Meeting Minutes
November 3, 2005
Attendees: Faith Klareich (FK), Doub Beard (DB), Alicia Hosmer (AH), Geoff Sanders (GS) and Nate Wall (NW)
Absent: Kris Dighe, Jerry Leighton, Tolulope Odunlami and Jaskaran Singh
Also Present: Burt Hall (BH), Director of Recreation & Parks; citizens interested in participating on a Commission Working Group: Liz Kennedy, M. Sheila Marshall, Hermina Lisa Paczynski and Sura Yakowitz.
1. Welcome, News and Agenda Review
The meeting was called to order at 7:38 pm in the Mayor & Council's Chambers at Rockville City Hall.
2. Beaver and Coyote Policy in Rockville
Burt Hall, Director of Recreation and Parks, was in attendance and explained first the issue with the beavers. BH said that there has probably been approximately four beaver within Rockville continuously for at least the past 20 years. These beaver are currently living within the Watts Branch Forest Preserve, north of Nelson Street. They have cleared approximately 0.5 acre of trees within the forest preserve, building dams and causing flooding of the stream valley. No homes or trees on private property are currently threatened by the flooding or the beaver. BH would like the Commission to review and comment on Rockville’s official Beaver Control Policy, adopted February 23, 1995. FK agreed to this, and mentioned an initial comment would be a “trigger” for additional management of beaver if infringement upon private property began to occur.
BH then provided background on coyotes in Rockville, including the recent trapping of coyotes performed on behalf of the Fallsgrove Associates / Fallsgrove HOAs. These trappings were allowed because the land has not yet been handed over to the City as parkland, and is thus still under Fallsgrove Associates control.
Coyotes have likely been in this portion of Maryland for decades. They were first noticed when the initial grading work began on the unfarmed portion of Thomas Farm. Coyotes develop strong geographic ties, and rarely leave their “home” area, thus when a housing development supplanted their initial habitat, they stayed. BH mentioned that Rockville would like to implement a similar co-existence policy with coyotes as with the beavers, stating that there has been no known coyote attacks upon humans. However, BH stressed that care should be taken with children and small pets.
FK commented that there will be the need for a strong educational campaign on the part of the City to effect behavioral changes in the residents to safely allow for coexistence between humans and coyotes. Also, the City should monitor the coyote population, and parameters should be set ahead of time to determine if/when City intervention on the population size was required.
BH acknowledged that the education component was definitely important, since even with trapping, “we’re not going to get them all”, and coyotes are here to stay in Rockville. Plus, safety issues for living with coyotes are very similar to living with foxes, which have been in Rockville for years.
FK mentioned that there is a very different resident reaction to a lone fox versus a pack of german shepherd-sized coyotes – much more intimidating. DB agreed, but mentioned that the pack of dogs were definitely the more dangerous of the two.
FK also stated that the ripple-effect from new wildlife interaction needed to be considered: for example, many HOAs have restrictions on fence height, which may be one of the best ways of deterring coyotes from private property. Concerning new wildlife interaction, BH mentioned that as Montgomery County continues to develop, more and more wildlife from newly disturbed areas will be found wandering through suburban areas: Rockville had a bear a few years ago, and BH had heard reports of a puma being sighted in Rock Creek. Need to keep tabs on these wildlife interactions, and provide education to the public.
FK said that the Commission will review the draft coyote policy and make comments, and suggested that the education campaign get started through various media outlets, including a booth at Hometown Holidays, etc. to get the word out.
3. Working Group Kick-Off
Residents previously expressing interest in assisting with the work groups were invited to this meeting; 4 residents were in attendance. FK introduced the concept of the workgroups, and why the Commission was seeking resident volunteers to participate. Each workgroup lead then described the goals of each workgroup:
Watersheds and Stormwater Management: DB
1. Familiarize with Rockville watershed planning
2. Impervious surfaces / management
3. SWM and stream restoration policies
High-Performance Buildings & Energy Efficiency: GS
1. Energy performance and Green Building
2. Integrate environmental standards into zoning update
Community Outreach: AH
1. Pull together work of other groups and get the word out: outreach. Use Rockville Reports, The Rockville Channel, and the web. Also get concerns from residents – how can the Commission help them address those concerns?
2. Events: Environmental Summit (with emphasis on SWM); also, presence at Hometown Holidays, Earth Day, Science Day, etc.
3. Liaison component: Tap into other commissions that share environmental issues such as the Traffic & transportation Commission, the Parks Advisory Board, the Planning Commission, etc.
4. Coordinate with other groups: County, State, NGOs/Non-profits, etc.
5. Annual Reporting: Identify appropriate sustainability / environmental metrics to rank Rockville and report to City Manager
FK mentioned that resident participants in these groups would definitely not be observers – it will vary by group, but the purpose of the work groups is to get volunteers directly involved with these projects.
4. Staff Update / Other Issues
NW announced that Carl Henn had officially resigned from the Commission; thus, there is now another vacancy. Previous applicants will be approached to see if they are still interested; this will likely occur after the holidays, and after the workgroups have gotten started.
5. Zoning Ordinance Environmental Issues
NW mentioned that the Environmental Performance Standards issue paper would be the perfect time for the Commission to get involved with the zoning ordinance process. NW outlined timeline, and requested feedback by the end of November. The Commission will likely hold a conference call in late November to discuss comments to send to NW.
6. Memo to Assist Mayor & Council with Liaison Selection
All Commissioners present agree to forward memo as written to Mayor & Council to assist in the appointment of a new Council Liaison now that John Hall has stepped down from the Council.
7. Review and Approval of October 11, 2005 Meeting Minutes
Review and approval of October 11, 2005 meeting minutes tabled until December meeting.
8. Wrap-Up and Adjourn
Meeting adjourned at 9:24 pm.
