From now through the end of July there is an extraordinary opportunity to participate in the update of Claremont’s Sustainable City Plan. You can add to its goals and action programs, or express support for what is already in the Plan.
Claremont’s 2006 General Plan called for all activities of the City to be examined through the lens of sustainability, defined as “The ability of the City and residents of Claremont to meet the needs of the present economy, society and environment while preserving the ability of future generations to meet their needs”. The General Plan called for creation of the Sustainable City Plan, which was adopted by the City Council in October 2008. Because of this Plan, and other community-wide initiatives, Claremont is increasingly being recognized for its leadership.
The Plan has seven goal areas: Resource Conservation, Environment and Public Health, Transportation, Sustainable Built Environment, Open Space and Land Use, Housing and Economic Sustainability, and Public Outreach and Implementation. As is evident from these, environmental aspects of sustainability have more emphasis than the important, but perhaps more nebulous, social and economic ones. Responsibility for most of the targeted actions is assigned to the City, as would be expected. Some responsibilities are assigned to others in the community such as the School District, the Claremont Forum, the Claremont Chamber of Commerce, and especially to the proposed community organization Sustainable Claremont (Go Green in the Plan), but there is no role assigned to others who have played major roles, or could do so. The list of likely participants includes interested individuals, Claremont businesses, colleges, service clubs (Kiwanis, Rotary, etc.), retirement communities like Pilgrim Place, or other non-profit organizations such as Uncommon Good. With the update of the Plan there is an opportunity to include new goals and targets, and bring the Plan to a new, higher level. The future of the Plan’s implementation requires that the City begin to promote and empower more individuals and groups to take the initiative in proposing, planning, and executing programs and projects – transforming the Sustainable City Plan into a Sustainable Community Plan. This is the time to begin; it will be another four years before another update is scheduled.
Please have a look at the existing Plan (it’s posted under Documents at the City website, ci.claremont.ca.us) and think about what should be added. These could be things that are already planned, underway, or entirely new. Or express your thoughts on the Plan and its relevance. Send suggestions or comments as soon as possible (before the end of July) to Chris Veirs, Claremont’s Sustainability Coordinator: cveirs@ci.claremont.ca.us.
Demystifying Sustainability is an initiative of Sustainable Claremont (sustainableclaremont.org).