General Plan Sustainable Development: Holistic Sustainability Policy for the City of Irvine

Montgomery Norton

May 14, 2009

Report Significance

• Social, environmental, and economic challenges• Cities are key agents for promoting sustainability• Irvine can continue to be a leader in planning for a sustainable

future.• Integrating sustainability into the General Plan • This report may be used to educate staff, community members,

and other cities

Professional Report Objectives:

1. Identify best practices in city sustainability planning

2. Propose how to address holistic sustainability in the General Plan

3. Provide strategic process recommendations to achieve public participation and inclusion

4. Identify further implementation programs and successful strategies not yet achieved within Irvine’s sustainability portfolio

Sustainability Policy in CA

• AB 32: Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006

• CEQA Guidelines (July 1, 2009 to CARB)

• SB 97 (2007)

• OPR 2003 General Plan Guidelines

• SB 375 (2008)

• Water and Sustainability

Defining Sustainability

• Brundtland Commission– Environmental and Social

Justice?

• The Earth Charter• Urban Land Institute

– “Developing Sustainable Planned Communities”

• President’s Council on Sustainable Development– “Sustainable America: A New

Consensus”

Holistic Sustainability

Police Power:The purpose of local government

• The authority conferred upon the states by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and which the states delegate to their political subdivisions to enact measures to preserve and protect the safety, health, welfare, and morals of the community.

General Plans• “Identify the community’s land use, circulation,

environmental, economic, and social goals and policies as they relate to land use and development.”

Source: Office of Planning and Research. (2003). General Plan Guidelhttp://www.opr.ca.gov/planning/publications/General_Plan_Guidelines_2003.pdfines.

Plans vs. Policies

• Environmental / Climate Action Plans• Energy Plan• General Plans• Zero Waste Resolution• Construction and Demolition Ordinance• Implementation Tools/Programs

– Building Code– Zoning Ordinance– Housing Regulations– Development Agreements

Quality of Life

City Council’s 4 Strategic Goals:1. Clean & Well Maintaned Environment

2. Safe Community

3. Economic Prosperity & a Livable Community

4. Effective GovernmentSource: City of Irvine Strategic Business Plan (2008)

Vision of the City

“The creation of a livable and viable and visually attractive community through skilled planning and sustainable development as outlined in the General Plan.”

General Plans• Incorporate Informational and Procedural

requirements (Waterman, 2004)

General Plans

• Inform citizens, developers, decision-makers, and other cities and counties of the ground rules that guide development within a particular community.

General Plans

• The general plan also serves to: Provide citizens with opportunities to participate in the planning and decision-making processes of their communities.

Governance

• Public Participation

• Inclusive Management

• Civic Engagement

• Democracy

• Empowerment

Environmental Environmental JusticeJustice

• Minority communities disproportionately affected by environmental pollution, currently and historically

• Prominent Examples:– African Americans of Cancer

Alley in Louisiana– Native Americans in the

Southwest by Uranium mining

– Latinos exposed to pesticide-use in agriculture

EPA: Environmental Justice

• "Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

• (This) will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work."

Social Justice

• “CEQA requires only an analysis of the physical environmental effects, not the social impacts, of a given action” (Waterman, 2007)

• Access to affordable housing and employment opportunities

(jobs/housing balance)Source:http://egov.ocgov.com/vgnfiles/ocgov/CEO/Docs/2009%20Community%20Indicators.pdf

Community-Driven Strategic Planning

• The New Public Service: serving citizens instead of customers, accountability, value rather than just productivity, and the citizen as a responsible participant in the government. (Denhardt and Denhardt, 2000)

• Grand Rapids 2002 Master Plan project: Community-Oriented Government

• Civic Discovery: citizens are encouraged and empowered to identify their own challenges and form a deliberative process to devise their own solutions. (Reich, 1988)

Community-Driven Strategic PlanningCreate a community-driven, strategic planning process that brings people together to identify , key issues, develop a vision, set goals and benchmarks, and determine actions to improve their community.

(President’s Council on Sustainable Development, 1996)

Water and Energy• Water, (Food), and Energy are interdependent although rarely

integrated in policy (Moresco, J., 2009).• Considering energy and water together could offer substantial

economic and environmental benefits• Water-related energy use “consumes about 19 percent of the

state’s electricity, 30 percent of its natural gas, and 88 billion gallons of diesel fuel every year (Krebs, 2007, p. 3).

Water Element

• Recommended inclusion by Office of Planning & Research’s 2003 General Plan Guidelines

• Water management covered by 5/7 mandatory elements, but disconnect between the land use and water planning functions - water supply nor quality, only flooding

• Collaboration with water agency’s Urban Water Management Plan

Description Electricity Use (million kWh)

Natural Gas (milliion Therms)

Agricultural Production-Crops

2,996 140

Agricultural Production-Livestock

1,107 16

Agricultural Services 1,068 38

Source: The California Energy Commission. (2009). http://www.energy.ca.gov/research/iaw/industry/agri.html

Agriculture and Energy

Why is the production crop sector the biggest energy consumer?

Agriculture is the 3rd largest consumer of electricity & natural gas in CA by industry.

Local Sustainability Policies

• Environmental and Sustainability Programs Survey

• Gaps:– Sustainability Element– Water Element– Community Sustainable Food

Policy/Program– Comprehensive Inclusive

Process– Green Jobs Ordinance/Program– Green Roofs Program

Recommendations• Process for Product

– Collaboration, Education, Engagement, Stewardship

• Youth and Planning• Web-based General Plan (i.e. Ontario)• Sustainable Food Policy• Green Assessment Districts• Water Element• Collaborative Resources, Best

Practices• Regional Cooperation & Planning• Green Jobs

Recommendations, cont’d• Sustainability must get beyond

planning exclusively for the physical environment and begin to develop adaptation strategies that protect communities from environmental

pollution, food insecurity, and climate change.

Santa Ana Watershed (SAWPA): Regional Sustainability Planning

Thank You!