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Sustainability Advisory Board

April 20, 2026 ·5:00 PM Final ·https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82049614201

Parking Department Conference Room

Agenda PDF Minutes PDF 📹 Watch video Official record ↗

Agenda — 10 items

  1. 1. Roll Call / Introductions
  2. 2. Approval of February SAB Meeting Minutes Approved on Consent Agenda Pass
  3. 3. Public Comment Ana Ordoñez introduced herself as a Coral Gables resident. She mentioned she was at the compost unveiling earlier that day and she does bio-tech consulting for her job. She is interested in learning more about sustainability initiatives within the city.
  4. 4. Presentation on Traffic Calming by Melissa DeZayas, Assistant Public Works Director for Transportation i. Melissa mentioned the Multimodal Transportation Plan was launched in 2016 which included reducing the speed limit from 30 to 25mph. This plan included an Interlocal Agreement with Miami-Dade County which allowed the City to bypass certain permits for traffic calming items. She explained how locations are rated is based on a point system on certain criteria such as Daily Traffic Volumes, 85th Percentile Speeds, Sidewalks, Pedestrian Generators like schools, parks, etc., Driveway Density, and number of accidents in the area. She went on to explain how the City addresses requests for traffic calming, which in 2025 they received over 150. This entire process is based on resident feedback. She explained that County approved measures include speed tables, speed cushions, raised intersections, and roundabouts. Melissa also went through the process from receiving a request all the way to the final design, the point system and construction of all traffic calming installations. Lastly, she mentioned the City sends out ballots to residents in the area and requires 50% favorability to move forward.
  5. 5. Keep Coral Gables Beautiful Program Updates i. Recent Events: 1. Pinewood Cemetery Invasive Plant Removal – March 20 a. There were 30 volunteers at the event and together we removed 2,520 pounds of invasive species such as snake plants and oyster plants. This event series is in partnership with the Coral Gables Historic Preservation and Greenspace Management teams. 2. Sustainability Village at Farmer’s Market – March 28 a. We had 8 local non-profits and groups talking to residents and giving out items. We had a total of 140 participants. Comments were made by the Board regarding moving the Sustainability Village closer to the Farmer’s Market next year to make it more visible. The City mentioned they will talk to event organizers to see if it is possible. 3. Green U Baseball Game – April 3 a. Teddy spoke about inviting the city to speak on KCGB programs, including the new community compost program that the city would be launching during the week of Earth Week. KCGB had a table to give out items and educate the public on the city’s sustainability initiatives throughout the baseball game. There were 65 people who had come by our table. 4. Quarterly Downtown Community Cleanup – April 6 a. Participants met at the Chamber of Commerce, dispersed throughout the downtown, and reconvened at a city lot to weigh the litter that was collected. Post-event refreshments were provided by Books and Books. There were 27 volunteers who collected 146 pounds of litter from the downtown area. 5. Baynanza – Chapman Field – April 11 a. Miami-Dade County had 32 volunteers at Chapman Field Park. KCGB attended to assist and donate supplies to MDC’s DERM team. KCGB staff and the volunteers removed approximately 300 pounds of litter from the mangroves and surrounding areas. The litter that was collected mainly comes from the tides washing up items. 6. Tortuga Music Festival – Keep Florida Beautiful – April 11 a. Diego attended the Tortuga Music Festival to assist Keep Florida Beautiful and to reach a new audience to discuss KCGB programs. The estimated outreach was around 400 people. 7. Plogging at Chapman Field – April 18 a. KCGB had 18 volunteers and 45 pounds of litter collected. Many of the items found were micro-plastics as opposed to large items, especially after the cleanup efforts from Baynanza the previous Saturday. 8. Renuable Compost Bin Installation – April 18 a. The city was present to help install the new compost bin at the Coral Gables Library. 9. Community Compost Program Unveiling – April 20 a. The city introduced its new community composting drop-off program with 50 people attending the unveiling. This pilot program will allow residents to bring their food scraps and reduce food waste at no cost to participating residents. ii. Upcoming Events: 1. Earth Day Environmental Film & Earth Day Fair – April 22 a. The city is working with the Coral Gables Art Cinema to screen “With or Without: A Coral Story” on Earth Day at 6 pm. There will be a post-film discussion with PhD students about coral reef rescue programs in Florida Keys b. The annual UM Earth Day Fair will host local sustainability organizations and feature a brand-new reverse vending machine for students and residents to recycle bottle containers. 2. Take Your Child To Work Day & Employee Earth Week Presentations a. The KCGB team will present at the city’s annual Take Your Child To Work Day and play Sustainability Bingo so the children can win prizes – April 23. b. To update city employees on the new sustainability initiatives available to them, the Sustainability team is hosting two different presentations during Earth Week for fellow employees. This is in conjunction with Human Resources and Greenspace Management as each employee in attendance will be given native plants to begin cultivating a native garden at home. 3. Arbor Day – April 24 a. The city will be hosting an event to celebrate Arbor Day. A tree planting will take place on Friday, April 24 at Fewell Park at 10 am. KCGB will have a table at the event to discuss the city’s sustainability events and programs. 4. Recycling Drive-Thru – April 25 a. The bi-annual Recycling Drive-Thru will be on Saturday, April 25, from 9 am to noon in the City Hall parking lot. Paper shredding, plastic film, household hazardous waste, old electronics, plastic film, and clothing donations will be securely and properly recycled during this event. 5. My Squad Earth Month Event – April 29 a. My Squad is a club run by the city for adults with special needs. This annual event is to speak to the club about the different environmental initiatives the city has and do a fun activity to get the members excited about sustainability. 6. Pups for the Planet – May 9 a. This first-time event will take place at the new Chewy Bark Park near the Underline at 9 am. KCGB invited Miami-Dade County’s Pet Adoptions, the CG Fire Department to demonstrate their new canine CPR educational presentation, Scenthound, Royal Vet, and Dooty Calls. This event encourages volunteers to come out with their dogs to participate in a cleanup, speak to the vendors, and learn lifesaving skills.
  6. 6. Sustainability Related City Commission i. Proclamation Declaring April 2026 as “Earth Month” in Coral Gables – March 10 1. This is an annual proclamation that the Sustainability team brings to the Commission before the month of April. This proclamation is to declare that the City of Coral Gables recognizes April as Earth Month. ii. Recognition of Keep Coral Gables Beautiful: Recipient of the 2025 Keep America Beautiful National Innovation Award – March 10 1. KCGB was awarded the national KAB Innovation Award for the two GIS maps Thiago Esslinger worked on during his internship in the city. Diego attended the KAB National Summit in New Orleans to receive the award. iii. Presentation on Compost Program & Recycling Updates – April 14 1. Matt presented to the Commission with updates on composting and recycling as Waste Management has opened the new recycling facility. There are now more acceptable items that are allowed in the curb-side recycling stream that were not previously. Matt updated them on the upcoming composting program as well. 2. Matt reached out to WM to schedule a recycling tour for the SAB to see the new facility. The two available dates are May 8 and May 19, the tour lasts approximately an hour to an hour and a half.
  7. 7. Standing Agenda Items i. Vulnerability Assessment Update 1. The vulnerability assessment is 80 percent complete with a draft expected within three to four weeks. The consultant will present to the Board at the meeting following the draft submission so the Board can provide feedback. The deadline for the grant is June 30, 2026. ii. Block by Block Update 1. Block by Block conducted the quarterly cleaning on Giralda the morning of this meeting. Giralda will see significant activity with new Cielo Tejido, A Woven Sky, installation on May 1 (two different overhead art installations approximately 6 months total). The installation is expected to drive pedestrian traffic and support the local businesses similarly to the first installation.
  8. 8. Member Comments i. Tiffany: 1. Tiffany is helping with the compacts, nature-based solutions workshop that is going to be in June. They are potentially interested in showcasing the Giralda Plaza project as an example of sustainable infrastructure. ii. Stephen: 1. Stephen is interested in working on marketing the quarterly Downtown Community Cleanups to bring much more attention to the event, making it the most volunteers and largest cleanups. He gave a quick rundown of the four-phase approach he proposed leading up to the cleanup by getting the local businesses involved and other city departments. The city will coordinate meeting with the Economic Development team and Communications to explore feasibility and promotional support. Teddy brought up the GetGreen app UM students use as it could be utilized for gamification on event day. iii. Anabella: 1. Friday, April 17, the Sustainability team, Anabella, and the Chamber of Commerce President met regarding the partnership on the Green Business Certification program. Anabella proposed meeting with Erika, the Chief of Staff, who has worked at the Chamber before and decided to come back, and has a lot of historical knowledge. Teddy offered a potential partnership with UM’s MS in Sustainable Business program for capstone projects to boost program visibility and effectiveness. iv. Teddy: 1. Made an update that there will be a webinar on Resilience and Sustainability in South Florida. UM is hosting and the moderator is the Executive Director of Communications for FIFA. The topic will be what is happening in the soccer industry with sustainability and resiliency. 2. Next spring, the Floating Wetland on UM’s Lake Osceola will be a pilot project by Jazmin Locke-Rodriguez, FIU Post-Doctorial Researcher, who did several floating wetlands for her PhD in the Coral Gables waterways. The project has already been approved, and funding will come from Student Government Eco Agency.
  9. 9. Adjourned: 6:36 P.M. Next Meeting – Wednesday, May 27, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. at the Parking, Sustainability & Mobility Services Office For more information on the Sustainability Advisory Board please visit: CoralGables.com/SAB Email Sustainability@coralgables.com Call 305-461-6769
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