I have long been a supporter of efforts to protect our environment, promote alternative transportation and deepen our commitment to sustainable design and development.  Our City is home to several of the nation's most visionary thinkers on these issues and we need to do a better job of tapping into their expertise for the benefit of our community and our region.  We also need to do a better job of making sure that more of our plans and policies comply with the spirit of the Sustainability Accords that our region adopted several years ago. 

To that end, I am offering the following proposals for promoting environmental sustainability in local and regional planning: 

*  Develop & Promote a Set of Voluntary Charlottesville Green Building & Ecological Design Standards (to expand use of LEED-certified building technologies, energy-efficient appliances & heating/cooling systems, environmentally-friendly/non-toxic building materials, renewable energy sources, mixed-use/human-scale/pedestrian-oriented development, etc.).  City would promote adoption of these standards by implementing them in major City construction projects and through incentives & educational programs for local builders & developers.

*  Advocate for Increased Diversion of Funds from Road Construction to Alternative Forms of Transportation (transit, bicycling, walking, etc.);  ensure that we Fully Integrate Bicycle/Pedestrian Planning With Road Planning.

*  Promote Pedestrian- and Transit-Oriented Infill Development as opposed to automobile-oriented suburban sprawl development;  measure any new road project by its potential for promoting sprawl & increasing traffic vs. improving the quality of life for City residents.

*  Encourage Greater Use of Public Transportation by making our transit system more user-friendly, reliable and efficient;  Create a Regional Transit Authority to help accomplish these goals.

*  Protect and Enhance Our Parks & Trails (e.g. by building a connector trail from the Rivanna Greenbelt to Darden Towe & Pen Parks and acquiring conservation easements along the Rivanna Trail & in other naturally-sensitive areas);  institutionalize "City as a Park” as our guiding philosophy.

*  Shepherd our Natural Resources through stream & river protection, safeguarding of our watershed/water supply, reduction of greenhouse gases, increased reuse/reduction/recycling of consumer products, etc.

*  Encourage Greater Citizen Participation in Local and Regional Planning.

*  In recognition that a healthy local economy facilitates long-term sustainable development, Foster Community-Based Economic Development by championing a vibrant small business sector and helping local employers to expand their operations and create well-paying jobs for local residents.

*  Recognize that our community's health & well-being is integrally related to both the individual health & well-being of our citizens and the overall health & well-being of our planet.  We must therefore act to Promote Health & Wellness At All Levels, from expanding access to quality health care in low-income neighborhoods to endorsing the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.