AGENDA #11
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TO: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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FROM: |
J.B. Culpepper, Planning Director David Bonk, Long Range and Transportation Coordinator |
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SUBJECT: |
Response to the Proposed Charge and Composition of a Town Sustainability Committee |
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DATE: |
May 7, 2007 |
This memorandum responds to the March 26, 2007 proposal by the Council Sustainability, Energy and Environment (SEE) Committee to create a charge and composition for a new Town Sustainability Committee. Adoption of the attached resolution would establish a standing Town of Chapel Hill Sustainability Committee. The resolution also proposes a committee charge and a composition for the new committee.
In November 2006, members of the SEE Committee discussed the October 23, 2006 petition by the Million Solar Roofs Steering Committee (MSRSC) (Attachment 1) to be reclassified as a permanent Town Committee, and to incorporate into their charge the promotion of sustainable energy and energy efficiency in buildings and related facilities. The SEE Committee requested feedback from members of the MSRSC regarding the possible evolution of the MSRSC into an advisory board charged with addressing matters pertaining to energy and other aspects of sustainability. At the February 5, 2007 meeting of the SEE Committee, the staff reported that the MSRSC members thought that the Committee’s knowledge base was not suitable to address all aspects of sustainability[1]. The Committee recommended that a new committee be established to develop a sustainability plan for the Town, and to carry out education and outreach activities such as those conducted by the MSRSC.
On March 26, 2007, the Council received a memorandum from the SEE Committee which suggested a charge and composition for a new Town Sustainability Committee (Attachment 2). As proposed, the new Committee would address matters of social equity, environmental protection, and economic vitality in Chapel Hill. The Committee is proposed to be composed of citizens who are knowledgeable in one or more aspects of sustainability and possess an appreciation of the interdependency between each aspect.
In the late 1990’s, the Town established a Sustainable Development Task Force that was charged with drafting a proposed set of principles of sustainable development for consideration by the Council, for inclusion into the Comprehensive Plan. The Task Force identified “fundamentals of a sustainable community”, as listed below, which 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.
The Council has endorsed the inclusion of sustainability as one of several new Major Themes of the revised Comprehensive Plan, including sustainability goals, objectives, and indicators. The staff is currently drafting language for consideration by the Planning Board as part of the next step in the Comprehensive Plan update process.
The Town is currently engaged in a number of community-wide projects related to sustainability, including implementation of its Community Carbon Reduction (CRed) pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 60 percent by the year 2050 (2006-06-26/R-25). The pledge addresses emissions attributed to residents, institutions, commercial establishments, and Town municipal operations. The Town has adopted milestones for per capita reduction of carbon emissions from municipal operations. The Town is also a partner in the Orange County Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Study, which we expect to include an inventory of county-wide greenhouse gas emissions, and to propose strategies to reduce those emissions.
On April 23, 2007, the Town adopted a resolution that encourages private developments seeking approval of rezoning applications with accompanying special use permits to exceed by 20 percent the energy efficiency standard recommended by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers, and to have an Energy Management Plan (Attachment 3). The Plan would explore the feasibility of utilizing sustainable energy, the purchase of carbon offset credits, and green power production. The resolution is one example of policies designed to promote community-wide sustainability. We anticipate that the Sustainability Committee would play a role in the development of similarly multifaceted policies and programs to address all three aspects of a sustainable community.
We recommend that the Council consider a charge to the Sustainability Committee to maintaining a general overview of the sustainability of the Town, to specifically include the responsibilities listed below.
The creation of the Committee would increase the total number of Town boards and commissions to 18.
On April 27, 2007, the SEE Committee stated a preference that members of the Sustainability Committee should be identified as knowledgeable in one or more aspects of sustainability, and should possess an appreciation of the interdependency between each aspect.
We agree that the new Committee’s charge would be best served by citizens chosen for their individual expertise in each of the three sectors of sustainability. We therefore recommend that the Sustainability Committee be composed of nine citizens and one Council member liaison, and that three citizens be chosen to represent environmental protection, economic vitality, and social justice, respectively. We also recommend that the Council reflect a preference for residents of Chapel Hill when considering appointments to the Committee. Although we believe it is important that the Committee’s meeting structure enable citizens representing each area of sustainability to meet as a group, the Committee may wish to establish subcommittees to address each aspect of sustainability individually, as it progresses.
We believe that the establishment of a Town Sustainability Committee will assist the Town in its ongoing efforts to become a more sustainable community. The work of the Sustainable Development Task Force reflects the ongoing need to create sustainability policies and goals, and to monitor progress toward the Town’s goals over time. The recommendations of the Million Solar Roofs Steering Committee (MSRSC) indicate that the Town may need to expand its utilization of citizen expertise regarding sustainability. We believe that a Town Sustainability Committee would serve as a mechanism of interaction across current boards and committees. Therefore, we recommend that the MSRSC be dissolved and that a Sustainability Committee, composed of citizens, be created and classified as a standing advisory board to address 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.
We agree with the Council Sustainability Energy and Environment Committee’s proposal and recommend adoption of the attached resolution which would create a Town Sustainability Committee and establish the charge and composition of the Committee.
The Town Clerk will solicit applications for the Sustainability Committee. We would tentatively expect to return to the Council before the summer break to allow the Council to appoint members to the Sustainability Committee.
1. October 23, 2006 petition by the Million Solar Roofs Steering Committee (p. 7).
2. March 26, 2007 memorandum from the SEE Committee proposing a new Town Sustainability Committee (p. 8).
[1] The three variables generally viewed as components of a Sustainable Community are environmental stewardship,
economic vitality, and social equity.