On Tuesday, September 23, 2008, the Edmonds City Council had a work session with the Climate Protection Committee and the Planning Board on the Community Sustainability Element of the Comprehensive Plan (see below). Following the session, the issue was referred to the Community Services/Development Services Committee for further work.
The Mayor’s Climate Protection Committee has recently reviewed the draft City of Edmonds Greenhouse Gas Inventory completed by summer intern Nicole Sanders. Future meetings will focus on creating targets for the City in the years ahead.
The Climate Protection Committee has also had discussions and awaits input from the Council on the draft sustainability element of the comprehensive plan. This evening is an opportunity for the Council to weigh in on the draft.
As you know, the City of Edmonds is well ahead of the State when it comes to climate-change initiatives. The State legislature will be working with the Governor’s office in early 2009 to create State policies. Mayor Haakenson has been working on Executive Reardon’s Green Ribbon Commission to create a County policy.
—————————————-
Citizens Committee on U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement
Mayor Gary Haakenson formed the Citizens Committee on U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in the summer of 2006. The catalyst for implementing this committee was Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels’ U.S. Climate Protection Agreement, which Mayor Haakenson signed onto in April 2005. (You can find out more about the agreement and Mayor Nickels’ work on climate protection at www.seattle.gov/climate.)
Mayor Haakenson’s column in the Edmonds edition of The Enterprise on July 14, 2006 asked for interested community members to contact him if they wanted to serve on the committee. Several people responded, and the citizens committee was formed. In addition to the community members, City staff serving on the committee are: Mayor Gary Haakenson, Public Works Director Noel Miller, Recycling Coordinator Steve Fisher, Environmental Education Coordinator Sally Lider, and Sr. Executive Assistant to the Mayor Linda Carl.
Mission
1. Encourage citizens to be a part of the solution
2. Encourage City staff and citizens to conserve current resources
3. Work with the City Council to implement ideas
4. Effectively address the future impacts of climate change
—————————–
Community-sustainability element
The City is in the process of developing a “community sustainability element” to include in the comprehensive plan that covers the topics of climate change, community health, and environmental quality. An initial outline draft has been posted here to stimulate thoughts and ideas on what a “community sustainability” plan element should look like. Staff is seeking input on the draft as it progresses. Please email any comments or suggestions to Planning Manager Rob Chave at chave@ci.edmonds.wa.us. If you choose to work with the Word version of the draft, it would be helpful if you use the “track changes” feature in Word to show your edits. If you have questions, please email Rob or call him at 425.771.0220. Thank you for your input!
* Comprehensive Plan Community Sustainability Element (PDF)
* Comprehensive Plan Community Sustainability Element (Word)
