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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem A: Sustainability Commission Work Plan ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Work Session: Sustainability Commission Work Plan Meeting Date: April 23, 2008 Agenda Item Number: B Department: Central Services Staff Contact: Felicity Fahy www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 682 5017 ISSUE STATEMENT The Sustainability Commission is required to develop an annual work plan and present it to the council for approval. This is the first work plan developed by the Sustainability Commission; it covers the period from May 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009. BACKGROUND Introduction In January 2007, the council adopted the Sustainability Initiative goal with the focus to develop the Office of Sustainability and the Sustainability Commission to support sustainable practices and businesses producing sustainable products and/or employing sustainable practices. The council adopted Ordinance No. 20379 establishing the Sustainability Commission as a policy advisory body to the council and City Manager to assist in the development of programs to create or enhance sustainable practices within the community. The Sustainability Commission is charged with advising on policy matters related to: sustainable practices, businesses that produce sustainable products and services, City building design and infrastructure, and related issues that directly affect sustainability efforts considered by the City Council. The commission is to prepare an annual work plan and meet with the council to secure approval of that plan. The commission first met on November 28, 2007 and has met seven times subsequently, with one additional meeting of a mission sub-committee. The commission members have: explored their role and that of the Commission; considered the council adopted definition of Sustainability; adopted the Sustainable Business Initiative Taskforce report vision as the draft commission vision; and developed a mission statement. The proposed mission statement of the commission reads: The Sustainability Commission works to create a healthy community now and in the future by proposing measurable solutions to pressing environmental, social and economic concerns to the City of Eugene, its partners and its people. The commission has also elected a chair and vice chair and developed and adopted by-laws. Beginning with the first meeting of the Sustainability Commission, commissioners and community members alike have expressed an urgency to create a work plan and recommend actions to the City Council to establish and advance sustainable initiatives in Eugene. The commissioners are committed to enhancing sustainable operations of the City organization and the community at large – including businesses, households, other organizations and institutions. F:\CMO\2008 Council Agendas\M080423\S080423B.doc One of the biggest challenges for the commission has been the scope of this task. While the Sustainable Business Initiative Taskforce report provides an excellent starting place for commission work plan discussions, the recommendations do not cover all possible initiatives to help our community become more sustainable. Further, since the report was issued, more information has been released on the urgency with which we need to respond to climate change and rising oil prices. There are many possible options that need to be assessed when considering how to create a more sustainable community and our limited resources need to be applied effectively to achieve our desired outcomes. The commission has received pertinent, timely and well researched comments from many different community members. This public comment has been helpful in developing the commission work plan framework. The commission, and its individual members, continues to work with members of the community in gathering relevant information to help inform their decision making and planning their activities. Work plan framework The Sustainability Commission work plan framework (Attachment A) outlines the broad priority issues the commission has chosen to address and lays out initial commission work including the development of a more detailed action plan. It is not anticipated the commission will be able to address all the issues identified in the first year, but rather it outlines the issues the commission considers are priorities for it to investigate further before recommending specific action to the council. It is likely the commission may choose to focus on some long term projects in combination with others that could achieve quick results. The commission work is to be divided into three main components (as indicated in three vertical columns), and eight issue areas (listed in eight horizontal rows). Investigation into sustainable operations of the City organization is the first component. It is important that the City lead by example and undertake best practices when integrating sustainability into its operations and programs. The commission recognizes that different service areas within the City of Eugene have been working for years on issues related to sustainability, and the commission proposes to begin by looking at organizational work that has already been done, along with current initiatives and proposed future actions. This review of organizational activities will also identify what other communities are doing and look to coordinated actions in the future where appropriate. The second component for the commission’s attention is working with the larger community. This includes neighborhoods, businesses, households, educational institutions, other government entities and community non-profits. The commission realizes that success in addressing sustainability for our community can only be achieved through effective partnerships. Recognizing that a great deal of valuable work has already been accomplished in the community, the commission hopes to work in conjunction with others to extend and employ those efforts on a larger level. Through this work it is hoped that the commission can initiate partnerships and coordinate between different community groups with similar goals. The third component of the work plan framework is education and outreach. Education and behavior change are critical components in increasing sustainability in our community. The commission hopes to serve as a vehicle to educate both itself and the community about the issues of sustainability and the possible solutions available. F:\CMO\2008 Council Agendas\M080423\S080423B.doc The eight issue areas the Sustainability Commission have identified are listed down the left hand side of the matrix and include: climate change, transportation, triple bottom line, land-use, green building, business initiatives, waste and food. The need to respond to climate change is a primary focus of the work plan. The other issues listed under climate change can be seen as ways to help respond by both reducing our emissions and planning for medium and longer term consequences of climate change. Climate change is acknowledged as a major social and economic issue as well as an environmental one. Implicit in the issues listed, especially transportation, land-use, and food is the need to plan for the effects of increasing petroleum prices which will impact all aspects of our society. In each of the matrix cells four steps are proposed: 1.Research current action and develop relationships with the aim to partnering with groups and organizations to undertake sustainable initiatives 2.Propose action to City Council 3.Implement and/or monitor action as appropriate 4.Develop measures and report back to the council on outcome of action The first step will include information-gathering to help identify and prioritize which initiatives will have the most positive impact on community sustainability. Assessment of best practice approaches to addressing the issues, both in North America and beyond, will be undertaken. As outlined, building partnerships with organizations and groups already implementing sustainability will be an important part of our work. It is vital that the commission develop working relationships with other groups and organizations including the Planning Commission, Human Rights Commission, governmental organizations, non-profits, educational institutions, as well as business and community leaders in Eugene and Lane County to develop a regional sustainable vision and identify where the commission can be most effective. There is growing understanding that everyone and each organization has a role to play in addressing issues such as climate change. Next, specific actions will be proposed to the Council to address the issues noted in the matrix. Once approval for these actions is received from the council, the commission will help implement, monitor, or undertake the action as appropriate. Metrics for measuring results will be developed in conjunction with the action taken. Development of metrics for sustainability within the City and community are crucial in order to track and assess the results of actions. Finally, the commission will report to the council, on a quarterly basis, on the outcomes of its work. Timeline To begin this work, it is proposed the commission will first hear from each City department on current sustainability initiatives with particular emphasis on the eight issues identified in the work plan framework, as well as education and outreach. The commission will then develop subcommittees as needed to work on advancing specific parts of the eight priority issues, both within the City organization and within the community. These subcommittees will enable more detailed discussion and development of recommendations back to the full commission and ultimately the council. The commission as a whole will be responsible for education and outreach. A Gantt chart outlining the commissions’ proposed work plan is included as Attachment B. One of the challenges in developing a more detailed action plan is to ensure integration of the social, economic and environmental considerations into any action proposed. While the commission has begun F:\CMO\2008 Council Agendas\M080423\S080423B.doc to identify the specific action items that could be undertaken within each “cell” of the work plan, more discussion is required to identify work being undertaken by other groups. It is also apparent the commission will need to establish priorities as it is unlikely the commission will be able to work an all of the issue areas in its first year. The commission acknowledges it needs time within each meeting to respond to time sensitive requests for commission involvement or endorsement of grants, events, speaking engagements and the like. Criteria will need to be developed to guide commission participation in such requests to ensure the commission is a supportive partner to the community and other organizations on sustainability initiatives and is involved with appropriate projects. Time is also needed to respond to emerging issues that arise during the year that require commission input. Resources required In order to make progress enhancing sustainability within Eugene, the commission believes more resources are required to staff the commission. At present the Sustainability Manager has three main roles: staffing the Sustainability Commission; coordinating and championing the internal City sustainability initiatives; and partnering with external groups and organizations to help create a regional vision and action on sustainability. As the Office of Sustainability is currently configured, there are not sufficient staff resources for in- depth research of specific issues that the Commission may wish to take action on, or staffing of the anticipated committees working on the specific issue areas. The need for additional staff is apparent. The Sustainability Commission requests a 1.0 full time equivalent (FTE) plus $50,000, be funded in FY 09 budget to help the Commission lay the necessary groundwork in the community and begin to implement the work plan. RELATED CITY POLICIES The Sustainability Initiative Goal supports and builds on the numerous sustainability resolutions that the council has adopted. On February 28, 2000, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 4618, which outlined a definition and statement of intent regarding the application of sustainability principles to the City of Eugene, and affirmed the commitment of City elected officials and staff to uphold these principles. To further this commitment, the City Council adopted Resolution Nos. 4884 and 4887 in the summer of 2006 regarding a sustainable buildings policy for City-owned and occupied buildings. In November 2006, Resolution No. 4893 was adopted, committing the City to sustainable practices and to businesses that produce sustainable products and services. This was followed in February 2007, by Ordinance No. 20379 which created the Sustainability Commission. COUNCIL OPTIONS The council could: 1. Approve the work plan framework, or 2. Approve the work plan framework with changes, or 3. Request changes to work plan before approval CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION The City Manager recommends Option 1, approval of the Sustainability Commission work plan framework. F:\CMO\2008 Council Agendas\M080423\S080423B.doc SUGGESTED MOTION Move to approve the Sustainability Commission first work plan framework. ATTACHMENTS A.Sustainability Commission work plan framework B.Work Plan Gantt Chart FOR MORE INFORMATION Staff Contact: Felicity Fahy Telephone: 682 5017 Staff E-Mail: felicity.m.fahy@ci.eugene.or.us F:\CMO\2008 Council Agendas\M080423\S080423B.doc ATTACHMENT A Sustainability Commission Work plan framework (May 08- June 09) Internal City operations Community (inc business, Education and awareness households, organizations) ??? Climate Change Research/ Research/ Research/ partnerships partnerships partnerships ??? Propose action Propose action Propose action ??? Implement and/or Implement and/or Implement and/or monitor monitor monitor ??? Measure Measure Measure ??? Transportation As above As above As above ??? Triple Bottom As above As above As above Line ??? Land use As above As above As above ??? Green Building As above As above As above ??? Business As above As above As above ??? Food As above As above As above ??? Waste As above As above As above F:\CMO\2008 Council Agendas\M080423\S080423B.doc