City's first sustainability plan may be passed

Tom Scanlon, East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.)
·2 min read

May 21—Though the key word is "aspirational," Scottsdale City Council may finally pull the trigger and approve the city's first Sustainability Plan.

The Tuesday, May 21, meeting features an agenda item, "Adopt Resolution No. 13107 approving the Scottsdale Community Sustainability Plan."

While those who feel conservation and reduction of carbon are crucial may celebrate that notion, the council report carries a crucial caveat:

"This plan is an aspirational document and not a mandate, so there are no penalties if targets are not met."

For something that carries little weight, this plan has been hotly debated.

In 2022, Scottsdale City Council identified the creation and implementation of a sustainability plan as a top priority.

Then, target timelines came and went — still no plan.

An early draft of the plan was ripped and ridiculed by City Council last spring.

Months later, five work study sessions "resulted in a sharp focus on five priorities, a push to develop baseline metrics and set numeric targets, and the need to include the costs and benefits of action."

Sustainability Director Lisa McNeilly went back to the drawing board and, with input from members of the Scottsdale Environmental Advisory Commission, came up with a plan with five "priority areas": Energy, Water, Waste, Air Quality and Extreme Heat.

No formal vote on the in-progress plan was taken at the last few presentations to the council, though on several key points a show of hands provided "council consensus."

In many cases, McNeilly provided two recommendations — one from her city staff, the other from "SEAC," shorthand for the Scottsdale Environmental Advisory Commission.

In most cases, the SEAC goals were much more aggressive than the city staff's aims.

For instance, McNeilly noted Scottsdale residents and businesses pushed 3 metric tons of carbon dioxide, aka "greenhouse gas emissions," into the air in 2022.

City staff asked council to "reduce greenhouse gas emissions (relative to 2022) by 45% by 2035 and 90% by 2050."

SEAC agreed with the first part, but wanted the 90% reduction by 2040.

The council consensus went with the city staff, here.

But that was not always the case, as council gave consensus to the SEAC recommendation for increasing tree and shrub canopy to 20% by 2030 and 25% by 2040.

According to the May 21 report, "The plan is designed to be a living, working document that focuses our resources and collective action where it will be most impactful."

If passed, "Implementing some of the plan's 15 strategies and 93 actions will begin immediately, while others will start later or evolve and be revised over time."