Broward County Commission Regular Meeting

MOTION TO APPROVE travel outside the continental United States for the County employee on the attached summary in accordance with Volume 1 of the Administrative Code - Chapter 3, Part II, Section 3.10 - County Employee Travel.

ACTION:  (T-10:32 AM)  Approved.  (See Yellow-Sheeted Additional Material, dated November 14, 2017, submitted at the request of Environmental Protection and Growth Management Department.)

VOTE:  8-0.  Commissioner LaMarca was not present.

Board approval is required for travel outside of the continental United States.

Provides compliance with the Administrative Code.

None.

THE FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DEPARTMENT, THE ACCOUNTING DIVISION, AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTION.
 
In accordance with procedures outlined in Volume 1 of the Administrative Code, Chapter 3, Part II, Section 3.10 - County Employee Travel, attached is a request for Maribel Feliciano, Assistant Director of the Planning and Development Management Division to travel to Toronto, Canada to participate in the Design Studio Graduate Course “Coding Flux: In Pursuit of Resilient Urbanism in South Florida”, at the University of Toronto, John H. Daniels School of Architecture, Landscape and Design starting December 6 through December 8, 2017.
 
The requested travel is a component of an on-going three-year collaboration with the University of Toronto and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which has allowed undergraduate and graduate students from many disciplines - such as architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, engineering, and urban design - to study the anticipated and potential effects of sea level rise in Broward County. The results of previous collaborations have been shared with Broward County, and also resulted in several promising follow-up projects. As an example, Broward County staff will be working with the University of Toronto and MIT faculty to apply for grants to explore new forms of land development codes with an eye on adaption strategies, including consideration of “flux codes”. Flux codes would address the use of land over time in the event sea level rise alters the landscape.

In the latest collaboration, University of Toronto students visited Broward County and interacted with County staff in a studio class format on November 6, 2017. The students will work on assignments specific to Broward County. The University has invited Broward County and Broward County Planning Council staff to Toronto between December 6 and 8, 2017, to review the results of the students Broward County projects.

The Studio Course is led by Professors Fadi Masoud and Elise Shelley and focuses on resiliency planning for Broward County.

Henry Sniezek, Director, Environmental Protection and Growth Management, (954) 357-6670