City Council Meeting

Melissa Shinaberryclerkby voiceone work session item for tonight is discussion on sustainability matrix and green building policy I'll recognize Stephanie Kuka our sustainability program manager for the staff presentation

Stephanie Kukastafftime as shown in this pie chart. Some of the example day-to-day tasks include ongoing administration of existing programs, public outreach, education and event management, interdepartmental and regional meetings and collaboration, data management reporting and metrics, customer service calls and visits, and citywide policy and planning support. So after the ongoing day-to-day tasks are completed, there are limited amount of time left for special projects. So for my position, I have approximately 13 hours a week available. The environmental sustainability specialist will have approximately 10 hours a week and the energy programs manager will have approximately 15 hours a week, assuming the majority of their time will be used for implementing the green building policy.

Over several meetings, senior leadership reached a consensus on a final priority ranking and implementation schedule as shown in this slide. So we base this on the total prioritization matrix score, staff capacity, so how much time would staff need to spend on each of these projects, budgetary considerations, and also what are the city's needs and priorities. So after that consensus, the highest priority projects identified that our division would work on for fiscal year 27 include the EECBG grant, EV charging station installations that are mainly funded through the CFI grant, LED streetlight conversion project for the Dominion-owned and operated electric streetlights, implementation of the green building policy, the gas-to-LED streetlight conversion project,

data management setup, and the residential and commercial waste and recycling assessments, solid waste ordinance update, and the solid waste funding study. And then the priorities for fiscal year 28 and beyond include the sustainability strategic plan, climate action plan, solid waste management, five-year update, green building policy incentive research, solar feasibility assessment, electric vehicle readiness plan, EV charging station installations and solar energy installations. So please note that this schedule is subject to change and staff will do the best to implement these projects efficiently and effectively. The environmental and sustainability field is continually growing and advancing and we do

have, and what our existing commitments are. And then we'd analyze the opportunity cost of implementing the initiative, and then determine any prioritization adjustments. So if a new initiative And it is ranked high using our priority framework that we would evaluate if we do this project right away, what other projects would need to be deferred so that way we have staff capacity to complete that. That way staff is always working on the highest priority projects that have the biggest impact for our community. One of the other projects I'd like to go over in more detail with you is the green building policy. And what I'd like to review with you is the Green Building Policy implementation process,

which is shown on this slide. So as you know, the Green Building Policy is scheduled for adoption, for consideration for adoption on June 23rd. The Green Building Policy will include proposed standards for both the public sector and the private sector. When the policy, if the policy is adopted in June, we can immediately enact the public sector standards. However, some additional work will be needed to prepare for the launch of the private sector standards. So those will be enacted later on. By the fall of approximately September 2026, we hope to have the energy programs manager hired and onboarded. During fiscal year 27, staff will work on the pre-launch planning, preparation, and coordination

for the private sector green building standards. And then in July 2027, the private sector green building standards will be enacted and launched. And then annually, the staff will prepare an annual report on the green building policy implementation. So the council has regular updates for how green building policy implementation is going and if we're meeting our set goals. And then in fiscal year 31, we would conduct research to analyze green building incentive options. The proposed green building policy does not have incentives built into them, so we're proposing to analyze those after we've had time to get the, I guess, first phase of the green building policy enacted so we can learn some lessons

and also learn what would be the most impactful incentive give us the biggest environmental and economic and social benefits. And then in fiscal year 32, staff will present a five-year update of the policy, and that would include an incentive program if that is directed by the city council. And at least every five years, we would review and provide any updates to the green building policy so that way we remain up to date with best practices. So, in closing, we are seeking the Council's endorsement and acknowledgement of the prioritization framework which was covered on slide 6, the implementation schedule which was shown on slide 7, the intake process for new requests on slide 8, and the green building policy implementation

Yeah, so the first two are associated with a grant. So they had very high scores because they were grant related and had multiple community benefits for environmental impacts helping reduce costs for residents helping vulnerable communities etc so those two are going to be very impactful projects the streetlight projects save money for the city plus increase energy efficiency while improving public safety because it'll improve lighting, reducing glare, and also lighting pollution. So those are going to have a big impact citywide. Also the green building policy will be transformational for how future development will be conducted here in the city of Fairfax. So there's big environmental benefits plus economic benefits with that. Utility data management system will allow us to

Anthony Amosi'll be quick and won't beat a dead horse uh great work this this is looking really good i i will say on slide nine a little disheartened to options pushed out that far I know that was kind of one of the things I raised originally with the green building policy was I don't really see why you would do that without the incentives already built in to some degree and I do feel like it'll be a missed opportunity especially the current climate and how difficult it is pro forma wise to get a lot of these developments moving forward and that's not just residential but I'm talking commercial retail

Stephanie KukastaffWell, with the green building policy, I guess to address that one, we will be creating that annual report. So we can make part of the annual report evaluating incentives. Maybe we can make that a piece of it where we gather feedback from developers so that way we can collect data as we go. So that's something we can look into so that we're gathering input from the development community in that aspect. So that is an opportunity. So, yes, I guess there definitely can be pre-work. And we will be, you know, the green building policy is a living document. So that's something that we will be constantly looking at improving. But in the proposed schedule for updating every five years, how it's written in there, is at a minimum five years that it will be updated.

Daniel Alexanderstaffby voiceCouncil. Future meeting topics. We covered this in pretty significant detail in our last meeting. Earlier today, you should have received your initial information on the 23rd meeting, and so there was some detail associated with that that you would have received. just as a review we had the green building policy today and then you'll see that adoption in public hearing on the next agenda on consent we have purchasing resolution and changes that need to be made there and then a resolution authorizing the city manager to sign the standard project agreement with nbta for the blendem project so those items are coming to you also have again amendments made to chapter 86 based on code changes at the state level

Rachel McQuillenYes, I wanted to thank everyone, all of staff who presented this evening. Thank you for all of the time and attention you've put into all of the green building policy, everything. I also want to say a special thank you to our Fairfax City Fire Department for their CPR work with our Catherine Johnson Middle School students. One of those students was my child, and he came home right away and told me all about what he learned and how if I was choking, he's got it. We're good. We're not choking. I'm sorry. If I was in an emergency, he's got it, and I'm good. but over 14 1 450 students is is pretty incredible and so I just wanted to give a big shout out because they do it every year I also want to wish all of our middle school and elementary school