02-27-19 Joint Health and Public Safety and Utilities

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•CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK that City officials understand the greenhouse inventory that the Sustainability Department undertook to assess trends in energy use and sustainability within government and community operations. At our last meeting, Therese Dorau gave an excellent explanation of this assessment, and it can be used to understand the baseline of where South Bend is and where it can be with regards to sustainable policy. This assessment can then be used to appropriately design achievable but aggressive targets and benchmarks for the City. These can help us design our climate goals and provide a framework for legislation action on things like emissions and energy use. Within these benchmarks it is important to have multistep checkpoints that allow us to analyze progress not just by an end result but by gradual progress the City is making. Such goals should be designed in correlation with preexisting City projects and things like the future Climate Action Plan in the Office of Sustainability. In doing so,we can ensure that all targets align with the triple bottom line assessment which looks at the social, environmental and financial impacts of all suggested guidelines. As a third (3`d) prong of a successful Climate Action Plan, we would also encourage climate recovery reporting to continually assess progress and identify areas of concern for the City. Through providing iterative progress reports, the targets and benchmarks can be modified or analyzed as progress continues. The City must also consider how we will adapt to climate related issues like flooding,in addition to focusing much of our efforts on mitigation.We would encourage the City to look at what areas in South Bend are most vulnerable to climate hazards, and what solutions can be implemented through things like infrastructure and technology. This will allow legislation to take a dual pronged approach to climate change. With these elements, the City will be able to create legislation that not only emphasizes our commitment to sustainability, but also that makes us accountable for our actions and respects community input. These suggestions come after a long process of both academic and personal research in our community. Ideally with this proposed outline, the City can implement thoughtful and pragmatic solutions to our climate crisis. As a senior, who is a student and concerned about her future, and also from the perspective of a climate realist, I urge you to utilize the abundance of local resources in our community to draft legislation that meaningfully addresses all aspects of climate change and the dangers it imposes. Tai Verbrugge, 18370 Dunn Road,Apt.2104,stated,In terms of a timeline,we ask that the Council work on drafting an ordinance during the month of March, 2019 with the intent that such a bill would be ready for a vote in April. We believe that there should be a sense of urgency in forming and passing this legislation, as climate change is a compound issue. The longer we put off significant action, the warmer the atmosphere gets and the more difficult and costly it will be to avoid serious environmental consequences. Passing this in April would also be thematically appropriate, as April is commonly celebrated as Earth Month. We also encourage Council to maintain transparency and keep open lines of communication with the broader community during the drafting process so that the citizens affected by this legislation would have a seat at the table. Thank you. Grace Kelly, 301 Peashway Street, stated, I would like to share a personal experience of mine and the solution. There's a farm here in South Bend that some of you,many of you,may be acquainted with. It has all the usual features. Several chickens, two (2)barns, two (2) greenhouses, and many many gardens. The only noticeable difference about this running, operating farm, is that it is surrounded by three (3) major South Bend streets and it is a school. Good Shepard Montessori didn't start out as a farm. And it is still first (1St) and foremost a school. But as part of the curriculum, Good Shepard has an onsite farm program, led by Ms. Theri Niemier, which gives children a hands on experience of sustainable agriculture. I am now a seventh (7th) grader at Good Shepard, and not only are we focused on agriculture, but on sustainability. The land now carries a EXCELLENCE ! ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION I INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 I(574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 18