Edgewater Council Hears Update on Sustainability Plan

On Tuesday, the Edgewater City Council heard an update from community leaders on the city’s updated sustainability plan. The plan, which is 25 pages, lists goals and priority actions for the city staff and community members across four major categories: land and water; waste & materials; energy; and social vibrancy. 

Andy Rutz, the Principal of Cresendo Planning and Design, provided a briefing to the council. Andy is a consultant to the city, responsible for facilitating the process by which changes were made to the original plan, which was published in 2019. The updated plan reflects the input gathered from six focus groups, 121 respondents to a survey distributed by the city’s Town Cryer newsletter, six board work sessions from October to July, and an April 13 event attended by 35 community members. 

Rutz reported that one major framing update was to center “pollution reduction” as a goal that cuts across all four categories of work; among other reasons, community leaders who shaped the plan believe will boost the odds the city receives grant funding from the Denver Regional Council of Governments’ Decarbonize program. The organization was a recipient of a $199M grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. The funds, which were received during the Biden administration in 2024, will be regranted to local governments across the region. 

Rutz says the Edgewater community should be proud of the progress the small city has made, in part due to the city’s new sustainability coordinator Shaima Shahbaz. As a result of the progress, the updated plan reorganizes some of the original recommendations to acknowledge the progress that has been made and better delineate the level of attention each will need in the future. The new plan identifies three types of actions under each of the four major categories. Those include:

• Priority actions, which the city hopes to achieve in the next five years;
• Ongoing actions, which may never be “finished” but will be standards of practice; and,
• Long-term actions, which may require significant allocations of staff or financial resources to be achieved. 

In total, 42 recommended actions level up to 13 different goals. The actions can be found at the end of this article, or on pages 19-22 of the plan. The goals are:

Land & Water:

1. Create, protect and sustain a robust urban ecosystem and tree canopy for a healthy community and its residents.
2. Save and protect water resources for the watershed, as well as current and future residents.
3. Minimize pollutants and reduce the urban heat island effect through strategic landscape design, green infrastructure, and sustainable development practices.
4. Improve land and water resilience by enhancing built environment permeability, managing runoff, and investing in nature-based solutions that respond to changing climate conditions.

Waste & Materials

1. Establish and maintain Edgewater as a leader by increasing residential waste diversion year over year.
2. Reduce commercial and public sector waste.
3. Reduce pollution through science-based material selection and infrastructure design.

Energy

1. Increase energy efficiency opportunities for homes, businesses, government and transportation.
2. Commit to statewide goals (HB19-1261) to reduce 2030 greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors by at least 50%, and 2050 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 90% of the statewide greenhouse gas emissions that existed in 2005.
3. Increase the use of clean renewable electricity to 70% by 2030 and 100% by 2035.

Social Vibrancy

• Facilitate the expansion of small businesses – prioritizing a walkable environment – to foster a culture of economic, social and environmental resilience for all parties.
• Expand communication and outreach to better engage the community.
• Foster a community that enables active neighborhood engagement and intergenerational interactions to promote positive relationships and mental health for residents and visitors.

The new plan also has new sections on implementation and advocacy, including a recommendation to update the plan every five years.  Rutz specifically commented on the city’s progress in residential areas and on city-owned properties, while naming an opportunity to enroll the city’s business community in the plan more.

Mayor Steve Conklin and Council Member Hannah Gay Kaeo congratulated the sustainability board on the accomplishment. The board includes: Xerxes Steirer (Chair); Jaclyn Poliseo (Vice-Chair); Jeanette Papp; Bruce Perry; Andy Vieth; and Council Member Lilly Steirer. 

Gay Kaeo suggested the board work closely with the city’s History, Arts, Recreation, and Parks (HARP) board, which is also updating its strategic plan. The sustainability board’s plan also sits alongside the Edgewater2040 Comprehensive Plan, which has 120 recommendations that mainly cover land use, but touch on some topics similar to the newly updated sustainability plan. 

—–

Land & Water

Priority Actions

• Support a healthy, thriving local food system and cottage services economy by educating and encouraging residents to grow/make their own food and goods.
• Plant rain gardens in runoff areas in public spaces to use rain in place and reduce runoff damage.
• Measure and track the urban heat island effect and develop solutions (permeability, runoff, etc.).

Ongoing Actions

• Continue offering the Sticks to Chips mulching program twice per year.
• Once per year, produce a category-specific one-page flyer for the community, an SOP for City Staff, paired with training/educational event.
• Track canopy cover and number of trees planted vs. cut down to inform Urban Forest Master Plan goals.

Long-Term Actions

• Establish a water audit program for businesses and homes.
• Strategize a pathway to greywater adoption following state legislation.
• Implement green infrastructure solutions in future streetscape/public space designs (bioswales, curb-cutouts, bioretention soil, etc.).

Waste & Materials

Priority Actions

• Conduct a third-party waste audit annually to better understand what is in the residential waste stream.
• Include a commitment to waste reduction in each annual business license renewal.
• Incentivize apartment buildings and businesses over 5,000 SF to develop recycling and composting programs that work.

On-Going Actions

• Increase resident participation in composting program.
• Provide recycling, composting and landfill disposal options at all permitted events.
• Request GHG Emissions Reporting from every vendor who does business with COE; state that vendors who comply may be given preference in bidding.
• Once per year (on a quarterly cadence) produce a category-specific one-page flyer for the community, an SOP for City Staff, and pair with a training/educational event.

Long-Term Actions

• Expand composting opportunities for businesses, along with other waste reduction strategies.
• For City-funded infrastructure projects and operations, prioritize the selection of materials that reduce pollutants.
• Identify ways to decrease residential construction site waste, emphasizing the full, circular life cycle of buildings.

Energy

Priority Actions

• Offer homeowner training and consumer protections for photovoltaic systems and electric vehicle charge controllers.
• Implement EV Action Plan; particularly Level 2 charging stations.
• Ensure Businesses know about Energy Audits by including information in Business License applications, and using the Sustainability Coordinator as a liaison.
• Work with Xcel/power providers on a power purchase agreement for temporally matched, not-transmission-constrained renewable electricity to make up for any shortfall between the electricity available on the grid and the City’s goals.

On-Going Actions

• Publicize and report on Edgewater energy efficiency data and Xcel renewable energy progress through outreach channels.
• Once per year (on a quarterly cadence) produce a category-specific one-page flyer for the community, an SOP for City Staff, and pair with a training/educational event.
• Expand access to alternative modes of transportation.
• Identify more specific areas for City-led Solar.

Long-Term Actions

• Develop benchmarks for all commercial properties.
• Expand Xcel’s Partners in Energy program services to businesses.
• Provide local e-Bike rebates in addition to those available through the State, while expanding the City’s e-Bike ecosystem.
• Incentivize alternate community modes for City Staff.
• Enact increased building performance standards.

Social Vibrancy

Priority Actions

 

• Establish a Sustainable Business Program that offers optional resources such as composting and green infrastructure upgrades, and promotes sharing of sustainable business practices.
• Reshape the volunteer Ambassadors Program to have a more granular, neighborhood emphasis and promote intergenerational collaboration.
• Explore joining the Sustainable Neighborhoods Network.
• Create a Sustainable Edgewater Self-Guided tour.

On-Going Actions

 

• Update the Sustainability webpage to function as a Community Sustainability Dashboard/resource.
• Once per year (on a quarterly cadence) produce a category-specific one-page flyer for the community, an SOP for City Staff, and pair with a training/educational event.
• Collaborate with library and Civic Center staff to curate exhibits and resources for the community.
• Table with Mental Health and collaborate with City departments/partner with outside communities; speak at community events.

Long-Term Actions

• Develop a specific youth engagement plan centered around Sustainability to promote long-lasting community benefits.
• Evaluate the impact of shopping incentive programs (i.e. the “Shop Edgewater” Open Rewards App) to ensure robust patronage of the local business community.