CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Receive the presentation and concur with recommendations as presented by staff and representatives of the Naperville Environmental and Sustainability Task Force (NEST)
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DEPARTMENT: Community Services
SUBMITTED BY: Pam Gallahue, PhD, Director and Ben Mjolsness, Sustainability Coordinator
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
In 2019 a group of community members requested the City Council create a Sustainability Commission to assess environmental impacts at the local level and develop recommendations for improvement. The Naperville Environment and Sustainability Task Force (NEST) was formed.
At the March 16, 2021 City Council meeting, members of NEST presented a summary of the Sustainable Naperville 2036 Plan (“Plan”) and highlighted goals of transitioning to clean energy purchases, energy efficiency, reduction in natural gas consumption, and consumer education.
The City Council unanimously accepted the report and directed staff to schedule a Sustainability Workshop for summer 2021.
To further assist with the management of existing City efforts, as well as the implementation of new recommendations, a Sustainability Coordinator position was approved as part of the 2021 budget and hired in June 2021.
Since June, staff from the City Manager’s Office, Community Services Department, Electric and Water Utilities, Department of Public Works, and the Transportation, Engineering, and Development (TED) Business Group have been meeting with representatives from NEST to review the Plan and align on the proposed objectives as well as an implementation timeline.
DISCUSSION:
The Plan presented by NEST offered more than 80 objectives in the following six areas of municipal operation:
1. Municipal Leadership
a. Integrate goal of emission reduction across operations and decisions
b. Serve as coordinating body for recommendations
2. Energy
a. Transition to clean, renewable energy
b. Community electricity generation of 25% by 2036
c. Increase and incentivize energy efficiency
d. Reduce natural gas consumption
e. Outreach and engagement
3. Transportation and Mobility
a. Develop plan for electric vehicle infrastructure
b. Increase public transportation use
c. Reduce vehicle miles - increase bikeability and walkability
d. Outreach and engagement
4. Waste
a. Increase recycling
b. Develop and incentivize circular economy
c. Promote reduction of single use plastics and disposables
d. Develop reusable culture
e. Promote and incentivize Zero Waste measures and create a community-wide Zero Waste plan
f. Assess transition of Springbrook WWT to anaerobic
g. Outreach and engagement
5. Natural Resources
a. Maintain urban forest
b. Increase urban forest
c. Replace high maintenance lawn with deep-rooted vegetation
d. Transition to electric lawn equipment
e. Encourage green roofs
f. Encourage water conservation
g. Assess, maintain, restore, and conserve ecosystem services
h. Outreach and engagement
6. Building and Development
a. Reduce GHG through regulated energy efficiency and increased responsible construction practices
b. Outreach and engagement
Over the past several weeks, staff has partnered with NEST to revise the objectives and group them into the following categories:
1. Completed or Currently Underway
2. Immediate Plan (Current - December 2022)
3. Five-year Plan (2023 - 2028)
4. Outreach and Engagement (2022 - 2023)
The final list of objectives and PowerPoint presentation are attached for reference. Staff will be seeking Council consensus on the following:
1. Immediate Plan (Current - December 2022)
2. Five-year Plan (2023 - 2028)
3. Outreach and Engagement (2022 - 2023)
FISCAL IMPACT:
None based on workshop actions. Any direction requiring funding will be incorporated into either the annual budget or future City Council agenda items.