City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JUNE 5, 2019
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of the Environmental Action Plan (EAP) 2040.
BODY
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ISSUE: Consideration of the Environmental Action Plan 2040 (EAP 2040), which also incorporates goals, targets, and actions adopted as Phase One on October 13, 2018.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
1. Receive the proposed EAP 2040, docket it for public hearing on Saturday, June 22, 2019, and final adoption on July 9, 2019, and
2. Authorize the City Manager to administratively revise the Council adopted EAP 2040 document to incorporate any future City Council actions on open space and green building policies.
BACKGROUND: The EAP is a foundational document of the Eco-City Alexandria initiative and a sustainability road map in alignment with existing, approved City plans. The EAP 2040 will replace the 10-year old original EAP which included 363 actions targeted for completion by 2030, most of which were completed or became on-going programs and policies.
The EAP 2040 covers the same ten topic areas: Climate Change, Energy, Green Buildings, Land Use and Open Space, Water Resources, Transportation, Environmental Health, Air Quality, and Implementation, Education, and Outreach. It includes 101 short-, mid-, and long-term actions, with actions yet to be added from a Green Building policy update and Open Space Study. The plan development process has been a collaboration with Environmental Policy Commission (EPC), the public and staff from multiple departments with guidance and leadership from the Eco-City Steering Committee. Since the Planning Commission deferred a decision on the Green Building, Land Use and Open Space chapters of the EAP and will not be considering these until June 25, it is recommended that the public hearing be held on June 22, but that the final decision on the EAP not occur until July 9.
DISCUSSION: EAP 2040 is heavily focused on actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Significant advances in knowledge, technology, global impacts, and best practices related to sustainability and climate change have occurred since the EAP’s adoption in 2009.
Still, many targets and timelines in the EAP 2040 are aggressive and aspirational. Joint Council and EPC work sessions (in addition to joint EPC meetings with Planning Commission and Park and Recreation Commission) have facilitated better understanding of citywide priorities. The EPC and staff have collaborated in regular meetings; small working groups in addition to directed efforts to engage the public input through open houses (including an Eco-City Café and an Eco-City Summit) and remote participation through social media and online feedback forms. Among the comments received from the community was an overarching request for greater outreach and education across the board. Public engagement and participation are essential to achieving the targets and successful implementation of the EAP 2040 actions.
Many EAP Phase One actions adopted in 2018 are already moving forward, such as 100% renewable offsets for City building electrical use, a Recycle Right campaign, recycling containers for glass only, development of a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (CPACE) program and updates to the energy conservation code, an electric vehicle charging strategy, Green Building Policy update, and Open Space Study.
FISCAL IMPACT: Operating and capital cost estimates are preliminary (order of magnitude) up to $103 million, not counting the highest cost projects that are already in the City’s CIP (the Potomac Yard Metro Station, Combined Sewer Outfall (CSO) remediation, and rapid transit with dedicated lanes is expected to cost approximately $1.2 billion). Additionally, many of the action items reflect costs that are already captured within the CIP. However, each action requiring additional resources will have to compete during the City’s annual operating and capital budget process. Cost estimates provided are order of magnitude estimates through 2030 (with some to 2040). Costs do not reflect savings from energy efficiency investments for projects such as LED streetlight replacements.
Adoption of the EAP 2040 is not a fiscal commitment to implement recommended actions. Each implementation decision requiring additional funding would be determined through the annual budgeting processes. In addition, action items for which staff planning efforts are envisioned will need to be considered as part of the annual Long-Range Interdepartmental Planning Work Program and the annual operating budget.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Environmental Action Plan 2040
Attachment 2: Presentation
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, Deputy City Manager
Yon Lambert, Director, T&ES
Karl Moritz, Director, P&Z
Jeremy McPike, Director, General Services
James Spengler, Director, RPCA
William Skrabak, Deputy Director, T&ES/Infrastructure and Environmental Quality
Ellen Eggerton, Sustainability Coordinator, T&ES/Office of Environmental Quality