Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/04/2014

Home

Last revised July 24, 2014 Communities are choosing to reduce their contributions to climate change and attempting to mitigate its impacts through a variety of energy reduction measures, including developing in a more compact land use pattern and reducing automobile dependency for example. Taking these measures ensures that communities are better prepared to deal with more frequent extreme weather events and other expected climate impacts that can drain limited local resources and threaten the region's competitiveness and viability. Council role • Incorporate water sustainability considerations in all areas of Council policy and actions, including overall development patterns and housing planning. • Use the Council's investments and planning authorities to help meet statutory goals for reductions in regional greenhouse gas emissions. • Develop, collect, and disseminate information about climate change, including energy and climate data, GreenStep Cities best practices, and the next generation of the Regional Indicators data. • Give funding consideration in Livable Communities Act grants to projects that meet and exceed the policies and requirements of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for surface water management. Local role • Plan land use patterns that facilitate groundwater recharge and reuse, and reduce per capita water use to protect the region's water supply. • Identify local measures that would result in household reductions in water use, energy consumption, and emission of greenhouse gases. • Participate in programs that evaluate and share city practices and provide technical support, such as the GreenStep Cities program and the Regional Indicators Initiative. Encourage and promote environmentally -sustainable and healthy buildings and construction techniques While compact development patterns can improve environmental sustainability, much of housing's impact on sustainability happens at the individual building level, whether though the use of sustainable construction techniques or efforts to ensure healthy building operations. A critical challenge is a housing stock free from harmful toxic materials such as lead -based paint, asbestos -containing materials, and radon gas. When chewed or swallowed by children under seven, lead -based paint can cause brain damage, slow growth and development, and lead to learning and behavioral problems. Asbestos fibers, once commonly used to manufacture building materials, can potentially cause lung cancer, scarring of lung tissue or mesothelioma (cancer of the lining of the lung cavity) if not handled, controlled, or removed properly. Radon gas, a colorless, odorless radioactive gas found in nearly all soils, can, with long term exposure, damage the cells that line human lungs. The Twin Cities metropolitan region falls into the EPA's highest risk category for radon exposure. The building industry in the last few decades has increasingly used sustainably manufactured and environmentally friendly building materials, and as a result these products are becoming more widely 2040 HOUSING POLICY PLAN I METROPOLITAN COUNCIL DRAFT RELEASED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT Part II: Outcomes (Sustainability) I Page 39