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Date: November 25, 2003 <br /> To: Mayor and City Council <br /> From: Environmental Policy Team <br /> Tom Coyle, Planning & Development Director, 682-6077 and Kurt Corey, Public Works <br /> Director, 682-5241; co-chairs <br /> Subject: Update on Sustainability Activities <br /> Introduction <br /> In February of 2002 the City Council adopted Resolution #4618, A Resolution Adopting a Definition <br /> and Statement of Intent Regarding the Application of Sustainability Principles to the City of Eugene. <br /> This resolution commits the City to promoting a sustainable future that meets today's needs without <br /> compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs, and accepts its responsibility to: <br /> • Support a stable, diverse and equitable economy <br /> • Protect the quality of the air, water, land and other natural resources <br /> • Conserve native vegetation, fish, wildlife habitat and other ecosystems <br /> • Minimize human impacts on local, regional and worldwide ecosystems <br /> The resolution also included a set of sustainability principles intended to guide the development of <br /> policies and strategies and the provision of City services. This memo summarizes some of the activities <br /> that have been taken to implement Resolution #4618 and the concept of sustainability in the <br /> management and provision of City services. <br /> Sustainability Activities <br /> City Environmental Policy <br /> In January of 2003 the City Manager pro tem finalized in an administrative order an Environmental <br /> Policy intended to guide staff in their work, involvement in City programs, and various practices and <br /> procedures. The policy states that the City of Eugene is committed to protecting, preserving, and <br /> restoring the natural environment. It directs that decision-making will be guided by the goals of <br /> increasing environmental benefits and reducing or eliminating negative environmental impacts in all <br /> aspects of the City's activities, while maintaining the City's fiscal integrity and the community's <br /> economic vitality. <br /> Sustainable Economic Development <br /> In January 2003 the Council received recommendations on how to best leverage limited one time <br /> economic resources to achieve tangible results for enhancing the community's economic sustainability. <br /> City management discussions focused on ways to link sustainability actions to other major work <br /> program items to enhance the "sustainability outcomes" of broader policy initiatives <br /> With this view, the City has concentrated its work to date in two primary areas: green building <br /> education and information and completion a downtown housing market analysis. Green building <br /> initiatives, which are addressed later in this memo, were supported in part with sustainable economic <br /> development funding. A downtown housing market analysis was completed by EcoNorthwest and <br /> presented to the Planning Commission during the commission's deliberations on the downtown plan <br /> update. This study contributed to the commission's policy recommendations as well as the City's <br /> efforts to support nodal development and growth management. <br /> <br /> _ <br /> <br />