FEBRUARY 11, 2010 ISSUE
Boone Council Forms Sustainable Development Task Force
The latest committee to join more than a dozen Town of Boone boards is a Sustainable Development Task Force, approved by the Boone Town Council January 19.
Newly elected Council Members Jamie Leigh and Andy Ball and Mayor Loretta Clawson proposed the new task force. Leigh said she wants the town to take a lead role in sustainability and that the task force is not intended to replace any other committee.
According to the proposal, the purpose and goals of the task force are to assist the town in assuming a lead role in promoting responsible resource use and conservation practices; to advance the principles and objectives of sustainable development through partnerships, collaboration and outreach; to advise and assist the council on sustainable development initiatives and issues; to foster community dialogue and awareness of sustainable development and to develop methods of integrating economic and environmental planning at the local level; and to coordinate with other town committees on topics of mutual and overlapping interest, including, but not limited to, recycling, transportation, trees, etc.
Examples of topics and objects the task force could take on include alternative and renewable energy options, water efficiency and conservation, green building principles, energy and fuel conservation, green building principles, recycling and waste reduction, low impact transportation options and local foods and environmentally sensitive growing methods.
By vote of the council, the eight-member task force will be comprised of two Town Council representatives—Leigh and Ball—one ASU faculty or staff member specializing in sustainable development, one ASU student with an interest in sustainable development, one contractor or builder or other individual with experience in green building and remodeling and three at-large community members with expertise and/or an interest in sustainable development.
Council Member Rennie Brantz said he was concerned about a duplication of effort between this new committee and existing committees, and he said he was unclear on the authority and procedures of the proposed task force.
“I worry about authority that’s so broad that maybe nothing gets done,” Brantz said.
The council members agreed to form the task force and allow it several months to develop a clear mission statement and procedures, likely with guidance and directives from council.
In other action, the council:
• approved the voluntary annexation of 31.9 acres owned by Watauga County on Brookshire Road, a site that is contiguous to the town limits. The site is used for recreational parks. The annexation will take effect in late June; the town will determine the zoning classification of the property at a future date. No one requested to speak at a public hearing on the annexation.
• referred a text amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) back to town staff for additional work. The proposed amendment, according to Council Member Stephen Phillips, a member of the recycling committee, would require areas for recycling containers at apartment buildings where dumpsters are required or where curbside recycling is not available. However, council members indicated they would instead like to require recycling containers—not just areas for them. They also asked staff to look at the possibility of amending the municipal code to require all existing and future apartment complexes to install recycling containers—the UDO amendment would only impact new development or reconstruction.
• at the suggestion of Leigh, the council approved the addition of three at-large community members to the Affordable Housing Task Force: two people with interests in single-family neighborhoods and one person who qualifies for affordable housing.
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