Public comments and feedback are now open for Renton’s draft plan for Clean Economy Strategy 2.0 (CES 2.0), the city’s first update to its climate action and mitigation plan, which was first adopted in 2011.
According to the city, CES 2.0 will “support local green job creation, public health benefits, safer walking and biking routes, more accessible transit, long-term energy cost savings, a more resilient grid, and more robust emergency management systems.”
Easy to read and robust in its information, the draft plan is uploaded and available for review online at rentonces.konveio.com.
Public comment will be open through Oct. 4. Residents can comment by attend the Planning Commission briefing and public hearing on Oct. 4, either in-person or over Zoom.
Other ways to give comment is to send an email to kbuchl-morales@rentonwa.gov or by mail to Katie Buchl-Morales, City of Renton, Community and Economic Development, 1055 S. Grady Way, 6th Floor, Renton, WA 98057.
Building off of the original plan, the CES 2.0 is a “roadmap” that is tailor-made for the City of Renton and its residents to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase environmentally-sound sustainability and prepare for more brushfires and other fallouts from a changing climate.
According to the plan, the city will implement actions in five focus areas: Transportation and Land Use, Buildings and Energy, Consumption and Materials Management, Community Resilience and Wellbeing, Water and Natural Systems.
Key plans from the CES 2.0
• Promote sustainable land use planning and create a clean, efficient transportation system that centers walking, bicycling, transit and electric vehicles.
Decrease usage and improve efficiency of fossil fuel-powered vehicles and equipment (Implement the Renton Trails and Bicycle Master Plan. Advocate and partner regionaly to improve transit network.
Encourage a transition towards cleaner vehicles (Create an EV plan)
• Ensure access to clean and reliable energy sources, expand renewable energy sources, support efficient building standards and create a more climate-resilient grid.
Transition to cleaner energy sources. (Support community solar projects. Promote renewable energy financing and incentives.)
Support energy efficiency in buildings. (Support financing for building energy upgrades. Support equitable access to energy incentives and financing through state, federal and other programs.)
• Extend the lifecycle of materials, reduce new consumption and improve city-wide recycling and composting
Increase waste diversion from landfill. (Formalize the Sustainable Materials Management Plan and implement key provisions.
Education and awareness. (Lobby for state policy changes.)
• Preserve and enhance the integrity, health and abundance of natural areas, ecosystems and water resources.
Improve resilience of natural systems to climate change impacts, including flooding. (Strengthen and revise critical areas code and regulation. Implement and enforce the Hazard Mitigation Plan and Stormwater Management Program Plan.)
Preserve, restore and protect natural systems to increase opportunities for carbon sequestration. (Support food access and expand gardens. Implement the 10-Year Urban Forest Management Plan.)
• Ensure all communities are prepared for climate-related impacts and have equitable access to resources and tools to adapt to climate change.
Increase community capacity, particularly those most vulnerable, to respond to future climate change. (Spur local, climate-related jobs. Provide climate awareness resources and education.)
Prepare Renton for future extreme events. (Provide temporary housing and services during extreme weather events and natural disasters. Identify and communicate evacuation routes.)
For more information, visit rentonces.com. Any questions can be emailed to City of Renton Senior Planner, Katie Buchl-Morales, at kbuchl-morales@rentonwa.gov.
