The city manager for the Town of Normal says it will take a long time to fully implement a newly-approved sustainability plan.
“It calls for the town to be a beacon of sustainability by mid-century,” Pam Reece said on WGLT's Sound Ideas.
The sustainability plan includes creation of an office of sustainability. Reece said it's a bit early to say how big that will be.
"At this point, I can't even tell you that it would be a separate office, or even a new position. Maybe the initial duties are incorporated into current staff responsibilities," she said, adding the town will go through the plan and incorporate parts of it in the next and ongoing budget cycles.
"There are certainly some low-hanging fruit items such as trying to enhance our footprint with trees, with tree plantings, more environmentally friendly kinds of plantings and sustainability things that impact our storm water retention," said Reece.
The plan also includes energy efficiency and generation elements, adjusting to rising nighttime temperatures as climate change advances.
“It’s a robust plan that fits well with our already adopted comprehensive plan,” said Reece.
The town will add tens of thousands of trees under the plan.
“That requires significant planning because the recommendation is not only to increase the quantity of trees, but the diversity of tree species, keeping into consideration what we’re hearing regarding the change in the growing season and the temperatures,” said Reece.
With that number of new plantings, Reece acknowledged the tension that arose some years ago between residents and utility companies that trim trees to avoid problems with power lines. That could resurface in certain neighborhoods, with Reece noting newer neighborhoods have underground utility lines.
The sustainability plan also addresses community vitality that includes financial and fiscal resilience of town government and touches nearly every department, Reece said.
The document includes a priority to enhance non-car transportation. That includes Connect Transit, but also contemplates a further increase in the use of e-bikes and e-scooters on town streets.
Reece noted a number of other communities across the country have dedicated bike lanes that are high functioning and could serve as a model. She said the town has planned one project in a federal "Complete Streets" program model along a portion of Vernon Avenue.
