First Long Beach Sustainable City Plan To Be Finished In Summer

By Kelly Garrison
Features Editor

Just in time for its one-year anniversary, Long Beach’s Sustainable City Commission has neared the completion of its first yearly plan of action aimed at bettering the community’s environment.

City Sustainability Coordinator Larry Rich said the commission’s new work plan should be completed sometime this summer and will outline recommendations to keep Long Beach as green as possible in the year ahead. The group was established last May to promote sustainable building, education and other practices, he said.

“The main thing is the development of a city plan that would (carry out) the mission statement,” he said.

The driving force behind that statement is to keep the City Council informed about issues related to the environment. The group oversees efforts that address air and water quality problems, the use of natural resources, educational outreach and public concerns. Its scope of work also includes reviewing city building practices.

“City staff recommended having a sustainability commission with the idea that it would focus on more than just the environment,” Rich said. “There’s a little more to it. The commission’s responsibility includes anything referred to it by the City Council. It’s pretty broad. The built environment is a major focus area for improving energy efficiency.”

Commission members will determine exactly what their overall vision includes this month during a several-hour-long workshop at the Mark Twain Library. Details will be documented in its draft work plan, slated for completion in June or July, Rich said. Members will present the plan to the City Council for approval in the near future.

Rich added that the commission differs from the city’s Environmental Committee, a task force made up of people who “hear items from the council on an as-needed basis.” And it’s not to be confused with the Green Building Team, either, he said.

Ten commissioners currently make up the Sustainability City Commission, with one empty seat left for an 11th member — yet to be selected by Mayor Bob Foster. Nine of the commissioners represent each of the different council districts.

“The sustainability commission is a citizen commission acting as an advisory role to the city,” he said.

Among its objectives, the group will find better ways to comply with the state’s Global Warming Solutions Act through city regulations, Rich said. The act mandates a timeframe for regulating unhealthy pollution levels throughout the state.

“We will be involved in trying to meet and implement it,” he said.

The commission also wants to join efforts of the California Climate Action Registry to track the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. Members of the nonprofit organization voluntarily measure, verify and publicly report greenhouse emissions to help solve the problems associated with climate change.

Commissioners include Susana Gonzalez, Lisa Wibroe, Andrea White, Joan Greenwood, Carolyn Shadle, Robin Thorne, Daryl Supernaw, Sera Grossman, Jill Brennan and Andrew Kincaid. Rich said the city selected each person based on his or her demonstrated knowledge about the environment and concern for the cause.

Meetings typically take place at 4 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month in City Hall Council Chambers. For more information about the Sustainable City Commission, visit www.longbeach.gov/plan/boards_n_commissions/sustainable_city_commission.asp.

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