Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission — Skokie, IL
Date: 2022-09-22

Village of Skokie
 Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission
 AGENDA

 Thursday September 22, 2022
 Village Hall – Council Chambers 7:00 p.m.
 Live streamed at www.youtube.com/user/thevillageofskokie

 Click here to submit comments about the draft sustainability plan
 Other public comments may be emailed to sustainability@skokie.org


  I. Opening statements from Chairperson Jenny Grossman

 II. Timeline for Final Plan – Director of Public Works, Max Slankard

III. Zoom presentation of Draft Environmental Sustainability Plan – Ted Redmond,
 co-founder of paleBLUEdot

IV. Public comment (3- minute limit)

 V. Other business

VI. Next meeting

VII. Adjournment

Memorandum
TO: Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commissioners

FROM: _______________________________________________________________________
 Andrew D. DeCanniere, Commissioner, Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission

DATE: October 12, 2022

SUBJECT: September 22, 2022 Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission (SEAC)
 Meeting Minutes

Meeting was called to order at 7:02 PM in the Council Chambers at Skokie Village Hall. This
meeting was also streamed live on YouTube. A recording of this meeting may be viewed by
going to the following web address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=268T3PVCfxA

Present: Chairperson Jennifer Grossman, Commissioners Christopher Buccola, Andrew
DeCanniere, Lisa Gotkin, Rick Moskovitz, Emily Okallau, Charles Saxe, Trustee Liaison Ralph
Klein, Director of Public Works / Staff Liaison Max Slankard, Assistant to the Director of Public
Works / Staff Liaison Elizabeth Zimmerman

Absent: Commissioners Michael Gershbein, Alma Likic, Olivia Mahoney, Jim McNelis, Robert
Render

Also Present: Ted Redmond, Co-Founder, paleBLUEdot LLC

I. Opening Statements from Chairperson Jenny Grossman

Chairperson Grossman welcomed everyone to the meeting, and thanked everybody for the
interest that they are demonstrating by showing up, either in-person or virtually, or by taking the
time to view the recording. She also went on to thank the members of the Environmental
Sustainability Plan (ESP) Team for all of the hours of work that they put in over the summer in
order to get us to where we are today, as well as all of those within the community whose interest
and commitment to real sustainability will keep this work moving forward. She went on to say
that community buy-in and community pressure, as needed, is crucial to ensuring that this
Environmental Sustainability Plan is implemented, and that the goals set forth in the plan
become a reality. As the plan itself says, implementation is for everyone. She concluded her
opening remarks by once again thanking everyone for coming to the meeting, and said that she
looks forward to hearing what they may have to say tonight and as the process of developing this
next Environmental Sustainability Plan wraps up.

II. Timeline for Final Plan — Director of Public Works / Staff Liaison, Max Slankard

Staff Liaison Slankard introduced himself and stated that, to echo Chairperson Grossman’s
comments, he would like to thank everyone who has tuned in to review the initial draft of the
Environmental Sustainability Plan for the Village of Skokie. He also thanked all those who were
involved for their participation. He said that it was quite an intensive effort on the part of all of

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those on the Environmental Sustainability Plan (ESP) Team, those on the Village staff, members
of Village Boards and Commissions, and a number of community groups and other agencies in
Skokie. He thanked everybody for their time and effort. He then went on to say that he just
wanted to briefly review the timeline for the plan review process as it moves forward. He also
said that he is aware that the next speaker, our consultant, Ted Redmond of paleBLUEdot LLC,
will perhaps review some of this in a bit more detail as well. To give everyone a brief
understanding of the process, after the presentation this evening, the review of the Draft Plan will
continue with the ESP Team through the end of the day on Monday, October 17th. Additionally,
the public review of this Draft Plan is underway, and Mr. Redmond will discuss the links that are
available for members of the public to access that plan and to make their comments. You can find
these links on the Village of Skokie’s homepage, www.skokie.org. The public comment period
for this Draft Plan will continue through the end of the day on Monday, October 17th. After the
presentation this evening, there will be a community listening session next Thursday evening,
September 29th at 7:00 PM, which will be a hybrid session. The session will be interactive, and
people will be able to participate both in-person and via Zoom. For those who choose to
participate in the session virtually, a link will be provided shortly before the meeting. Following
the conclusion of the comment period, the ESP Team will meet once again that following week
to review the comments that have been made or submitted, and will prepare the final draft of the
Environmental Sustainability Plan. From that point, the Environmental Sustainability Plan will
be presented to the Village Board at a specially scheduled Village Board meeting on Monday,
November 14th. Following the presentation at that specially scheduled Village Board meeting,
the Environmental Sustainability Plan will once again be considered by the Village Board at their
regular meeting on the following Monday, November 21st. He concluded by asking whether
there are any questions regarding the process.

III. Zoom presentation of Draft Environmental Sustainability Plan — Ted Redmond,
 Co-Founder of paleBLUEdot LLC

Ted Redmond, Co-Founder of paleBLUEdot LLC, proceeded to present the Draft 2022
Environmental Sustainability Plan to the Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission and
members of the public, who were in attendance both in-person and virtually. He said that he
wanted to give everyone a high-level overview of the plan, including the goals and strategies in
the plan, and what the projected outcomes or impacts are related to the plan, successful
implementation of those strategies, and then wrap up with a recap of how the public can review
the plan and may comment on it. He went on to say that he would like to answer any questions
that may arise. A question and answer session and further discussion followed the presentation of
the Draft 2022 Environmental Sustainability Plan.

Commissioner Okallau said that she feels that some great information and action items are
included. However, from her perspective, there are a couple of things that seem to be missing
that could work to educate the public. While it’s true that we are in a warming trend, and while it
is true that our winters are getting shorter, we are still going to see these extreme weather events
in the winter. She said that she thinks that is something that is largely ignored by a lot of people,
and that when we do get those events in this region, they are often used to deny that climate
change is occurring and to suggest that everything is fine. Additionally, those extreme weather
events have a significant impact on our infrastructure. She is hoping that this could be

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included in the impacts of climate change, as she thinks that including this information could
have a significant impact. Even if these events occur just for a few days in the winter, that is a
major thing. The other aspect that she wanted to address is water. Even if we do not feel it in our
region, water shortages around the world are one of the greatest impacts of climate change, and
she is therefore hoping that we could include a little bit of language about that within the Water
section of the plan, even though we live next to a major freshwater source. Our contribution to
global water conservation should be addressed.

Mr. Redmond concurred. He said that where water is concerned, given that we live in a water-
rich region, it is always a battle to get people to understand that does not mean that we shouldn’t
be thinking about water. We have had communities in our water-rich region that have had
significant drinking water problems. Extreme weather events can contribute to creating issues for
our water sources, and we will be seeing a change in precipitation and the like. He stated that he
thinks that those are great comments, and we can explore how we can increase that in the
document.

Commissioner Saxe said that, echoing Commissioner Okallau’s concerns about water, one thing
to keep in mind is that while we do have a great big lake, the aquifers underneath northeast
Illinois have been depleted significantly over the years. He thinks that there is going to be a lot of
pressure from other areas to tap into Lake Michigan, and we need to be mindful when it comes to
diversion of water from the Great Lakes watershed. We need to be concerned about the quality of
the water in the lake as well, because there are enough agricultural impacts of runoff that we’ve
seen, such as in Lake Erie with the algae blooms. The drinking water was threatened by algae
blooms. Therefore, we do need to be mindful of making sure that we are are managing our water
responsibly, and that includes here in Skokie as well. He said that he also appreciates
Commissioner Okallau bringing up the impact of the extreme weather. We will have these
occasional deep freezes, which will have some adverse impacts on infrastructure, particularly as
the Village’s infrastructure ages.

Commissioner Saxe said that he also had one other question, given that we have this opportunity
to discuss the plan. We set this goal of reducing our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 35
percent from 2020 levels, and he was looking at the regional Climate Action Plan, which seemed
to contain within it a much more ambitious goal for 2030. While he noted that he is a part of the
ESP Team, he does not recall how they arrived at a 35 percent reduction from 2020 levels. What
was the rationale of setting that as the goal?

Mr. Redmond stated that is a good question. They started off by trying to target something that
they think they want to hit. It was at least based upon the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) recommendations, and upon their guidance for avoiding a 1.5 to 2 degree celsius
increase in temperatures. So, initially, it was grounded in that. The 35 percent, which was
finalized through the process, is a reflection of original intent combined with where we are with
the various sub-goals. We have a goal for such-and-such number of electric vehicles, and a goal
for a reduction of such-and-such vehicle miles traveled (VMTs), a goal for energy consumption
reduction, etc. Each of those sub-goals along the way were vetted out through a number of in-
depth conversations with ESP Team members about different action strategies. When they were
all done setting those various sub-goals, they then re-modeled to determine where, based on

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those sub-goals that had been set, where would the community’s reductions end up? That’s sort
of how they ended up at 35 percent.

Mr. Redmond went on to note that we should always be thinking about targets today, but that
does not mean that we cannot surpass them. The flip side is also true. We can have super
aggressive goals, and then if you are at least making good progress toward achieving those goals,
that is still a good thing as well. There are different philosophies there. He tends to suggest that
we ought to aim for something that is robust that we also feel is achievable, when you look at all
of the parts and pieces, and then let’s see what we are able to do in order to not only meet those
goals, but what we are able to do to go a little bit beyond and discover that we have surpassed
those goals. You’ll see that in the plan within the implementation section. There is intermittent
review of progress, and then things get adjusted, as you do those intermittent reviews. Of course,
between today and 2030, there will also be new things that come up, whether it is some new
technology or some new trend that we will be able to capitalize upon. By doing reviews at
appropriate intervals, the Village can decide to push a goal even further, because things are
progressing in a way that is even better than had been anticipated. That is also something to bear
in mind.

Commissioner DeCanniere commented on the Draft Environmental Sustainability Plan, noting a
number of items that are proposed to be a part of the plan. Among these, he is pleased to see that
Transportation/Mobility are addressed, particularly as it has become pretty clear that
transportation is a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within Skokie. He
noted that he gets around primarily with public transit and by walking, and so is personally
aware that there is a need to improve conditions within the community for bicyclists, pedestrians
and those who use public transportation alike. He also noted that he is pleased that there is an
emphasis on increasing tree cover and green space in the community, particularly as it is
arguable that there is a link between one’s mental health and physical health and access to green
space. Some studies have also said that there is a link between green space and crime. The more
access to green spaces residents have, the lower the rate of crime is within a community. So,
aside from the obvious environmental benefits, there are these additional benefits that
communities can see from prioritizing access to green spaces. Clearly there are many
environmental benefits, such as a reduction in the urban heat island effect, to name but one. He
went on to say that he also thinks that it is so important that there is a Sustainable Economy
section within the Draft Plan, as he feels it is important to stress the opportunities that exist in the
area. He said that he feels as though, quite often, there is this idea that has been peddled by many
that says one must choose between a healthy environment or a good economy, and that is just not
the case. There is a tremendous amount of opportunity where they can intersect. The reality is
you can have a healthy planet and a thriving economy. He went on to note that he is aware that
there is a mention of “locally produced food” within the Draft Plan, so he was curious as to
whether Mr. Redmond could possibly expand upon that. He went on to ask whether the ESP
Team might have identified any particular areas within Skokie that could be used for food
production.

Mr. Redmond said that, related to this plan, there were no specific locations that were identified.
It is more along the lines of actions that could be undertaken to achieve those goals, such as
collaborating with the local school district, or with other entities, to identify potentials both

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physically and from a programmatic standpoint. This is a guidance plan document, not a design
document, where they might have pointed out a specific piece of land or a specific piece of
property. That would be an implementation step.

Commissioner Okallau stated that one of the things that she is sensitive to is whether we are
setting up the community — and, particularly the Village staff — for success, and whether we
are actually creating items that will be achievable. One of the things that stood out to her is this
goal of having 100 percent of Village fleet operations being electric by 2040. Is that actually
achievable? First, is it reasonable reasonable for every one of these fleet vehicles to be electric?
Second, is that a realistic timeframe, given the cycle of vehicle replacement?

Staff Liaison Slankard stated that he thinks that we have to bear in mind Mr. Redmond’s
comment. As we sit here today, it is not, because he could not go out and buy an electric fire
truck right now, unless we would go to the one manufacturer that has produced the two electric
fire trucks that exist in the United States. The thing to bear in mind is that some of these goals are
aspirational, and that this plan will take place over a period of years. This plan looks at 2030, and
that particular goal is measured through 2040. We know that technology will change and, within
that area, it will likely change quickly. So, as we sit here today, he will say that a fire truck that
he would buy tomorrow will be in the community for 15 to 20 years. However, the technology
may change within five years time, and all of a sudden the ability to create that electric fire truck
totally transforms. Therefore, by 2030 or 2035, there may be all sorts of electric fire trucks out
there.

Commissioner Okallau said that she fully appreciates and can understand that. However, she
wonders whether putting this out there will create the perception that it is possible. We have
talked about electric vehicles, too, in the sense that we know that it currently wouldn’t work for
the Village’s operations due to things like battery limitations, and it may never be possible. She
said that she guesses that her question is a question of perception and what we are putting out
there, and what the public is going to see. Could they come back and say that this is something
that we said, in writing, that this is something that we are going to do?

Mr. Redmond stated he wanted to make a clarification. That strategic goal relates to the Village’s
gasoline-powered fleet. That would be cars or light-duty trucks, and those types of vehicles. That
would not necessarily include heavy-duty vehicles, such as fire trucks or a dump truck. Everyone
wants to see the evolution happen across the board, but the strategic goal itself is explicitly
related to the gasoline-powered portion.

Commissioner Okallau said that, similarly, when it comes to the Transportation goal of
improving conditions for biking and pedestrians, she is wondering whether that includes any type
of reworking of the street corridors. Does that mean that there will be changes to streets?
Looking at the timeline for 2030, is this a reasonable timeline? It is her understanding that being
able to improve bicyclist and pedestrian access might take much longer.

Staff Liaison Slankard stated that he does not recall the specific item that relates to that particular
goal. The point is, however, that the Village has specific improvements that it undertakes every
year. So, it is about incorporating those types of considerations into the public improvements

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process as we move forward, and looking to advance those strategies when and where we can,
and working towards achieving those strategies. For instance, there are certain bikeway projects
that are out there that they are pursuing funding for, and for which they are doing plan
development. As he looks at those goals, to them it is about continuing to prioritize those sorts of
projects, and prioritize funding for those projects to continue to try to maximize that sort of
transportation.

Commissioner Okallau noted that there is a section in which food insecurity is discussed. She
said that there is something that is a little bit difficult for her, as “low income” is included in the
food insecurity comments, but she doesn’t know that there is a lot about determining what is
creating that food insecurity. There is this ingrained assumption that income levels are part of
that. While that seems to be a fair assumption, she also wonders if there should be some sort of
investment into understanding where the food insecurity comes from. She said that, to her, it
feels as though those terms are being used interchangeably, and she is a little bit sensitive to that.

Mr. Redmond concurred. He said that, at this point, are aware of the factors that can contribute to
food insecurity. What we do not know is the specific mixture of those factors within Skokie. One
factor can be income. If I do not have enough income to be able to buy the food that is needed,
then that is clearly a factor. However, income is not the only reason for food insecurity. There is
also food insecurity that is related to religious or ethnic considerations — the kinds of foods that
I eat may not be available to me. It could also be an issue of access. At the present time, we
cannot say what mixture of insecurity drivers currently exist in Skokie. That would require a
Food Insecurity Assessment. There are groups that can do those, and they can look at all sorts of
issues, and could then come up with specific strategies based upon their findings. Typically, they
will interview many people. They will look at grocery stores for pricing and what products are
available, and at what products are not available. They hold meetings and interview sessions with
individuals from the community, ideally targeting a broad range of individuals from different
demographic groups, and will put that together to illustrate where our needs are, what we have,
and where there are gaps. So, that is something that could be done to identify the local Skokie
drivers of food insecurity as specifically as possible.

Commissioner Okallau reiterated that she feels that, in the language of the plan, we should also
acknowledge that we don’t want to exclude food insecurity that is not driven by income. She said
that she did see that there are some portions that do include that, but she said that it just feels off
to have food insecurity linked to income in this document. She said that one additional comment
that she has is that there is an item in which people who are working with local landscapers and
with the construction industry are encouraged to hire those who are using electric machines. She
was wondering what impact that might have upon smaller local businesses that may not be able
to afford the conversion to electric — especially within the timeframe specified — and to what
degree that might negatively impact smaller businesses that might be more local. Mr. Redmond
said that’s a good point.

Commissioner Saxe said he had a couple of comments. First, as to Commissioner Okallau’s
points about food insecurity as well as the achievability of the goals/objectives set forth in the
Draft Environmental Sustainability Plan, he said that he thinks there are a lot of strategies and
tools that are currently available that Skokie does not use. He went on to say that he thinks that

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there are opportunities that now exist for the Village to think about things differently and to do
things differently, which could move us in the direction we need to go, towards the goals/
objectives of this plan. He thinks that we need to be pretty aggressive about taking a look at that
and seeing what has been done in other communities, and also what are some things that are
emerging that Skokie could take advantage of that we currently do not do. As far as the food
insecurity portion is concerned, he said that he echoes Commissioner Okallau’s concern about
tying food insecurity specifically to income. He thinks that there is a lot more that goes into food
insecurity, not only the availability of food, but also the quality of food. He then said that what
we can also expect to happen over the next several years, and which we are already beginning to
see now, is that conditions are going to change pretty dramatically. If you take a look at the retail
sector generally, and in Skokie as well, we’ve seen an implosion of retail in just the last 10 years
or so. A similar economic fallout could occur in other sectors, and nobody really knows what
impact that would have on the availability of goods and services. Therefore, he feels that we
need to keep an eye on that as well. Finally, he said that he wanted to note that, at their meeting
on Tuesday, they had talked about metrics and benchmarks and regularly measuring our progress
towards our goals. This is particularly important when dealing with an environment as dynamic
as it is these days, namely with the economic changes that are going on, coupled with the
potential disruptions — nobody anticipated the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been a major
jolt to our systems. A similar thing that we cannot currently foresee could happen in two or three
years. Therefore, he thinks it is very important that the Village makes a commitment to monitor
this, and to establish some benchmarks — some concrete actions that are going to be taken —
and that we also commit the resources necessary to monitor our progress and to evaluate how we
are doing. His approach is that we accomplish more by falling short of ambitious goals than we
do by meeting diminished expectations. He said that he thinks we need to keep our goals
ambitious so that we keep pushing ourselves. At the same time, we need to be realistic about
what the things are that we can change, how we will track that, and how we’re going to respond
to both the challenges that arise with the changing circumstances as well as any opportunities
that may come up.

Chairperson Grossman said that she had a couple of questions. First, where the goals are listed in
the plan, and then underneath each goal it lists the ways to achieve those goals, on the right side
it lists what phase those are in. When will that be put into the plan?

Mr. Redmond responded that the current intent is to explore suggested phasing between now and
having the final draft of the plan ready for the Village Board in November. So, part of it involves
having the actions settle in, and receiving the review comments and the like. As those begin to be
integrated, then there is a chance to explore phasing. He also noted that the phasing is intended to
be a starting point. We will notice that the phases are described relatively loosely. They do
overlap, and that is because they do recognize that some actions are things that may take a few
years to get up and going, while another action may be one and done — something that can be up
and going in six months, for example. Actions have different pacing. The second thing is
understanding that this document is a multi-year plan, stretching across nine sectors. As was
talked about in the implementation section, the rubber really hits the road when Village staff has
the ability to create the Annual Plan, pulling out those actions that they will be focusing on each
year, which relates to budget and staff and so on. They tend to suggest letting the phasing be a
little bit soft, only because you will never know what comes about where something that was a

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“Phase 3” suddenly becomes “Let’s do it next year.” Perhaps funding became available, or a
partner has come out of the woodwork who wants to do something — someone who sees it as a
great opportunity. You don’t want to go without any direction, but it is definitely important to
provide some flexibility to move things around a bit. The phasing has tended to be a framework,
but we do not need to be beholden to it. As opportunities come up, the Village will undoubtedly
shuffle those around to make sure that it fits into annual implementation well. She also said that,
within the Food section, there is a lot of talk about increasing locally-produced foods. One means
of doing this is through additional community gardens, but even with an increased growing
season of 15-20 days, we have around a six or seven months growing season here, and that is
with looking at different types of crops and taking some extra measures to extend that. Are there
things that other municipalities, perhaps on a slightly larger scale, have done to work on
increasing locally-produced foods?

Mr. Redmond said he cannot think of an example where it is explicitly municipal-driven at the
moment. However, there definitely are examples of what can be done. For instance, just a few
blocks away from his office, there is an indoor garden. There is an organization that has a vertical
farm. It’s just a simple warehouse building, and they have a series of vertical farms where they
are growing spinach and lettuce, and he believes that they have now begun to grow tomatoes as
well. They then sell that in local grocery stores in his area. So, where the idea of gardening or
growing food year-round is concerned, we do need to start looking at going indoors in northern
climates, where we do get snow and cold weather. So, one example is that perhaps there is a
warehouse that’s underutilized or else has been on the market forever and nobody seems to have
any ideas for it. Perhaps there is an opportunity there to collaborate with other partners and
explore issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a local indoor farm. He went on to say that he is
not saying that is what we need to do, but just understanding that increasing the amount of
locally-produced food that is available is a goal can then help us keep our eyes open for potential
opportunities.

Chairperson Grossman asked if we could include language within the plan that does not focus
solely on outdoor gardening. She said that she has seen places in the north that do have big
greenhouses that do grow things year-round, but those also still tend to be in more rural areas.
She went on to say that she thinks that this may require a zoning change, but that she would like
for it to be included in the plan.

Mr. Redmond said that is a great point. He doesn't know if that was explicitly spelled out, but
there may be an opportunity to get that easily integrated into the plan.

Commissioner Gotkin said she sent Mr. Redmond some comments about some editing things and
formatting things that she feels could be tightened up and fixed. She went on to say that she
thinks most of the Commissioners will know what she is talking about, but the Mayor and the
Trustees have been talking about this plan in that it is going to enable them to do all sorts of
things. To use the example of Carvana coming into the community, they claimed that there was
nowhere where they could legally refuse them just to protect wildlife. There was nothing that
they could have legally pointed to in order to deny them their ability to build here. Similarly,
with Amazon’s distribution center coming into Skokie, that was going to create a lot of pollution.
It means having a lot more traffic, and more emissions, in our area. The Mayor and Trustees

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publicly said they don’t have the ability to reject the business. There is nothing in our ordinances
with which to deny them. So, it sort of sounded as though they are relying upon this upcoming
plan to have something within it that would give them that permission or legal ability, or to give
businesses that are coming to Skokie a heads up that, in which those businesses are informed
upfront that they will be evaluated based upon the amount of pollution that their business is
going to create, or they are going to do something that really has the potential to harm wildlife,
etc. Therefore, she was wondering whether there had been any discussion among the ESP Team
members about this, and she was wondering if Mr. Redmond is able to point to somewhere
within the Environmental Sustainability Plan that the Mayor and Trustees could use / refer to in
order to show businesses that they do not fit into the plan.

Mr. Redmond said there absolutely is. Within the pages that she had not quite gotten to yet, under
the Cross-Cutting Actions, the first is to continue to build internal capacity and support. Then,
specifically, CC 1-5, is to establish and implement a policy to review existing and future Village
of Skokie policy and ordinance changes, along with building and zoning variances and requests.
Basically, take any Village business that would be expected to have Commission action or Board
action, review those against the goals/strategies/actions of the Environmental Sustainability Plan,
to ensure alignment of changes with the plan. In addition, they helped some communities — like
Bloomington, Indiana — to create a memo that could be used for anything that comes before the
City Council or their Commissions for action. On this memo, as a part of the Staff Report, it
would just have a box you’d check that says that it is in-line with their plan. If so, they would
then have to identify which goals it helps support. If it has the potential of not being in-line, then
they would need to identify the ways in which it may be counter to their plan.

Commissioner Gotkin said she knows that Commissioner Saxe had been working on something
of that sort. Commissioner Saxe confirmed that he had. However, since that work began, both
Matt Brandmeyer (Former Community Development Director) and Carrie Haberstitch (Former
Planning Supervisor) left, and so he needs to pickup that conversation with the Village’s new
Community Development Director, Johanna Nyden. He went on to say that we do need to have
some sort of a checklist, or some type of a tool, that would methodically evaluate things that
come before the Village against the objectives of the plan. He said that he also thinks that
Commissioner Gotkin’s point is well taken in that some of this stuff was in the 2016 - 2021
Skokie Environmental Sustainability Plan and was never done. He thinks that we need to be
more vigilant about maintaining the expectation that there is substantive followthrough on this,
rather than having these things be a part of the plan and then never revisit it. The Amazon and
Carvana projects were two examples of where the Village was caught flat-footed. There really
hadn’t been any really good work that was done to implement the plan or incorporate the plan
into the project review process. We will really have to stay on top of it. His concern about the
Cross-Cutting items is they’re very general — almost like a wish list. He would like the plan to
be a little more explicit, stating that these specific things will be done by this date, so that we
could proceed rather than having things deferred or finding some reason not to do them.

Commissioner DeCanniere noted that during at least one previous meeting, there had been some
discussion regarding tracking progress, and he had brought up the idea of having an online
dashboard that would be publicly accessible to illustrate how far we have come and how far we
have yet to go in achieving our stated goals/objectives as a community. He went on to say that he

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also agrees on the importance of having all future development within the community align with
the goals and objectives that have been set forth in this plan. We do want to advance things,
rather than take steps backwards, after all. Therefore, he was wondering whether there is any
ability for that publicly accessible online dashboard to include more specifics about all future
development within Skokie, so that the public is able to see whether a proposed development is
or is not in alignment with the plan.

Commissioner Saxe said that was his original intent, and he will be picking that up again and
will see if Ms. Nyden is open to it, and will see what can be done. He said that he does agree,
there should be something very tangible that can be available to businesses, but that can also help
in the evaluation of projects and to be accountable to the public, so that the public can look at
that and say “Okay, this is what’s being considered and why.”

Commissioner Okallau stated she had another comment. In the Health & Safety section, one
thing that is not represented is mental health, and climate change can have a significant impact
upon mental health. She is hoping that could be included, specifically, so that people who are
experiencing mental health challenges feel seen or heard. Mr. Redmond concurred.

IV. Public Comment (3-minute limit)

No public comments were received.

V. Other Business

Chairperson Grossman reiterated the fact that the 2022 Draft Environmental Sustainability Plan
Public Input Session will be occurring next week, and that anybody can comment on the plan
through October 17th. Information regarding the 2022 Draft Environmental Sustainability Plan
Public Input Session, a link to the plan, along with instructions on how to submit feedback/
comments regarding the plan, are posted on the Village’s homepage, online at www.skokie.org.

The 2022 Draft Environmental Sustainability Plan may also be accessed directly by logging onto
https://palebluedot.llc/skokie-esp-review-menu.

Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that a member of the public who was in attendance had a
question regarding next week’s listening session. She said that her understanding is that the
listening session is to be similar to this evening, but perhaps a little bit shorter. Mr. Redmond said
that the slides from tonight’s presentation will be the same, but he anticipates moving through the
presentation itself a little bit faster, given that it will be a slightly different meeting format. He is
thinking that some printouts will also be available of some of the details of the plan. He will be
moving through the presentation a bit faster, in order to give people an opportunity to move
about the space, as his assumption is that many in attendance will not have seen any part of the
plan yet. He wants to afford them the opportunity to see as much as they can. He also indicated
that, unlike tonight, he will be attending next week’s session in-person.




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VI. Approval of Minutes

Minutes from the July 26, 2022 meeting of the Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission
were unanimously approved.

VII. Next Meeting

Based upon the expected availability of Commission members, the next meeting will be held on
Tuesday, October 25, 2022.

VIII. Adjournment

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:40 PM.




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