Aurora approves Chicago region climate action plan
The Aurora City Council this week endorsed the 2021 Climate Action Plan for the Chicago region.
The plan, sponsored by the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is considered a road map for units of government concerning sustainable practices.
Alex Minella, a senior planner who works in the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, wrote in a memo to Mayor Richard Irvin that Aurora, as a member of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, was part of the process to make the climate action plan.
The plan is “anchored in inclusion, collaboration and good use of alternative funding,” Minella wrote.
He said the plan is built around five goals - increasing access to utility savings and renewable energy, prioritizing households; building circular economies to create jobs and reduce waste; delivering a zero-emission mobility network that connects communities and improves air quality; driving equitable development of a clean-energy future; and strengthening communities and protecting health.
“The city aims to achieve these goals through ranging strategies that include enabling building and personal vehicle electrification; making walking, biking or transit viable options for all trips; encouraging equitable transit-oriented development and enabling zero-emission transit and fleets; decommissioning fossil power; and enabling adaptation to climate impacts,” Minella wrote in his memo.
Minella pointed out that Aurora published its first sustainability plan in 2009 and enhanced it by passing an updated plan in 2019.
Minella said the city will “strongly” support all regional and statewide action, and apply for all grants available on a caseby-case basis that involve sustainability.
He said the city will use a multi-departmental approach.
Minella said the city is developing EV charging stations for electric vehicles, looking to implement solar elements and working on building code changes to allow for more solar and alternative energy elements.