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Farmers Branch sustainability committee reviews composting, tree giveaway, EV purchases and canopy data
Summary
At a Farmers Branch Sustainability Committee meeting, staff reported on a successful compost workshop, a sold-out tree giveaway, purchases of two electric vehicles funded by an EECBG grant, a paused landfill solar project pending property sale, and new tree-canopy and impervious-surface data that staff said will inform future code and planning discussions.
At a Farmers Branch Sustainability Committee meeting, staff summarized recent community programs and data that city leaders say will shape future sustainability work.
Staff reported the compost “one-on-one” workshop held Saturday, Sept. 14 drew 19 participants and had filled 25 sign-up spots with a short wait list. “We had 19 participants show up that day,” Speaker 2 said, and staff said volunteers built a compost pile at the community garden and will survey attendees for feedback.
The committee also heard that a city tree giveaway at Dallas College drew strong interest: registration opened Sept. 24 and the allotment of trees sold out in about two hours. Speaker 2 said the event will distribute about 200 trees — species include redbuds, desert willow, Shumard oak and Texas conifer — and that unclaimed trees will be given away first-come, first-served with residency verification.
On waste and reuse, staff reminded the committee of a shredding event at City Hall the same Saturday and a Historical Park haunted-house volunteer opportunity later in October.
On infrastructure and grants, Speaker 2 reported the city used EECBG (Department of Energy) funding to buy a Ford F-150 Lightning for the city fleet and to order an Equinox EV for the health inspector. “We hope to receive that by the end of the year,” Speaker 2 said, adding that once complete the grant will have funded two EVs.
The committee discussed a landfill solar project that is currently on “indefinite pause” pending a pending property sale discussed at a recent city council meeting. Members raised concerns about remediation liability if a buyer takes the site; Speaker 2 cautioned that the city likely cannot relinquish liability unless a buyer contractually accepts remediation obligations and that any redevelopment would need to align with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) requirements.
Speaker 2 outlined the city’s SolSmart work to reduce barriers to solar adoption and pursue a gold-level SolSmart designation. Staff plans to introduce limited clarifying code edits (definitions and wording) to the Planning & Zoning Commission “on the 28th this month” before returning to P&Z for recommendation and eventual city council consideration.
The committee reviewed tree-canopy and impervious-surface mapping. Staff presented a February 2023 canopy map showing roughly 15% tree canopy coverage — about 50,000,000 square feet — and noted February imagery may undercount canopy because many trees were leaf-off. By contrast, a 2019 Texas Trees Foundation county study showed about 22% canopy for the city at that time; staff and members cited recent high-profile windstorms as a factor in canopy loss.
Impervious-surface analysis showed the city is about 52% impervious overall, with parking lots representing roughly 15% of impervious area, buildings about 18%, roads and paved alleys about 10% and sidewalks roughly 2.4% (estimated 8,200,000 square feet). Committee members asked planning staff to compare Farmers Branch landscaping and parking standards with neighboring cities and to consider whether code updates and incentives could help increase canopy and reduce heat-island effects.
Several committee members encouraged partnerships to expand outreach (libraries, Dallas College, Arbor Day Foundation) and suggested more educational programming — including drought-tolerant landscaping and cooling-roof information — to support tree-planting and heat-mitigation goals. Staff said some items (rain-barrel code language recommended by this committee) were not adopted previously but that the committee’s recommendations are on file and could be revisited.
Speaker 1 closed the business portion by noting the committee will meet again in November; staff confirmed Dallas College representatives are scheduled to present in February and that December will likely be a short, update-only meeting. With no further business, a motion to adjourn was made and the meeting ended.
Next steps described by staff include presenting SolSmart code updates to Planning & Zoning, circulating a post-workshop survey for compost attendees, and sharing updated canopy and impervious-surface data with planning staff to inform potential code revisions and future outreach.
