City Council gets Sustainable Brookhaven update
Draft strategy framework outlines current programs, future opportunities
Brookhaven, GA, July 23, 2019 - In an ongoing effort to ensure Brookhaven continues to fulfill its fundamental values since incorporation in December 2012, the Brookhaven City Council heard a presentation on the Sustainable Brookhaven draft strategy framework at its July 23 work session meeting.
Sustainable Brookhaven is the governance and management of lasting economic, social, and environmental development that seeks to avoid and prevent the depletion or permanent damage of Brookhaven’s resources, which include the environment, infrastructure, and civic capital that is the DNA of the City.
“Sustainability solutions require interdisciplinary efforts, so it is important that Brookhaven takes a strategic approach in considering the impact of its activities and makes sustainability organizationally relevant,” said Management Analyst Marybeth Bucklen.
Bucklen itemized accomplishments and future opportunities in five key elements of the Sustainable Brookhaven framework, including natural environment, built environment, financial, organizational and civic governance.
At its regularly scheduled business meeting, the City Council added one more accomplishment to the list by requiring new commercial parking lots and structures to include electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and requiring new residential parking lots to include the infrastructure for EV charging stations for possible future implementation.
“Almost every area of the City’s government has sustainability underpinnings, not only day-to-day operations but long-term planning as well,” noted Brookhaven Mayor John Ernst. “We are looking at everything we do, strategically and tactically, in terms of procurement, technology, processes, and procedures from an environmental perspective.”
One of the most obvious efforts is the electric car charging stations in the City Hall parking lot and similar stations installed in the recently renovated Skyland Park. The City Hall single charger was recently replaced with four smart-chargers, and two more were also added in Blackburn Park.
The planned new public safety building, which will begin construction later this year, will be as eco-friendly as possible. Many of the nationally-recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) concepts have been incorporated into the design. With careful planning, the building, twice the size of the current police headquarters, will cost less to operate thanks to features like using special glazing on the windows and incorporating overhangs to shade the glass in warmer months, using efficient plumbing and building materials and utilizing geothermal power to cool/warm the facility.
“We are always looking for ways to reduce our impact on the environment, improve our air quality and conserve resources for future generations,” added Mayor Ernst. “Environmental leadership is evolving into one of the City’s core values.”
“In Brookhaven, our goal is to provide an exceptional quality of life for every generation. Our desire is to leave a legacy of stewardship through the actions of the City leaders,” said City Manager Christian Sigman. “All actions are taken with the purpose of minimizing any negative impact in order to conserve the natural resources, retain organizational capacity, and foster engaged civic governance that will sustain all of us in Brookhaven, now and into the future.”
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