEETINGS, BUT WE ARE MORE THAN HAPPY TO, UM, EXTEND THOSE OUT AND HELP THE COMMUNITY IN WHATEVER WAY POSSIBLE.
OKAY, SO, UM, I WANNA PIGGYBACK ON THE COMMENT ABOUT THE USEFULNESS OF THE TOOL.
UM, AND I THINK THAT WILL BE DETERMINED BY HOW THE DATA IS USED FOR POLICY MAKING.
AND SO HOW ARE WE GOING TO EDUCATE OUR POLICY MAKERS ABOUT THE VALUE OF THIS DATA, HOW TO USE THIS IN THEIR DECISION MAKING, AND HOW TO FACTOR IN WHAT THE DATA, UH, PROVIDES.
[00:40:01]
COMMENTS ON THAT, AND AGAIN, I APOLOGIZE.UH, THAT'S I THINK A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A DIRECTOR EVANS QUESTION IN TERMS OF BRANCHING OUT.
UM, BUT I WILL SAY FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I THINK FIRST AND FOREMOST, UM, IT'S ALSO JUST GETTING THE TOPIC OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE TO THE TABLE.
UM, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OTHER PARTNERS OR OTHER DEPARTMENTS, I THINK JUST GETTING THE IDEA AGAIN AND HELPING, UH, REALLY FORMULATE WHAT THAT IDEA IS AND WHAT THOSE OUTCOMES WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
UM, AND I THINK THIS TOOL, ESPECIALLY IN TERMS OF A VISUAL SENSE, IS EXTREMELY HELPFUL IN THAT WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT AREAS WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON OR MAYBE WHAT ARE SOME OF THE INITIATIVES WE CAN INCORPORATE THAT WOULD ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DIFFERENT LAYERS SUCH AS AIR QUALITY OR FACTORING IN LIKE WE HAVE A FLOODPLAIN LAYER.
UM, ALL OF THOSE I THINK WOULD BE EXTREMELY HELPFUL FOR DEPARTMENTS TO BE AWARE OF.
AND THEN HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, FROM THERE THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY CHANGE THOSE PERSPECTIVES AND HOPEFULLY AGAIN, MAKE BETTER INFORMED DECISIONS ON HOW THESE POLICIES GO.
BUT AGAIN, THAT'S UH, KIND OF MY TAKE ON IT.
UM, DIRECTOR EVANS, UM, IN FUTURE MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT RESPONSE WITH THAT.
THAT'S A LITTLE MORE DETAILED.
AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION, WELL, THE, UH, MEETING IN JULY WHERE RECEIVED A BRIEFING ON THE COMMUNITY, UH, AIR MONITORING PROGRAM, UM, AND I KNOW THAT SOME OF THE MONITORS WERE DEPLOYED WITHOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE COMMUNITY MEETINGS IN THE FUTURE BE STRUCTURED TO, UH, I KNOW THAT BECAUSE AIR QUALITY IS A SIGNIFICANT CONCERN IN OUR EJ COMMUNITIES, THAT WE PUT BOTH OF THESE TOPICS TOGETHER IN A COMMUNITY MEETING AND GO OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND EDUCATE THEM ON HOW TO ACCESS THE DATA.
THAT DATA IS ONLY VALUABLE TO THEM IF THEY CAN ACCESS IT.
SO I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO MAKE IT AS ACCESSIBLE AS POSSIBLE WITH AS MUCH OUTREACH AND, UM, THAT THE COMMISSIONERS IN THOSE DISTRICTS BE NOTIFIED THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A COMMUNITY MEETING AND HELP HELP, UH, OEQS TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT, UH, THAT MEETING.
SO THOSE WERE THE ONLY COMMENTS THAT I HAD.
DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANYTHING? THANK YOU FOR BEARING WITH US THROUGH OUR TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY THIS EVENING, AND I APOLOGIZE THAT WE COULDN'T ADVANCE YOUR SLIDES, BUT THANK YOU AGAIN FOR SPENDING YOUR EVENING WITH US AND ANSWERING OUR QUESTIONS AND GREAT WORK ON THIS PROJECT.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE BRIEFING.
NO, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
LET'S HOPE FOR BETTER LUCK WITH OUR TECHNOLOGY.
BRIEFING ITEM B IS AN UPDATE, UM, ON THE YEAR ONE IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR COMPREHENSIVE URBAN AGRICULTURE PLAN WITH REBECCA SIBERT, THE URBAN AGRICULTURE COORDINATOR OF THE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY AND TOURISTS.
SO ARE WE NOT DOING A PRESENTATION? OKAY, YOU'RE GOOD.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE SO EVERYONE APOLOGIES FOR THOSE NOT HEARING VIRTUALLY.
SO THERE'S A BANDWIDTH ISSUE THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING RIGHT NOW WITH LOADING THE PRESENTATIONS, SO IF YOU'LL JUST BEAR WITH US.
CAN WE SEE IF WE CAN ADVANCE IT? LET'S SEE.
ALL RIGHT, SO, UM, THANK Y'ALL FOR BEING HERE AND HAVING US TONIGHT.
UM, I HAVEN'T SEEN Y'ALL IN A WHILE.
IS YOUR MICROPHONE ON IT? IS ON.
UM, ALL RIGHT, SO I HAVEN'T SEEN SOME OF Y'ALL'S FACES BEFORE.
I'M GOING TO DO OUR FIRST COUPLE SLIDES ARE JUST BRIEF HISTORY FOR FOLKS THAT AREN'T AS FAMILIAR WITH THE CONFERENCE EVER BEEN AG PLAN, UM, MANY OF YOU ARE, BUT, SO IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, THE PLAN ITSELF IS REALLY A FIVE TO TAKE YEAR FRAMEWORK THAT SUPPORTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN AGRICULTURE WITHIN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
AND SO WHEN WE SAY URBAN AGRICULTURE, WHAT WE MEAN BY THAT IS IT GENERALLY REFERRED TO, UM, CULTIVATION, PRACTICING, AND DISTRIBUTION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS WITHIN THE URBAN VICINITY.
[00:45:01]
THE EVER POPULAR COMMUNITY GARDEN, BUT ALSO THINGS LIKE VERTICAL ROOFTOP WAREHOUSE FARMS, UM, HYDRO ARROW AND AQUAPONICS, ET CETERA.UM, THIS IS JUST A LITTLE BACKGROUND OF HOW THE CITY BEGAN THE PATH TOWARDS DEVELOPING, UM, THIS PLAN.
AND MOST OF THE FORWARD MOTION COMES FROM THE KIND OF ACTION PLANNING ASSOCIATED WITH THE CCAP.
UM, AND WITH THAT, WE REALLY HIT THE GROUND RUNNING, UM, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONFERENCE OF URBAN AG PLAN, WHICH I WILL PROBABLY REFER TO THE CONFERENCE OF URBAN AG PLAN AS THE COOP FROM HERE ON OUT TO SAVE US SPACE.
THIS IS, UM, BASICALLY OUR TIMELINE OF HOW WE DEVELOPED THE COOP, AND IT TOOK ROUGHLY A YEAR AND A HALF.
THE MOST NOTABLE CHUNK OF TIME HERE WAS REALLY OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
SO WE JUMPED IN AND DID 56 1 0 1 STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS.
UM, WE SURVEYED 745 RESIDENTS, AND WE CAME BACK WITH THE DRAFTED PLAN AND DID 14 IN PERSON PUBLIC FEEDBACK SESSIONS.
WE CAPTURED OVER 3000 IMPRESSIONS, UM, BEFORE TAKING THIS PLAN TO COUNCIL, AND IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED IN MARCH OF 2023.
SO THE NEXT SLIDE SHOWS, UM, REALLY THE CCAP GOALS AND TARGETS IN PLACE THAT THE COOP IS WORKING TO SETTING A PATH TOWARDS ACHIEVING OUR OVERALL DIRECTIVE WITH THE COOP IS INCREASING PRODUCTION ON DALLAS SOIL.
UM, BY DOING THAT, WE ACCOMPLISH ALL OF THESE OTHER GOALS THAT THEY HAVE LISTED HERE.
SO THIS IS A BREAKDOWN OF OUR FIVE RECOMMENDATIONS WITHIN THE PLAN.
EACH RECOMMENDATION HAS SOLUTIONS AND ACTION ITEMS CORRELATED WITH IT, UM, FOR A TOTAL OF 14 SOLUTIONS AND 58 ACTION ITEMS. WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH THESE QUICKLY TO FOCUS ON THE PROGRESS WE'VE MADE OVER THE LAST 10 MONTHS OF THIS FISCAL YEAR.
HOPEFULLY MOST OF Y'ALL ARE FAMILIAR WITH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
IF YOU WANT TO CHAT MORE, WE ARE BOTH AVAILABLE WHENEVER TO DISCUSS ANY DEEPER DEEP DIVE.
THE REST OF OUR PRESENTATION IS GONNA BE FOCUSED ON OUR YEAR ONE IMPLEMENTATION.
SO YOU'RE GONNA SEE ON THESE SLIDES THE SPECIFIC SOLUTIONS AND ACTION ITEMS THAT WE ACTIVATED.
OVERALL, WE ACTIVATED 11 OF 14 SOLUTIONS, UM, AND 27 OF 58 ACTION ITEMS. OUR F FIRST RECOMMENDATION IS FOCUSED ON REDUCING REGULATORY BARRIERS.
UM, WE'VE BEEN IN MEETINGS WITH THE PUDS AMENDMENT MANAGER, THE CITY ATTORNEY, AND OTHER RELEVANT DEPARTMENTS ON UPDATING THE DALLAS DEVELOPMENT CODE.
UM, WE'LL BE DISCUSSING THAT ITEM FURTHER AND WITH CITY COUNCIL ON SEPTEMBER, 2024, UM, IN LIEU OF THE HOUSE BILL 1750, WHICH HAS JUST BEEN AN INTERESTING TURN TO HOW WE ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT SOME OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND IF THEY'RE VALID AND THOSE KINDS OF ITEMS. SO MORE TO COME ON THAT.
UM, IN SEPTEMBER, ANOTHER ITEM THAT WE'VE IMPLEMENTED RELATED TO RECOMMENDATION ONE IS THE URBAN AGRICULTURE INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT PROGRAM.
SO THAT IS CURRENTLY, ACTUALLY THE CALL FOR PROPOSAL IS ACTIVE NOW, AND WHAT THAT PROGRAM DOES IS IT WILL GRANT APPROXIMATELY A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO AGRICULTURE STAKEHOLDERS, UM, TO WHO ARE IN THE PROCESS OF NAVIGATING VARIOUS INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS WITHIN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
NEXT ITEM, I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO PASS OVER TO YOUR RTA, WHO MANAGES OUR GIS MAP.
SO JUST TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE, SO WE ARE GEARING TOWARDS UPDATING OUR GIS WEB APP, OR AS KNOWN AS OUR URBAN AGRICULTURE AND COMMUNITY HEALTH EXPLORER.
UM, WE IN TOOK THAT MAPPING, WE HAD IDENTIFIED 44 URBAN AGRICULTURE SITES, AND WHEN WE SPEAK ON URBAN SITES, IT'S NOT ONLY THE COMMON COMMUNITY GARDEN, BUT ALSO URBAN FARMS. UM, VERTICAL FARMING, TEACHING FARMS, FATE FACILITY FARMS, FOOD PANTRY, FARM, UM, FOOD PANTRY, AGRICULTURE SITES AND SUCH.
BUT OF THOSE IN 2023 IDENTIFIED 44 URBAN AGRICULTURE SITES, UM, WE WIT FEEDBACK FROM THE PUBLIC AS WELL AS PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER OR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THE AREA.
WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY 22, 21, EXCUSE ME, UM, NEW AGRICULTURE SITES NOW RELATIVELY, IF THEY'VE ALREADY PRE-EXISTED OR STARTED, UM, BEFORE WE WERE ABLE TO DISCOVER THEM.
SO OVERALL, DISCOVERING A TOTAL OF 62 SITES OF URBAN AGRICULTURE SITES THAT ARE ACTIVE IN THE DALLAS AREA.
UM, JUST, AND THEN JUST TO WRAP ON THIS END, OVERALL THAT, UM, WE, FROM THE FIRST HALF OF THE RECOMMENDATION, WE,
[00:50:01]
WHEN MY UPCOMING INTO THE CITY OF DALLAS, WE HAVE ESTABLISHED ON A CITY OF DALLAS OWNERSHIP OF THE URBAN AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY HEALTH EXPLORER.AND NOW WE'RE WORKING ONTO THE UPDATES OF THOSE, UM, 62 URBAN EXIT THAT FEEDS INTO, OR IN THE CITIES OF URBAN AGRICULTURE.
PRIORITY AREAS WILL BE ONE TO HYPER FOCUS ON ACCELERATED FUNDING WITHIN THESE AREAS.
UM, RECOMMENDATION TO RECOMMENDATION TO A SOLUTION TO GEARING TOWARDS ESTABLISHING A PROCESS FOR MAKING HIGH POTENTIAL CITY OWNED VEGAN LOTS AVAILABLE FOR URBAN AG PROJECTS.
CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW WE'VE BEEN FOCUSING ON THE SHARE AVAILABILITY OF CITY OF DALLAS DATA SETS, AND THAT'S GEARING TOWARDS BROWNFIELD SOIL DATA SETS, MUNICIPALITIES, SITTING DESTINATIONS, AND ET CETERA ON THOSE ITEMS CURRENTLY PROGRESS ON THAT, THAT WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR BROWNFIELD SOIL EMERGENCY OFFICES AND SUCH TO SEE THAT WE CAN GET THOSE DATA LAYERS TO OUR URBAN AGRICULTURE WEB MAP.
UM, CERTAIN THERE HAVE BEEN CERTAIN BARRIERS WITH, UM, CITY OF DALLAS POLICIES OF HAVING THIS DATA ON A PUBLIC SETTING, BUT WE ARE WORKING WITH THOSE, THOSE DIVISIONS AND DEPARTMENTS RIGHT NOW TO SEE WHAT IS POTENTIALLY POSSIBLE SO IT'S MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR FOLKS TO ESTABLISH THIS PROCESS.
AND THEN CAN WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE? AND JUST TO GIVE YOU, UM, A BRIEF OVERVIEW ON THIS, UM, DURING THE SECOND QUARTER, WE HAD FOUR PUBLIC, UM, WORKSHOP MEETINGS FOR THE GIS WEB MAP, AS WELL AS TWO AT UNIVERSITY LEVELS AND, UM, RELATED TO FOOD ACCESS, URBAN AGRICULTURE AND GIS RELATED ITEMS. AND SINCE HERE WE ARE MORE THAN HAPPY TO DO AN OVERVIEW OF THAT, OF GETTING YOU CONNECTED TO THOSE, UH, SCREENINGS ON THAT.
BUT HERE IS A QR CODE IF YOU WANTED TO ACCESS THE MAP YOURSELF, AS WELL AS I ADDED IN, UM, A MAP HERE JUST POTENTIALLY SHOWING AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT COULD BE CURATED FROM THESE, FROM THIS GIS WEB MAP.
UM, SO ON THIS SLIDE THOUGH, URSA HAS ALSO MET WITH OUR, SOME OF OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS AND IS WORKING WITH THEM TO DEVELOP OUT THESE DISTRICT MAPS THAT SHOWCASE VARIOUS, WE HAVE LIKE HEALTH, UM, DISPARITIES ON THIS MAP AS WELL AS EPA DATA ON SUPERFUND SITES.
UM, JUST REALLY GIVING THEM A PERSPECTIVE OF WHAT THEIR DISTRICT LOOKS LIKE IN THE FACE OF LIKE FOOD ACCESS OR HOW INCREASING THAT COULD MAYBE SHIFT SOME OF THEIR, UM, HEALTH DISPARITIES.
SO ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UH, FOR OUR THIRD RECOMMENDATION, IT REALLY FOCUSES ON EDUCATION AND RESOURCES TO SUPPORT DALLAS RESIDENTS.
A NUMBER OF THESE ACTION ITEMS ARE SURROUNDING OUR URBAN AGRICULTURE WEBSITE, WHICH WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH A CONSULTANT, AND WE'VE PROVIDED A LOT OF CONTENT AND BUILT OUT RESOURCES THAT THE WEBSITE SHOULD BE GOING LIVE WITH, UM, BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER.
UM, THERE ARE TWO OTHER EXCITING ITEMS THAT I WANNA SHARE WITH YOU GUYS WE'LL BE LAUNCHING THIS FALL.
ONE OF THEM IS OUR GOOD PROGRAM, WHICH IS GROWERS EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
UM, THAT'S A PILOT PROGRAM THAT WILL AWARD ROUGHLY $50,000 TO AGRICULTURE STAKEHOLDERS TO PAY FOR INTERNS TO, UM, LEARN HANDS ON, ON THE FIELD AGRICULTURE EXPERIENCE, AS WELL AS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
ANOTHER PROGRAM THAT WE'RE LAUNCHING, UM, THIS FALL IS THE, IT'S CALLED GROWING WELLNESS.
AND IT'S A FOUR PART SERIES THAT TEACHES FOLKS HOW TO GROW AND UTILIZE TEXAS PLANTS AND HERBS TO IMPROVE EVERYDAY, TO IMPROVE EVERYDAY HEALTH AND WELLNESS.
UM, THE WORKSHOPS WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE WEST DALLAS TEACHING KITCHEN.
OUR FIRST ONE IS SEPTEMBER 17TH, AND WE'LL HAVE ONE EACH MONTH RUNNING THROUGH DECEMBER.
OUR NEXT SLIDE IS AROUND, UM, FACILITATE FACILITATING COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIPS.
SO BETWEEN MYSELF AND ISSA, WE'VE CURATED ROUGHLY 25 PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT EVENTS OVER THE LAST 10 MONTHS OF IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
UM, THESE INCLUDE PUBLIC WORKSHOPS FROM COMPOSTING TO UA HOSTING DEMOS OF HOW TO UTILIZE THE GIS BLOOD MAP, UM, VOLUNTEER DAYS, OF COURSE, OUR SECOND ANNUAL JAPA JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL.
UM, A FEW MORE ITEMS THAT WE HAVE COMING OUT TO CLOSE OUT OUR YEAR.
ONE OF IMPLEMENTATION INCLUDE THE FOOD ACCESS FAIR ON SEPTEMBER 21ST, UM, AS WELL AS THE SECOND DALLAS AND CITY GROWER SUMMIT.
THE REST OF THE ACTION ITEMS HERE ON FOUR ARE PREDOMINANTLY RELATED TO ITEMS THAT WILL BE PUBLIC FACING ON THE WEBSITE.
[00:55:01]
SO AGAIN, THOSE WILL HOPEFULLY BE LIVE THE END OF SEPTEMBER.UM, THESE ARE JUST SOME PHOTOS OF VARIOUS EVENTS THAT WE HELD THROUGHOUT THE LAST 10 MONTHS.
OUR FIFTH AND FINAL RECOMMENDATION IS AROUND BUILDING MARKET OPPORTUNITIES.
UH, ANOTHER PROGRAM THAT I'M VERY EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE IS A PARTNERSHIP THAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY CARE TO LAUNCH A PROGRAM CALLED FOOD ACCESS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
SO THE PILOT WILL DEMONSTRATE AN IMPROVEMENT AND ACCESS TO AND CONSUMPTION OF SEASONAL FRESH PRODUCE WHILE COLLABORATING WITH OFFICE OF COMMUNITY CARE TO HOST COOKING AND NUTRITION CLASSES AND REFERRALS AS NEEDED TO INCREASE THE USE OF SNAP AND WIC BENEFITS FOR FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES THROUGH FARMERS' MARKETS PROGRAMS SUCH AS DOUBLE UP FOOD BUCKS.
SO IN ADDITION TO THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF FRESH PRODUCE THROUGH PROGRAMS LIKE THIS.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I'VE ALSO INCLUDED THE ECONOMIC WHY.
UM, SO THE QUICK AND FAST OF IT, UM, IF CITY OF DALLAS RESIDENTS, WE PROGRESS TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
IF CITY OF DALLAS RESIDENTS, UM, SHIFTED 10% OF THEIR SPENDING FROM NON-LOCAL TO LOCAL BUSINESSES, THAT LOOKS LIKE ONE IN 10 ITEMS IN YOUR GROCERY CART OR ONE 10 ITEMS IN YOUR FRIDGE, IT WOULD EFFECTIVELY RESHAPE OUR LOCAL ECONOMY, UM, BY CREATING 3,200 NEW JOBS, 108 MILLION IN NEW WAGES, AND 260 MILLION IN TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT.
THESE STATISTICS HAVE BEEN EXTRAPOLATED FROM THE CIVIC ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY.
I IMPLORE YOU GUYS TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT SITE.
UM, OUR NEXT SLIDE IS OVER THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WHO OVER THE YEARS.
SO AGAIN, THIS IS THE FIVE TO 10 YEAR FRAMEWORK OF THIS PLAN.
WE ARE CURRENTLY IN YEAR ONE, AND JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT IT'LL LOOK LIKE OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
UM, FOR SHORT TERM IMPLEMENTATION, WE'VE HIGHLIGHTED SOME OF THESE ITEMS AROUND REDUCING REGULATORY BARRIERS, OUR GIS WEB MAP, UM, THINGS AROUND EDUCATION AND INCREASING ACCESS, AND A MORE LONG TERM SCOPE.
WE HAVE ITEMS SUCH AS LIKE A MATCHMAKING MODEL, UM, CREATING A BUY LOCAL CAMPAIGN AND FACILITATING COLLABORATION BETWEEN GROWERS AND WHOLESALE BUYERS.
THE NEXT SLIDE IS, I BELIEVE OCON SLIDE.
UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS, UH, PON HEMMING, SENIOR CLIMATE COORDINATOR WITH THE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY.
I ALSO MANAGE THE URBAN AGRICULTURE TEAM AND ASSIST WITH THIS PROGRAM.
UM, DISCUSSING THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE BEEN PRESENTED WITH IN THIS FIRST YEAR.
UH, ONE OF THE MAIN ONES IS, IS CAPACITY AND LIMITING OUR, OUR OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPLEMENTATION.
WITH THE FIRST YEAR OF THIS PLAN, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT, FOCUS, UH, TRAJECTORIES, A LOT OF OUR PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES.
AND AS WE LOOK FORWARD, UM, AND FORECAST INTO THE FUTURE, THE ORIGINAL PLAN CALLED FOR ADDITIONAL ROLES AND DIS ADDITIONAL CAPACITY.
UM, AT IN THE PAST YEAR, WE'VE HAD DIFFERENT TYPES OF INTERNS AND GROUPS ASSIST FOR SMALL SCALE PROJECTS, BUT FOR A CONSISTENT GROWTH IN OUR PROGRAM, UH, CONSISTENT GROWTH IN OUR PROJECTS.
UH, WORKING THE DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN THE EXISTING CAPACITY WITH THE PERSONNEL AND THE WORK THAT WE KNOW WILL BE SCALED IN THE FUTURE IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE ARE WORKING TO ADDRESSING.
UH, SECOND, UH, BIG CHALLENGE IS ALSO FACILITATING A PUBLIC REQUEST.
UM, THE STATE, THE EXISTING STAKEHOLDERS CONSIST OF INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS, UH, ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE OF DALLAS.
UM, WE ARE THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS IN THIS, IN THIS SPACE FOR THE CITY.
SO BEING ABLE TO ADDRESS AND ACCOMMODATE ISSUES, CHALLENGES, CONCERNS OF THESE INDIVIDUALS, UH, IS A TOP PRIORITY.
UM, BUT WE ARE, WE HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING A LARGE NUMBER OF THOSE REQUESTS, SO WE WANTED TO BE IN A POSITION TO ADDRESS THEM AS NEEDED, UM, IN A HELPFUL, UH, AND MEANINGFUL MANNER.
INTERNAL CORROBORATION WITH DEPARTMENTS REGARDING POLICY UPDATES.
UM, THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT POLICIES, UH, LAWS AND CODES THAT TOUCH AGRICULTURE IN THE URBAN LANDSCAPE.
SO FINDING A WAY TO COLLABORATE WITH EXISTING DEPARTMENTS TO ADDRESS ALL OF THOSE HAVE BEEN IN ONGOING CONVERSATIONS.
AND AS THIS PLAN WITH IT BEING RELATIVELY NEW COMPARED TO OTHER EXISTING POLICIES WITHIN THE CITY, UH, WORKING ON THE EDUCATION PIECE INTERNALLY WITH OUR INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS TO MAKE THE CHANGES THAT WE NEED, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED IN THE RECOMMENDATION THAT THE TEAM HAS TOUCHED ON, UH, IN ORDER FOR US TO MAKE PROGRESS IN THE PLAN.
AND THEN ONE OF THE MAJOR ONES IS ADDRESSING, UH, PUBLIC OWNED LAND UTILITY, UH, FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD.
UH, THIS IS OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO UTILIZE, UH, CITY OF DALLAS LAND FOR URBAN AGRICULTURE PURPOSES.
[01:00:01]
IS NOT A UNIQUE SITUATION IN THE COUNTRY.UH, THERE HAVE BEEN CASE STUDIES DONE WITH OUR, OUR PEER CITIES THAT HAVE UTILIZED THIS TYPE OF APPROACH TO ADDRESS URBAN AGRICULTURE IN THEIR LAND, UH, ON CITY LAND.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE, UH, WE ARE LOOKING TO PRIORITIZE, EXPLORE, AND HOPEFULLY IMPLEMENT.
UM, AND GETTING THAT OFF THE GROUND HAS BEEN PART OF OUR YEAR ONE IMPLEMENTATION, BUT IT IS, UH, AN AN ACTION OUTLINE IN THE COOP FOR US TO ACHIEVE.
AND THEN THE LAST ONE IS, IS BUDGET FOR IMPLEMENTATION.
AS THIS PROGRAM CONTINUES TO, TO SCALE, UH, UP AND OUTWARD, UM, HAVING THE BUDGET, UH, TO SUBSIDIZE AND SUPPORT THE EXISTING PROGRAMS, ALL WHILE UNDERSTANDING THAT WE ARE ENGAGING WITH NEW STAKEHOLDERS TO PARTICIPATE IN URBAN AGRICULTURE ACROSS THE CITY, HAVING OPPORTUNITY TO SUBSIDIZE THAT GROWTH, UM, AND SUBSIDIZE OUR PROGRAMS MOVING FORWARD.
AND THEN LOOKING FORWARD TOMORROW.
UM, AS MENTIONED THROUGHOUT THIS PRESENTATION, UM, WE HAVE, UH, VERY SIGNIFICANT PROGRAMS THAT HAVE, UH, BEEN LAUNCHED, UH, AND THAT ARE COMING ONLINE IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
UM, MENTIONING AGAIN, THE G THE GIS MAP, UM, ARE, EXCUSE ME, OUR GROWERS EDUCATION, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, UH, PILOT PROGRAM WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT, UH, FROM AN ENGAGEMENT STANDPOINT.
UH, SO AS WE LOOK FORWARD, UM, CLOSING OUT OUR YEAR ONE IMPLEMENTATION, WE'RE ALREADY LOOKING AND WORKING ON YEAR TWO.
UM, AND WHAT OUR YEAR TWO, UM, PLAN WILL LOOK LIKE IS, FIRST WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF A DEEP DIVE EVALUATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTIONS FROM FROM YEAR ONE.
WE ARE EVALUATING THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED AND SUCCESSES SOME OF THE MISALIGNED ACTIONS IN THE CURRENT CLIMATE OF CITY BUSINESS AND FROM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
AND THEN WE'RE WORKING ON ADDRESSING WHAT ARE OUR PRIORITIES MOVING FORWARD.
AGAIN, AS WE BUILD OFF OF THE ACTIONS OF YEAR ONE, WHAT ARE WE PRIORITIZING IN YEAR TWO THAT'S ALSO OUTLINED IN THE PLAN, AND HOW DO WE CHANGE AND MODIFY THAT TO ENSURE THE PROPER TRAJECTORY FOR SUCCESS.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION FOR TODAY, AND WE'RE HAPPY, HAPPY TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS YOU ALL MAY HAVE.
ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU ALL FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
WHAT QUESTIONS DO WE HAVE? DR.
UM, I, WOW, THIS, UH, THERE'S SO MUCH CONTENT AND SO MUCH IT'S BEEN ACCOMPLISHED THAT, AND YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE LAID A GROUNDWORK FOR, FOR MOVING FORWARD IN A ORGANIZED AND THOUGHTFUL WAY.
UH, I WOULD SAY THAT LOOKING AT INVOLVEMENT, UM, YOU'VE IDENTIFIED SOME, I THINK COORDINATION EFFORTS OF THE PUB, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO ARE INVOLVED, UM, IS KEY.
AND UM, UH, UH, WHITNEY STRAUSS AND I HAD COFFEE TOGETHER AND TALKED ABOUT HOW MUCH THAT'S REALLY NEEDED BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY ACTORS IN THIS WHO ARE DOING GOOD THINGS, BUT THEY'RE NOT REALLY UNITED IN ANY WAY THAT MAKES IT, UM, UH, AS, AS A, AS EFFICIENT IN ACTION.
UH, THE SECOND THING IS, IS THAT WE DO HAVE TO LOOK AS WE GET COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT TO HOW WE MAINTAIN SUSTAINABILITY OF THE EFFORTS OF SEVERAL OF THE GARDENS THAT I KNOW THAT WERE THERE, THEY'RE NO LONGER THERE.
AND SO HOW DO WE GENERATE THAT SUSTAINABILITY OUGHT TO GET SOME OF YOUR ATTENTION IN TERMS OF YOUR PLANNING FOR YEAR TWO AS A SKILLS DEVELOPMENT.
AND THEN IT'S ONE THING TO GROW FOOD, BUT IT'S ANOTHER ONE TO USE IT, AND THAT'S GOOD.
I WOULD ALSO URGE YOU TO LOOK AT SOME SPECIAL POPULATIONS, UH, THE ONES THAT OCCURRED TO ME WITH PREGNANT WOMEN OR SENIORS WHO ARE, WHO MAY HAVE PROBLEMS GAIN, GETTING ACCESS TO FOOD AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT, UH, DEVELOPMENT, UH, OF CURRICULUMS THAT PEOPLE CAN USE SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO REINVENT THE WHEEL IN THEIR EDUCATION EFFORTS.
UM, AND I'VE GOT A WHOLE BUNCH MORE.
AS A PEDIATRICIAN, I CAN'T NEGLECT THE IDEA OF, UH, WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH AS BEING ONE OF THE PRIORITIES THAT GOD EMPHASIZE.
STRAUSS, IF YOU COULD COME ON CAMERA.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JUST THAT PRESENTATION AND ALL OF YOUR WORK.
[01:05:01]
KNOW THAT'S A LOT.SO I, I HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AND MAYBE COMMENTS.
I DON'T KNOW THE, THE TOOL FOR THE URBAN AG WILL THAT ALSO, ARE YOU ASKING, UM, FOR INPUT ON PRODUCTION TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT IS BEING GROWN, HOW MUCH IS BEING GROWN, JUST THE, THE PRODUCTION OF OUR CURRENT AGRICULTURE AND YOU KNOW, HOW TO MITIGATE, UH, POTENTIAL ROADBLOCKS WITH THAT? UM, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S A WAY FOR THE FARMERS TO COLLABORATE IN ANY WAY IF THEY'RE LOSING PRODUCTION OR IF THERE WAS A TOUGH SEASON, THINGS LIKE THAT.
AS WE'RE GROWING OUR FOOD SYSTEM, I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE.
UM, AND I KNOW ONE OF THE TOOLS WAS LOOKING AT ALL OF THE POTENTIAL, YOU KNOW, NEGATIVE PARTS OF OUR SOIL, WHICH IS ALSO IMPORTANT, BUT THE SOIL MITIGATION FOR THAT AND WHAT TOOLS MAY BE AVAILABLE FOR FARMERS TO MITIGATE THAT SOIL BECAUSE NOT, IT'S NOT ALWAYS COMPOSTING OR PLANTS THAT COULD MITIGATE SOME OF WHAT'S IN THE SOIL.
UM, AND ACTUALLY SMU HAS A TOP CHEMIST IN THAT IF THE CITY WANTED TO UTILIZE THAT RESOURCE.
UM, AND THEN JUST ALWAYS AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EDUCATING AND PREPARING FARMERS TO NOT ONLY BE PRODUCTIVE AND SUCCESSFUL WITH URBAN AGRICULTURE, THE MITIGATING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.
'CAUSE I'M NOT SURE IF Y'ALL ARE FAMILIAR, BUT I'M ASSUMING THERE WAS A UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN STUDY THAT WAS RELEASED THIS YEAR, UM, DISCUSSING THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF URBAN AGRICULTURE TO THE ENVIRONMENT VERSUS POSITIVE, UM, WITH COMMERCIAL FARMS, WHICH AGAIN, THERE IN ALL OF THE FINDINGS DIGGING INTO THAT, IT REALLY WAS THE MORE PREPARED URBAN AGRICULTURE FARMERS WERE TO BE PRODUCTIVE WITH SOIL MITIGATION, WATER USAGE, THINGS LIKE THAT, THEN IT WOULDN'T HAVE A NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.
BUT IF YOU'RE JUST KIND OF GOING, GOING INTO IT WITHOUT THAT PLANNING, IT COULD POTENTIALLY.
UM, SO I GUESS THOSE ARE SOME OF MY COMMENTS.
I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS, BUT I'LL PROBABLY JUST EMAIL REBECCA AFTERWARD.
UM, BUT I REALLY APPRECIATED THE UPDATE AND I KNOW THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT'S GONE INTO THIS SO FAR.
UM, I'LL JUST HAVE A FEW COMMENTS TO MAKE ON YOUR CO ON YOUR COMMENTS, MS. JOSS.
SO ONE ON THE PRODUCTION ITEM THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE USDA TRACKS, UM, THEY TRACK IT UP TO LIKE AN EIGHTH OF AN ACRE.
IT'S NOT THAT WE'RE OPPOSED TO DOING IT, IT IS THAT WE HAVE TWO OF US AND ACTUALLY UTA ALSO WORKS ON THE SMART SERVICES, SO ONE AND A HALF.
AND UH, WE DON'T WANNA DUPLICATE EFFORTS.
SO OUR EFFORT IS GOING TOWARDS PARTNERING WITH REGIONAL, UM, PARTNERS WHO ARE ALREADY LIKE TAKING NOTES ON THOSE ITEMS. UM, BUT HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN ANY THOUGHTS YOU HAVE ON HOW WE COULD BE BETTER ABOUT DOING THAT.
AND THEN, UM, IN TERMS OF THE, YOU MENTIONED THE SMU SOIL CONSERVATIONISTS FOR THE DALLAS INNER CITY GROWERS SUMMIT, UM, SMU IS ACTUALLY HOSTING IT AND THE CITY IS SPONSORING IT, SO WE'RE BRINGING THAT CONFERENCE TO, UM, THEIR CAMPUS AND ENGAGING A NUMBER OF THEIR PROFESSORS RELATED TO AGRICULTURE.
UM, AND ALSO THAT SUMMIT REALLY, AS DR.
LOCKMAN MENTIONED, UM, THE COLLABORATION IS SO PERTINENT FOR THIS TO BE SUCCESSFUL WITH CREATING A, A STRONGER, MORE RESILIENT AGRICULTURE NETWORK.
AND THAT'S ONE WAY THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET EVERYBODY IN THE SAME ROOM AND LIKE FACILITATE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.
DID YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS YOU WANTED MAKE
WE'VE TRIED TO REACH OUT WITH SOME OTHER FOCUS, THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY, FROM MY PRELIMINARY RESEARCH, AN OVERLAPPING LIKE OPEN DATA SET FOR TOP SOILS, UM, WITHIN THE CITY OF DALLAS CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY LOOKING INTO INTERNAL SOURCES THAT WE HAVE WITHIN THE CITY OF DALLAS AND SEE WHAT IS FEASIBLE FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION.
UM, AND THEN REFERENCING BACK TO THE FIRST QUESTION, YES, WE IDEALLY WE, WHEN THIS GIS WOMEN KIND OF GOES THROUGH SECOND TO THIRD YEAR PRODUCTION OF ITSELF, THE IDEA WOULD BE TO HAVE A COLLABORATION POTENTIALLY WITH USDA FARMERS NUMBER SINCE NOW THAT THEY JUST OPENED A URBAN AGRICULTURE FACILITY OFFICE HERE IN DALLAS AND THEY'VE BEEN PROMOTING REGISTRY A LOT OF OUR FOLKS, URBAN AGRICULTURE STAKEHOLDERS HERE IN DALLAS, GETTING A FARMER'S NUMBER WHICH DOES TRACK PRODUCTION CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW, HOW WE ARE TRACKING THAT METRIC OF LIKE GROWTH IN AGRICULTURE WITHIN CITY OF DALLAS IS JUST DOING LIKE A ESTIMATED GROWTH, LIKE LOOKING THROUGH GIS, SEEING THE
[01:10:01]
ESTIMATED ACREAGE THAT IS ACTIVE, SO TO SATELLITE IMAGERY.BUT IF WE CAN'T POTENTIALLY GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE HAD ACTUALLY HAVE WEIGHT TO HOW MUCH EACH GARDEN OR GARDEN FOOD FACILITY AND SUCH AS CREATING, THAT'S IDEALLY WHERE YOU WANNA GO TOWARDS BECAUSE SOMETHING LIKE COMMUNITY GARDEN IS DOING IN GROUND CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH VERSUS A HYDROPONIC, UM, SYSTEM LIKE ILLA AT OR BIG TECH URBAN FARMS THAT IS DOING A HIGH PRODUCTION VALUE IN A SMALL SCALE AREA.
STRS? WELL ACTUALLY I HAD, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE CITY LOTS AVAILABLE, AND I KNOW THAT'S STILL IN DEVELOPMENT, BUT IT IS IT PINPOINTING ON A MAP THAT THEY'RE AVAILABLE FOR FARMING, THAT THEY'RE ACCESSIBLE AND KIND OF CAN YOU DESCRIBE THAT PROCESS A LITTLE BIT MORE? AND ALSO THE COMMENT CAME UP BEFORE, HOW DOES THAT OVERLAY WITH THE PARKS PLANS FOR LAND USAGE? I'M, I'M SEEING MAYBE IN THE FUTURE THAT THAT COULD BE A CONFLICT.
SO THAT WAS JUST, I WANTED TO ASK WHAT DOES THAT THAT PROCESS LOOK LIKE RIGHT NOW WITH THE CITY LOTS AVAILABLE AND SO, AND MAKING THEM ACCESSIBLE AND, AND HOW, HOW A FARMER COULD COME AND HAVE ACCESS TO THAT.
UM, SO WE, SO IN OUR PROCESS WE HAVE IDENTIFIED VACANT LOTS THAT ARE EVENTUALLY, AND THEN THE IDEA OF VACANCY IS ESSENTIALLY SOMETHING THAT'S NOT LIKE A FULL ON BUILDING STRUCTURE ON TOP OF THAT.
SO WHERE WE LOOKED AT OVER CITY OWNED LOTS, COUNTY OWNED LOTS, UM, LOTS THAT ARE OWNED BY UTILITIES, UM, LIKE AS DART OR ENCORE.
AND THE IDEA WOULD BE THAT POTENTIALLY WE'D WANT TO, WE'VE HAD A PRELIMINARY CON DISCUSSIONS WITH INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS TO SEE IF THERE'S A POTENTIAL OF LIKE CONNECTING FOLKS TO THESE LOTS.
AS OUR OPIN HAD MENTIONED EARLIER, THIS IS NOT A NUANCE ITEM.
THERE'S OTHER CITIES WITHIN TEXAS THAT HAS DONE SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THIS.
AND IDEALLY WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF HAVING AN ACCESS OF LIKE WHAT, HOW RESIDENTS CAN HAVE ACCESS TO THESE LAND SITES, BUT I WOULD SAY WE, WE ARE STILL EARLY ON, WE'VE JUST ESSENTIALLY IDENTIFIED THESE VACANT LOTS.
YEAH, I WAS GONNA SAY, CURIOUS WHERE YOU WERE IN THE PROCESS OF THAT.
WE'VE ALSO MET WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN WHO HAS A COMMUNITY GUARDIAN PROGRAM THAT'S BEEN ESTABLISHED SINCE 2011.
UM, AND WE HAVE RECEIVED SOME OF THEIR LAND USE AGREEMENTS AND THEIR LEASES.
UM, SO IT'S REALLY JUST A MATTER OF US NAVIGATING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND THE CITY OF DALLAS REAL ESTATE OFFICE.
UM, BUT THE CITY OF DALLAS'S COMMUNITY GARDEN PROGRAM IS EXCLUSIVELY ON PARKS LAND.
SO IN TERMS OF WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE FOR US TO NAVIGATE SOME OF THE LOTS THAT ARE SLATED TO BE PARKS, UM, THAT IS STILL TO BE TOLD, BUT IT'S HAPPENING IN OTHER CITIES.
MR. MARQUIS? THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR.
UH, THIS IS A QUESTION FOR REBECCA.
FIRST OF ALL, TO ALL OF YOU, THIS IS EXCELLENT PROGRESS.
REBECCA, AT ONE POINT YOU AND I WERE HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT WE WERE GETTING WATER FOR COMMUNITY GARDENS AS QUICKLY AND EXPEDITIOUSLY AS POSSIBLE.
THAT CONVERSATION, UM, LET HAVE SOME INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE WE ARE AND THAT WITH THAT CONVERSATION, BUT WE'RE STILL ON TRACK.
WE STILL WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ALL OUR COMMUNITY GARDENS HAVE THE EASIEST POSSIBLE ACCESS, SKIPPING PERMITS, AND IF POSSIBLY EVEN FUNDING SOMETHING OF A WATER NEED FOR THEIR GARDENS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION, MR. MARQUEST.
UM, I WOULD POTENTIALLY MAYBE BRING UP PAUL OR SHEILA, BUT, UM, WE HAVE MET WITH THE, THE DALLAS WATER UTILITY ON WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
AND THE INFORMATION THAT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM DALLAS WATER UTILITY AS WELL AS THE BUDGET DEPARTMENT, IS THAT AT THIS TIME, UM, WE'RE UNABLE TO DO MUCH IN REGARDS TO CREATING FEE WAIVERS, ET CETERA, FOR THIS PURPOSE IS WHY WE'VE CREATED THE URBAN AGRICULTURE INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT PROGRAM, UH, WHICH ALLOCATES A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO AGRICULTURE STAKEHOLDERS IN NAVIGATING WATER METERS AND CERTIFICATES OF OCCUPANCY.
IF ANYONE FEELS THAT THEY'D LIKE TO ADD TO THIS, PLEASE STEP UP TO THE MIC JUST TO FOLLOW UP.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, WE, THE CONVERSATION CONTINUED, BUT
[01:15:01]
DO WE HAVE ANY PARTICULAR GROUPS THAT ARE, ARE NOT ABLE TO OPERATE OR MOVE FORWARD 'CAUSE THEY CAN'T GET THAT PERMIT OR, 'CAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE FUNDING, DO HAVE SPECIFIC GROUPS THAT ARE, ARE, UM, HAMSTRUNG SO TO SPEAK NOW.'CAUSE THEY, THEY CAN'T MOVE FORWARD BECAUSE OF THAT.
UM, I'M GONNA LET PAUL SPEAK ON YOUR LAST QUESTION REALLY QUICK, AND THEN I'LL ANSWER THIS ONE FOLLOWING THAT.
CAN YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION? QUESTION.
DO WE HAVE PARTICULAR GROUPS RIGHT NOW THAT ARE NOT ABLE TO, UM, PROPERLY FUNCTION AS A COMMUNITY GARDEN BECAUSE THEY DO HAVE ACCESS TO WATER, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH A PERMIT PROCESS OR FOR THE FINANCIAL PROCESS? I'M REALLY NOT FAMILIAR THAT REALLY, I, I HATE TO PASS THE BALL TO YOU, BUT YOU ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE WITH THE GIRLS, REBECCA, RIGHT? RIGHT.
AS FAR AS THE WATER WITH DW, REBECCA'S ANSWER WAS CORRECT.
UM, RIGHT NOW WE DO HAVE A PROGRAM THAT WE'RE WORKING ON WITH THE COUNTY IN ORDER TO HELP ITS AGRICULTURE INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM.
AND THAT PROGRAM, UH, ONCE IT'S IN PLACE, WILL HELP PEOPLE RECEIVE, UH, ACCESS TO WATER WHO CANNOT CURRENTLY MAYBE AFFORD TO HOOK IT UP TO THEIR COMMUNITY GARDEN.
UM, AS FAR AS THE GARDENS THAT REQUIRE THE WATER AT THIS POINT, UH, REBECCA WOULD BE ABLE TO ANSWER PROBABLY SPECIFICALLY, UH, ABOUT THE NUMBER OF GARDENS, UH, THAT DO REQUIRE THIS.
UM, SO IN TERMS OF GARDENS THAT ARE UNABLE TO OPERATE DUE TO LACK OF WATER, IF THAT'S YOUR QUESTION CORRECT, DAVID? YES.
UM, WE DO HAVE SOME OF THOSE AND IT'S OFTENTIMES FOLKS ARE GETTING LIKE 5,000 GALLON TOTES ON SITE.
UM, SO THERE'S NOT A BEAUTIFUL ANSWER BECAUSE THE ANSWER IS YES, THAT WE DO HAVE GARDENS THAT STRUGGLE TO OPERATE, UM, BECAUSE THEY DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE ACCESS TO WATER.
LET'S CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION ANOTHER TIME.
THAT'S SOMEONE YOU TAKE ACTION ON.
MR. HOFFMAN, YOU'RE STILL MUTED.
ALAN ARE THE MAJORITY OF THESE LOTS.
THIS IS A FOLLOW UP TO MR. MARCUS' QUESTION.
ARE THE MORE MAJORITY OF THESE SITES OF FORMER OR OR HOME SITES WHERE HOMES HAVE BEEN DEMOED IN THE PAST? SO THE VACANT LOTS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED ARE PREDOMINANTLY OWNED BY EITHER THE CITY OF DALLAS DART, DALLAS COUNTY, UM, IN TERMS OF CITY OF DALLAS, LOTS THAT ARE VACANT, THEY MAY BE PURELY JUST OWNED BY THE CITY OF DALLAS AND SLATED FOR SOMETHING ELSE.
UM, THERE ARE, THERE CAN BE LOTS THAT ARE VACANT DUE TO LIKE FORECLOSURE PROPERTIES AND WE HAVE A FORECLOSURE OFFICE THAT MANAGES THAT.
SO IF IT IS A PROPERTY THAT'S BEEN FORECLOSED, IT'S NOT LIKELY THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED IT ON THE MAP BECAUSE IT IS GOING THROUGH A SEPARATE PROCESS UNTIL IT'S OFFICIALLY ADJUDICATED.
UM, AT WHICH POINT WE MAY POTENTIALLY, AS THE CITY OF DALLAS, HAVE OWNERSHIP OF THAT LOT, UM, AT A HANDFUL OF YEARS DOWN THE ROAD PAST THE ADJUDICATION PROCESS.
UH, LET ME, LET ME REPHRASE MY QUESTION.
MY QUESTION IS BASICALLY OF MANY OF THE SITES THAT WE HAVE, THESE ARE TYPICALLY RESIDENTIAL SINGLE FAMILY LOTS THAT MAY OR MAY HAVE NOT HAVE HAD A HOME ON THEM IN THE PAST.
IN TERMS OF THE VACANT LOTS, WE DO NOT KNOW AT THIS TIME.
IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK INTO.
WELL, THE REASON I'M, THE REASON I'M BRINGING THIS UP IS THAT IF A HOME EXISTED ON THAT SITE AND THERE IS ALREADY A WATER TAP WITH A METAL CAN BOX FOR A METER, IT'S VERY SIMPLE TO REQUEST A METER FOR THAT SITE BECAUSE IF IT ALREADY IS, HAS A WATER TAP, UH, IT IS NOT, YOU DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO DO A COMPLETE WATER TAP, WHICH IS AROUND 3000 PLUS DOLLARS TO, TO HOOK UP A METER IF IT HAD A CAN ON SITE AND WASN'T DEMOED WHEN THE HOME WAS DEMOED.
AND THERE'S STILL A WATER METER.
'CAUSE I'M, I, I'M A BUILDER AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE LOOKING TO SAVE DOLLARS.
AND IF THERE'S A METER ON THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY ON THE SITE, THEN YOU CAN USE THAT, THAT TAP AND ONLY PAY LIKE A COUPLE HUNDRED BUCKS TO GO AHEAD AND SET A METER.
RIGHT? SO THAT'S, THAT'S JUST, UH, A PIECE OF INFORMATION INSTEAD OF GOING THROUGH THE MAZE OF DALLAS WATER UTILITIES.
THAT'S SOMETHING YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND USE AND MAYBE HELP SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE DOING THESE GARDENS TO IMPLEMENT AND GET WATER HOOKED UP.
[01:20:01]
ACCURATE, MR. HOFFMAN.AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT CONCEPT.
HOWEVER, A NUMBER OF THE GARDENS THAT ARE LACKING ACCESS TO WATER ARE PREEXISTING.
UM, AND IN TERMS OF NEW FOLKS LOOKING FOR ACCESS TO LAND, UM, IT'S ALSO NOT SO MUCH IS THIS ONE THAT USED TO HAVE A HOUSE ON IT AS MUCH AS IT IS, HOW DO THEY BEGIN TO GET ONTO THAT PROPERTY? AND WITHIN THE CITY OF DALLAS REAL ESTATE OFFICE, THEY CHARGE FAIR MARKET VALUE FOR, UM, OUR CITY OWNED LAND.
AND OFTEN IF YOU ARE A NONPROFIT GROWER, YOU CANNOT AFFORD THOSE RATES.
SO PART OF OUR ACTION ITEMS ARE TO ESTABLISH PUBLIC GOOD.
UM, AND AS MENTIONED, LIKE WE'RE BASING SOME OF THAT LANGUAGE AROUND THE CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY GARDEN PROGRAM AND THE LAND USE AGREEMENTS WE'VE RECEIVED FROM THEM.
AND THEN ALSO I'D LIKE TO JUST ADD THAT THE, UH, THE COST OF THE WATER METERS HAS INCREASED AND IT'S GONE UP TO A MINIMUM OF $6,300 UP TO $8,500 FROM THAT 3000 WITH YOUR REFERENCING.
BUT YES, THANK YOU FOR YOUR INQUIRY COMMISSIONER DAY.
UNDER CHALLENGES YOU'D MENTIONED FACILITATING PUBLIC REQUESTS, AND I JUST WANTED TO, CAN YOU KIND OF CATEGORIZE THOSE A LITTLE BIT AND DO THEY THEN FEED INTO LIKE THE BUDGET WHERE IF YOU HAD MORE STAFF YOU'D BE ABLE TO HANDLE THESE? OR I GUESS MOSTLY I'M, I'M CURIOUS IS, IS THIS JUST LIKE A LOT OF INTEREST IN THE PROGRAMS, BUT YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO SORT OF, YOU KNOW, FACILITATE, UM, YOU KNOW, GETTING PEOPLE PLUGGED IN BECAUSE YOU'RE LACKING RESOURCES? SO YES, ALL OF THE ABOVE FROM THE FACILITATOR REQUESTS, I MEAN, THEY, THEY RUN THE GAMUT WITH US BEING THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS ON THIS, ON, ON URBAN AGRICULTURE, A LOT OF IT, OR I WOULD SAY, UH, SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF IT IS EXISTING GROWERS AND EXISTING STAKEHOLDERS NEEDING, UH, US TO BE PRESENT AT EVENTS, US TO, UH, HELP WITH THEIR ENGAGEMENT ON, ON THEIR END.
UM, AND THOSE REQUESTS COME IN SOMETIMES NIGHTS, SOMETIMES WEEKENDS.
AND FROM A FACILITATING PUBLIC REQUEST STANDPOINT FOR THAT ONE IN PARTICULARLY, UM, EVERY TIME WE'RE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY ENGAGING WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS, THAT DOES TAKE US AWAY FROM IMPLEMENTING ANOTHER ASPECT, UH, OF THE COUP.
SO THAT'S THE, THE DELICATE BALANCE THERE WHERE IT IS PART OF THE, PART OF THE ROLE OF THIS TEAM, AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, THE, THE MIGHTY SIDES OF US.
BUT, UH, THAT'S WHERE IT GETS COMPLICATED IN, IN THE PROGRESSION OF, OF, OF THIS PLANT ITSELF.
AND THEN ALSO FROM A, FROM A SECONDARY STANDPOINT, UH, WHEN IT COMES WITH ENGAGEMENT WITH SOME OF THE NEW GROWERS, UM, WE ARE WORKING WITH, UH, OTHER, I'D SAY EXISTING STAKEHOLDERS, NONPROFITS THAT, THAT THEY'VE MENTIONED TO HELP PEOPLE GET STARTED, UH, AND HELP SOME OF THESE, UH, REVITALIZE SOME OF THESE OLDER NON-EXISTING COMMUNITY GARDENS, UH, BRING LIFE BACK INTO THEM.
AND THAT TAKES A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME AND RESOURCES AS WELL.
SO THE EFFORT OF BRINGING ONE COMMUNITY GARDEN ONLINE COULD BE GOOD FOR THAT COMMUNITY, BUT MAY TAKE AWAY FROM THE EXPANSIVENESS OF THIS TEAM TO IMPLEMENT ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY.
DO Y'ALL HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD ON THERE? I WOULD JUST ADD THAT DUE TO UNCLEAR PROCESSES OF ACCI ACCESSING ITEMS LIKE VACANT LAND OR CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY PERMIT, UM, WE OFTENTIMES END, END UP ACTING AS A LIAISONS ON THAT TOPIC.
HAVE YOU, UM, ARE ALL THESE PROPERTIES THAT YOU ARE ACQUIRING FOR THE GARDENS, ARE THEY ZONED, UH, APPROPRIATELY BECAUSE A LOT OF THEM SOUTH HAVE DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL SWITCH IT UP ON YOU AND YOU LOOK UP AND YOU'RE TRYING TO DO A GARDEN, AND THEN THERE'S ANOTHER ZONING IN PLACE.
SO CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW WE HAVE JUST IDENTIFIED THE VACANT PROPERTIES, BUT IDEALLY NEXT STEPS THAT WE ARE GEARING TOWARDS IS CURATING ESSENTIALLY A HOW TO NAVIGATE URBAN AGRICULTURE WITHIN THE CITY OF DALLAS AND SHOWING FOLKS OF LIKE WHAT RESOURCES CITY OF DALLAS CURRENTLY HAS LIKE A CURRENT ZONING, MAPPING GIS WEB MAP TO HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF CONCEPTUALLY, LIKE IF WE IDENTIFY, IF YOU, IF A IF A RESIDENT IDENTIFIED A PARCEL OF LAND OR THEY HAVE AN AGREEMENT WITH SOMEBODY THEY WANT TO DO, UM, AN URBAN AGRICULTURE SITE IN THAT AREA, WE WOULD WANT TO PRESENT THEM AS WELL.
LIKE JUST AN OVERVIEW OF HOW DO YOU GO THROUGH ZONING, HOW DO YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT TYPE OF ZONING ARE YOU IN, IF IT'S LIKE PD, UM, CONSERVATION DISTRICT, ALL THE ABOVE, BECAUSE THAT CAN BE VERY SOMEBODY FROM THE OUTSIDE.
SO WE ARE JUST TRYING TO ESSENTIALLY CLARIFY THAT FOR THE PUBLIC.
UM, AND WE EVEN ESSENTIALLY DOING THE FIRST YEAR SET TO GET ESSENTIALLY A PRESENTATION OF A FLOWCHART, MAY, MAY SAY, AND GET THAT THROUGH COMMS.
[01:25:01]
SO WE CAN HAVE THAT UP WITHIN AS A PUBLIC RESOURCE, LIKE AND ON OUR URBAN AG WEBSITE.UM, PART OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS WITHIN APPENDIX B ARE TO, UM, INCREASE THE AGRICULTURE ACCEPTANCE ON VARIOUS, UH, ZONING.
SO WILLS, THAT IS ONE OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS IN LIEU OF HOUSE BILL 1750.
THE MUNICIPALITY IS NOT ABLE TO REGULATE AGRICULTURE IN ANY ZONING DISTRICT.
MR. HOFFMAN, DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION? IS YOUR HAND STILL UP? YES.
I JUST WANTED TO BRING UP ONE OTHER OPTION.
UH, DO AS SOME OF THESE SITES ARE DEVELOPED OUT AND ARE THERE ANY FOR, FOR INSTANCE, STRUCTURES THAT ARE BUILT LIKE EITHER SHADE CANOPIES OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, THAT ARE ON THE SITES? UH, THAT, AND MY QUESTION LE LEADS TO THE FACT THAT IS THERE ANY OPPORTUNITIES TO CAPTURE RAINWATER AND SET UP RAIN STORE RAINWATER, UH, STORAGE TANKS INSTEAD? IF, IF THE CITY OF, OF THE DALLAS WATER UTILITIES DOESN'T WANT TO GAIN COOPERATION, UH, UH, WE'LL JUST BYPASS THE MIDDLEMAN AND CAPTURED FROM THE SKY.
WE DO HAVE SOME GARDENS THAT WE'VE PARTNERED WITH TO HELP WRITE GRANTS AND ARE CURRENTLY A PART OF TEXAS A AND M RAIN RAINWATER CAPTURE GARDEN, UM, RESEARCH STUDIES.
AND WE'VE HELPED CONSULT ON DIFFERENT MECHANISMS OF RAINWATER CAPTURE.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING WE CONSIDER.
I WILL ALSO NOTE THAT IN ORDER, UM, FOR THE CURRENT CODE AND PERMITTING PROCESS, A STRUCTURE THAT IS OVER ROUGHLY 200 SQUARE FEET OR 10% OF THE LOT SIZE REQUIRES A BUILDING PERMIT.
UM, REBECCA, JUST IF Y'ALL NEED IT, WE HAVE A DESIGN FROM A PROJECT A FEW YEARS AGO THAT NEVER CAME TO, UH, FRUITION, UM, FOR RAINWATER CAPTURE AND, UM, UH, PUMPING SYSTEM, UH, POWERED BY SOLAR.
SO JUST IF THAT'S EVER HELPFUL, UM, REACH OUT TO ME.
UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HIGHLIGHTING, UM, AND CORRELATING YOUR WORK WITH THE COOP TO THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.
THAT IS INCREDIBLY HELPFUL FOR US TO SEE DIRECTLY HOW IT RELATES TO ADVANCING THE CLIMATE WORK THAT THE CITY IS DOING.
UM, AND THEN I WANTED TO JUST OFFER UP THE, THE VOLUNTEER CAPACITY OF THIS COMMISSION IS NOT QUITE THE EQUIVALENT TO A PAID AND DEDICATED EMPLOYEE.
HOWEVER, UM, WE CAN BE HELPFUL IN DOING COMMUNITY OUTREACH IF YOU NOTIFY THE DISTRICT THAT THE EVENT IS HAPPENING IN THAT COMMISSIONER.
AND THEN ALSO OUR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SUBCOMMITTEE, WHICH IS FOCUSED ON FOOD ACCESS, UM, MORE THAN WILLING TO AT LEAST HELP SPREAD THE WORD, IF NOT SHOW UP AND, AND GIVE SOME SUPPORT TO THAT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION.
STR MIGHT HAVE HAD ONE MORE QUESTION.
WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON FROM THIS TOPIC, SO IF YOU WANT TO EMAIL THAT OVER THIS JUST MAY TOPIC, BUT AS THIS PLAN IS FLUSHED, IS FLUSHED OUT, SOME OF THE, THE BARRIERS IS STAFFING AND THEN WHAT WILL ACTUALLY BE NEEDED TO IMPLEMENT ALL OF THESE PIECES TO DEVELOP A, A COMPREHENSIVE URBAN AGRICULTURE SYSTEM, WHICH Y'ALL HAVE MAPPED OUT VERY WELL.
I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF YOU'VE PUT A COST TO WHAT THAT WOULD BE AND HOW WE WOULD BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THAT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT QUESTION.
WE'RE GONNA ACTUALLY MOVE ON FROM THIS TOPIC AND SEE IF WE CAN ADVANCE A LITTLE IN THE AGENDA.
UH, BUT IF YOU'LL EMAIL THAT QUESTION OVER TO, UH, REBECCA AND YOUR RZA, I'M SURE THAT THEY WILL BE WILLING TO, UH, GIVE YOU A RESPONSE PROMPTLY.
THANK YOU, UH, FOR BEING WITH US THIS EVENING AND PROVIDING US THIS UPDATE.
ALRIGHT, LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR BRIEFING MEMORANDUM.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS MEMORANDUM? I KNOW THAT DURING OUR LAST QUARTERLY UPDATE, UH, WE HAD EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN HAVING A FULL BRIEFING.
I KNOW THAT, UM, DIRECTOR EVANS IS
[01:30:01]
AWAY RIGHT NOW.UH, THE END OF YEAR BRIEFING WILL BE A FULL AND COMPREHENSIVE PRESENTATION AS IT AS IT ALWAYS IS.
IS THAT CORRECT? THANK YOU SO MUCH.
UM, ON THE BRIEFING MEMO, LET'S GO RIGHT INTO OUR VOTING AGENDA.
VOTING ITEM A IS A VOTE TO REFER A REVIEW OF THE CITY'S SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT POLICY FORMATION OF A SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT WORKING GROUP IN THE BENCHMARKS OF OTHER CITY SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT POLICIES TO THE IMPLEMENTATION SUBCOMMITTEE.
VOTING ITEM B IS A VOTE TO RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY IMPLEMENT A METRIC SYSTEM FOR QUANTIFYING THE REMOVAL OF TREES BY DEVELOPMENT, WHETHER ON PUBLIC OR PRIVATE PROPERTY, AND REQUIRING THE DEVELOPERS REPORT THE QUANTITY SPECIES AND CALIPER OF ANY TREES REMOVED DURING THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT.
AND THAT STAFF ONE, PROVIDE QUARTERLY REPORT OF CANOPY LOST TO DEVELOPMENT TO THE CITY COUNCIL, AND TWO, UTILIZE THE DATA TO ADVANCE THE CITY'S EFFORTS TO PRESERVE ITS TREE CANOPY.
ANY DISCUSSION AND PAY A FINE
SO THIS WAS A DISCUSSION ITEM THAT, OR A VOTING ITEM THAT CAME FROM OUR PRESENTATION LAST MONTH.
IF YOU ALL RECALL THAT DEVELOPERS ARE REPORTING THIS DATA TO THE CITY, AT LEAST IN THE NUMBER OR QUANTITY OF TREES BEING REMOVED, BUT THE, THE CITY, UM, ACCORDING TO STAFF IS NOT TRACKING, UM, THIS DATA.
AND SO I THINK IT WOULD BE, UH, VERY HELPFUL IN ADDITION TO THE OTHER DATA THAT, UM, WE'VE PUT INTO THE, THE VOTE, UM, TO BE ABLE TO CAPTURE THAT AND THEN UTILIZE IT IN A WAY THAT ADVANCES OUR PRESERVATION OF THE CITY'S TREE CANOPY.
MM-HMM,
I DON'T KNOW HOW TO REALLY ADDRESS IT.
UH, I JUST KNOW THAT OUR, OUR MEMBERSHIP AT THE ASSOCIATION'S VERY AWARE OF IT.
AND WE, UH, I HAVE PAID INTO THE TREE FUND IN A, AN INSTANCE WHERE WE JUST COULD NOT MAKE THE SITE WORK WITHOUT, UH, THE, A TREE.
ACTUALLY, I DESIGNED IT WITH SAVING THE TREE, BUT MY HOMEOWNER WANTED THE TREE GONE.
SO IT'S USUALLY NOT IN, IN MANY CASES, IT'S NOT THE BUILDER MAKING THE CHOICE
SO, UM, I I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ADDRESS THAT.
THAT'S GONNA HAVE TO BE DEALT WITH WITH, UH, PHIL IRWIN AT THE, AT THE, UH, ARBOR OFFICE CHAIR WALLACE.
THE, UM, THE THING IS, UH, WITH THIS, UM, SORRY, CATHERINE, UH, I'M SORRY CHAIR ON MY, UH, WORDS TONIGHT.
BUT MY POINT IS, IS THAT THE DATA IS THERE.
THE DATA CAN DRIVE SOME FUTURE, UM, SOMETHING WITH TEETH, SOMETHING WITH A FINE, BUT FIRST THE DATA HAS TO BE GATHERED AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, IT SOUNDS LIKE CAN, IT COULD BE HAPPENING.
AND I THINK WITH THE, UM, E EVEN THE VERY FIRST SLIDE OF, UH, LAST YEAR'S PRESENTATION TO THIS YEAR'S BEING OFF BY 5%, UH, IT'S JUST, IT'S NOT BEING TRACKED.
WELL, THIS, UH, THIS, WE HAVE SEEN SUCH BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLES TONIGHT, THE EJ TOOL.
I GOT TO GO SEE THE PRESENTATION FOR THAT AT SINGING HILLS REC CENTER, THE, UM, THE WORK THAT COOP IS DOING.
[01:35:01]
SO WE KNOW IT CAN BE DONE WELL.WE SEE OTHER CITY STAFF DOING IT WELL, AND WE'RE JUST SAYING THIS INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE GATHERED.
UH, UH, IT, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S AVAILABLE, SO LET'S SEE.
IT, IT IS AVAILABLE ON GOOGLE EARTH.
LACHMAN, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? WELL, UH, MORE OF A COMMENT, SORT OF A FOLLOW UP ON THE DIALOGUE THAT, UH, MR. HOFF, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WERE, MR. HOFFMAN WAS TALKING.
UM, I, IT'S NOT JUST BUILDERS.
WE NEED TO LOOK AT, UM, I ADDED SOLAR TO MY HOUSE AND, UM, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO CAME OUT, I HAVE A GREAT TREE COVER AT MY HOUSE AND, UH, WHO WANTED TO CUT DOWN MY TREES IN ORDER TO ADD SOLAR.
THE, UH, COMPANY THAT I ULTIMATELY PICKED, THE GUY I LOOKED AT, THE SALESPERSON WHO CAME OUT, LOOKED FIRST OF ALL ON GOOGLE MAPS, SAW THE AERIAL PICTURES AND SHOWED UP WITH HIS TREE GUY WHO TOLD ME HOW HE WAS GOING TO PRESERVE MY TREES AND AT THE SAME TIME GAVE ME ACCESS.
WE NEED MORE OF THAT TYPE OF BEHAVIOR, UH, IN ORDER TO PRESERVE OUR, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME OF OUR, OUR TREE CANOPY IN OUR, OUR RESIDENTIAL AREAS.
IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, WE'LL TAKE A VOTE.
ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT, VOTE PASSES.
LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS. UH, WE'RE JUST GONNA DO OUR SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATES THIS EVENING.
SO WE WILL START WITH ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH.
UH, THE ONLY, UH, I WASN'T GONNA SAY I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING, BUT WE DO, WE, WE HAVE NOT MET FOR AUGUST.
WE'RE GONNA MEET IN SEPTEMBER AND I NEED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT OUR MEETING.
UH, BUT I DID HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO SAND BRANCH AND TRY TO, AND I'VE TRIED TO SET UP, UH, DONORS FOR WATER SO THAT THEY WILL HAVE SOMEBODY ONGOING.
AND I DIDN'T REALIZE HOW MANY, UH, SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT I CONTACTED, I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THAT INVITATION FOR 25 VOLUNTEERS AND EVERYTHING, THEY THOUGHT IT WAS JUST FOR THAT DAY.
THEY DON'T, THEY DIDN'T REALIZE THAT EVERY SATURDAY SOMEBODY GOES TO SAND BRANCH TAKING WATER, SO NOW THEY'RE INTERESTED.
THEY THOUGHT IT WAS A ONE-TIME THING.
SO, SO FAR THAT'S ALL I'VE DONE IS TRYING TO WORK WITH, I WAS ASKED BY COUNCILMAN ATKINS TO HELP OUT WITH SAND BRANCH.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, WHAT IS IT? YES, WE MET ON JULY 29TH, UM, DISCUSSING OUR FOOD ACCESS RESOURCE FAIR, WHICH WILL BE HELD SEPTEMBER 21ST.
CONSIDER THIS YOUR INVITATION, YOUR 10:00 AM 1:00 PM WEST DALLAS MULTIPURPOSE CENTER.
WE'LL BE HIGHLIGHTING, UM, FOOD PANTRIES AND PLACES, LOCATIONS, AND DATES AND TIMES THAT, UH, FOOD INSECURE NEIGHBORS CAN RECEIVE FREE FOOD.
WE WILL ALSO BE HIGHLIGHTING IN FOLKS WHO MAY NOT BE EXPERIENCING FOOD INSECURITY, BUT WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN GROWING MORE NUTRIENT RICH AND DENSE FOODS IN THEIR OWN HOMES.
WE WILL BE SHOWCASING URBAN AG RESTORATIVE FARMS, A FEW OTHER NONPROFITS AND COMMUNITY GARDENS, BALCONY BOX ONE OF THEM.
UM, SO KIND OF A TWOFOLD EVENT.
PLEASE COME TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS FLYER TO BE SENT OUT PROBABLY WITHIN THE END OF THE WEEK.
RADIO ON COMMS. THANKS SO MUCH TO OUR PARTNER AT, UH, WEST DALLAS MULTIPURPOSE CENTER, ASHLEY HURO, AND OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE IN TWO MONDAYS FROM NOW.
IMPLEMENTATION, WE HAVE NOT MET THIS MONTH.
UM, WE, UH, WILL CONTINUE ONWARD, UH, IN SEPTEMBER TACKLING THE SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT POLICY, THOUGH.
OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT HAS NO UPDATE.
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND INNOVATION.
IS NATALIE STILL HERE? UH, HAPPY TO SHARE THAT.
UH, THE WORK THAT WE DID IN MAY, 2023 FOR THE 2024 BOND PERFORMANCE CRITERIA, UH, IS BEING, UH, FORMALLY PROPOSED AS A RESOLUTION.
[01:40:01]
UH, SO THE CITY COUNCIL BRIEFING IS, UH, NEXT WEEK, 8 21 AND THE VOTE IS SCHEDULED FOR 8 28.NATALIE, HAVE YOU SHARED THAT DRAFT WITH THE COMMISSION YET? OKAY.
SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THE COMMISSION MEMBERS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THAT IN ADVANCE.
AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME TO THE BRIEFING, UM, LET THE TEAM KNOW AND THEY WILL MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE INVITE.
UH, OUR NEXT DISCUSSION ITEM IS ITEM B.
IT'S OUR UPCOMING MEETINGS, THE PARKS, TRAILS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL COMMITTEE WILL MEET TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3RD AT 9:00 AM THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION'S.
NEXT REGULAR MEETING IS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH AT 5:30 PM THERE IS NO, NO OTHER BUSINESS TO CONSIDER.
I WILL TAKE A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEARING WITH US.
THERE ARE THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES THIS EVENING.