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TO: |
Mayor and Town Council |
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FROM: |
Sustainability, Energy and Environment (SEE) Committee (Council Member Jim Ward (Chair), Mayor pro-tem Bill Strom and Council Member Laurin Easthom) |
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SUBJECT: |
Proposed Charge and Composition of a Town Sustainability Committee |
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DATE: |
March 26, 2007 |
This memorandum responds to the October 23, 2006 petition from the Million Solar Roofs Steering Committee (MSRSC), which requested that the Committee be reconstituted as a permanent Town committee and to expand their original charge beyond promotion of solar energy to include all forms of renewable energy and energy efficiency. The petition was referred to the Sustainability, Energy and Environment (SEE) Committee.
As members of the SEE Committee (Council Members Jim Ward (Chair) and Laurin Easthom and Mayor pro tem Bill Strom), we recommend that the MSRSC be dissolved and that a new, more broadly focused committee be formed to address sustainability, including sustainable energy, for the Town. We also recommend that the education and outreach component of the MSRSC be considered in the establishment of a charge and composition of a new Town Sustainability Committee.
On November 14, 2006, the SEE Committee discussed the October 23, 2006 petition by the MSRSC (Attachment 1) to be reclassified as a permanent Town Committee and to expand their original charge to incorporate the following mission statement: to educate and influence the community and its policy makers on sustainable energy and energy efficiency for the built environment.
In light of the growing number of sustainability-related initiatives the Town is undertaking, including the Community Carbon Reduction (CRed) program and the Orange County Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Strategy, the SEE Committee requested that the staff gather feedback from members of the MSRSC on the possible evolution of the MSRSC into an advisory board charged with addressing energy as well as other aspects of sustainability.
At the February 5, 2007 SEE Committee meeting, the staff reported their understanding that members of the MSRSC thought that the Committee’s knowledge base is currently limited to sustainable energy, exclusive of other aspects of sustainability, such as environmental protection and social equity. The MSRSC recommended that a sustainability committee be established and charged with development of a sustainability plan for the Town, to include consideration of energy requirements for private development. They also suggested that the education and outreach portions of the MSRSC become a component of such a committee.
In the late 1990’s, the Town established a Sustainable Development Task Force. The Task Force, formed by Council resolution in 1997 (97-7-7/R-20), addressed sustainable energy and energy efficiency within the broader context of a sustainable community. Composed of 11 citizens and two Council Members, it was chaired by Dr. David Brower, a professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at UNC-Chapel Hill. The Task Force was charged with drafting a proposed set of principles of sustainable development for consideration by the Council for inclusion as part of the Comprehensive Plan.
In a October 12, 1998 report to Council, the Task Force defined a sustainable community as one which meets the basic needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their basic needs (Attachment 2). Established by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development, this definition of sustainability is widely accepted. The following elements were identified as “fundamentals of a sustainable community” by the Task Force, and were later incorporated into the Comprehensive Plan as “Major Themes”:
The Task Force also developed a list of sustainability indicators and suggested that these be incorporated into the Comprehensive Plan as implementation measures.
Several chapters of the Comprehensive Plan specify goals and objectives that partially address the Major Themes listed above. However, the Comprehensive Plan update process has recommended that the revised Comprehensive Plan include sustainability as one of several new Major Themes, and that the revision includes goals and objectives in each chapter that adequately address sustainability. The staff is drafting language, to include a chapter on sustainability, additions to existing chapters regarding sustainability, and a list of sustainability indicators, for consideration by the Planning Board as part of the next step in the Comprehensive Plan update process.
The concept of sustainable communities or sustainable development is often described as a “three-legged stool,” in which the stool represents a sustainable community and each “leg” represents one aspect of sustainability. The legs in this model typically represent environmental sustainability, economic vitality, and social equity, respectively. Each of these aspects is thought of as essential to the proper function of the “stool” or sustainability of the community.
Other municipalities have formed citizen committees that inform policy on various aspects sustainability. Attachment 1 provides a list of several cities with active sustainability committees, the charge of each committee, the aspects of sustainability that are addressed, the composition of members, and the programs, policies, and initiatives with which the committees have been involved, where information is available. All of the committees address energy, ecological conservation, and climate change aspects of sustainability, and most address economic vitality and social equity.
In light of the previous work of the Sustainable Development Task Force, the recommendations of the MSRSC, and the comprehensive implementation strategies needed to meet the Town’s CRed goal of reducing carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2050, we recommend that the MSRSC be dissolved and that a sustainability committee, composed of citizens, be created as a standing advisory board to address sustainable energy, energy efficiency, and other aspects of sustainability within the Town of Chapel Hill. We also recommend that the new committee build on reports produced by the Sustainable Development Task Force from 1995 to 1998.
It should be noted that the MSRSC has been recognized by the North Carolina Solar Center and the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association for its success in promoting solar energy in the area. In 2006, due to its ongoing quality and popularity, the Chapel Hill Solar and Green Homes Tour was showcased in the state-wide Solar and Green Homes Tour Guide. The 2006 Tour had approximately 50 percent higher attendance than other tours in the state, including tours held in Raleigh and Durham. The MSRSC also holds a series of well-attended “solar meetups” each year to facilitate intensive discussion, relative to each attendee’s interest and facilities needs, between solar energy experts and members of the public. Given the success of the MSRSC, we recommend that the Town Council acknowledge the work completed by the MSRSC and consider including these activities in a possible charge for the Sustainability Committee.
We recommend that the Sustainability Committee be charged with maintaining a general overview of the sustainability of the Town, to specifically include the responsibilities listed below.
The SEE Committee recommends that the Sustainability Committee be classified and function as a Town Board, as specified in the Town Code.
Due to the comprehensive nature and balance of factors necessary to achieve community sustainability, we recommend that the composition of the Sustainability Committee include a broad spectrum of citizens. Members of the Committee should be identified as knowledgeable in one or more aspects of sustainability, and should possess an appreciation of the interdependency between each aspect. The elements of a sustainable community, and possible associated topics for each element, are listed below.
Given the breadth of each element of sustainability, the Committee may be divided into subgroups or subcommittees. We also recognize that it may be appropriate to reorganize the composition of the Sustainability Committee at a future date to most appropriately address one or more of the sustainability-related goals and objectives that are adopted during the Comprehensive Plan revision.
Staff has indicated that eliminating the MSRSC will provide some resources necessary to support the anticipated work of the proposed Sustainability Committee. With a broader scope than the MSRSC, including more frequent meetings and review of development proposals, there will be a need for additional staff resources.
We recommend that this item be referred to the Manager. We also recommend that the Manager return to the Council at a future date with a follow up report.