Posts tagged ‘mayor’

Jun 26

Mayor Biskupski Leads Numerous U.S. Cities To Sign Clean Energy Resolution

The U.S. Conference o f Mayors approved a historic resolution that establishes support from the nation’s mayors for the goal of moving to 100 percent clean and renewable energy in cities nationwide.

Resolution 36 was co-sponsored by Mayor Biskupski and Steve Benjamin, Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina. It specifically cites wind, solar, geothermal, and wave technology as renewable sources cities should be embracing to combat climate change.

Feb 7

Salt Lake City’s 2017 Building Energy Efficiency Challenge Kicks Off

Salt Lake City and Salt Lake Chamber partner on the Third Annual Skyline Challenge to accelerate commercial building energy efficiency

As part of her mission to improve air quality, reduce carbon emissions, and form strong partnerships with the business community, Mayor Jackie Biskupski is pleased to launch the Third Annual Skyline Challenge—this year with the Salt Lake Chamber joining the roster of partners.

The annual Skyline Challenge is a voluntary program to accelerate investment in energy efficiency from large commercial buildings and raise public awareness of building energy performance while creating jobs and fostering a stronger local economy.

Nov 13

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Salt Lake City Passes Carbon Fee & Dividend Resolution

On Tuesday, November 10, 2015, the Salt Lake City Council and the Mayor’s Office passed a joint resolution that urges Congress to pass a fee on carbon-based energy, and have the revenue be returned to American households in the form of a dividend.

This is the approach advocated for by the local chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. Leaders from Salt Lake City’s Citizens’ Climate Lobby will be featured panelists at the upcoming Years of Living Dangerously screening on Thursday, December 3rd at 7 p.m. at the Main Library Auditorium, hosted by Salt Lake City Green and the Utah Film Center.

If you would like to learn more about the carbon-based energy fee and dividend movement, visit CitizensClimateLobby.org and watch their short video.

Feb 4

Mayor to Host Community Conversation on Air Quality Issues

Mayor Ralph Becker invites residents to join him and a panel of local policymakers for an informal community conversation about air quality issues on Wednesday, Feb. 5 from 6-8 p.m. at Sorenson Unity Center, 1383 S. 900 West.

Mayor Becker reiterated his commitment to working toward addressing the region’s ongoing air quality issues in his recent State of the City Address and outlined air quality-focused work Salt Lake City has accomplished during his administration, City efforts planned for the year ahead and the critical areas that require action by Utah state leaders.

Attendees will have an active role in the discussion as Mayor Becker and panel members answer questions, outline what is happening at the local level to improve air quality and what community members can do to help make a difference.

Joining Mayor Becker will be Salt Lake City Councilman Kyle LaMalfa, Salt Lake City Councilwoman and Breathe Utah Executive Director Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake City Sustainability Director Vicki Bennett.

“I look forward to this opportunity to explore air quality issues with our residents and brainstorm on ways we can work together toward positive change,” said Mayor Becker. “Improving our dreadful pollution problem is going to require a wide-ranging collaborative effort that includes definitive action by state government in addition to ongoing efforts by municipal entities and all of us who call Utah home.”

This event is the first in a series of monthly gatherings at Sorenson Unity Center focused on issues important to Salt Lake City residents.

EVENT: Community Conversations with Mayor Becker

WHO: Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker
Salt Lake City Councilman Kyle LaMalfa
Salt Lake City Councilwoman and Breathe Utah Executive Director Erin Mendenhall
Salt Lake City Sustainability Director Vicki Bennett

WHERE: Sorenson Unity Center
1383 S. 900 West

WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 5
6-8 p.m.

Oct 7

SLC Proposes Discount UTA Pass Program

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker gathered with community leaders late last week to unveil a new proposed program geared towards clearing the air. The program would offer discounted UTA passes to Salt Lake City residents for just $30 a month — a 63% discount!

We all know that vehicle emissions are a key factor in the poor air quality that plagues our valley during the winter months. The good news is that getting people out of their cars and on to public transportation can go a long way to help reduce emissions and clear the air. This exciting program – the first of its kind in Utah – could make it possible for most city residents to have a UTA pass in their pocket!

Here are the details on the proposed program.

Purpose: Offer an annual transit pass to Salt Lake City residents to incentivize transit use and make riding transit more affordable.

Basic Structure: Salt Lake City residents will be eligible to purchase a one year transit pass for $360. The passes will be available for purchase from Salt Lake City upon providing proof of residency. Residents may pay all at once, or pay in 12 installments of $30 via a monthly bill.

The pass will be issued with the resident’s photo on it, and is non-transferable. There is no limit per household. The pass will be good on local and express bus, TRAX, and FrontRunner. Ski bus, Park City Connect and paratransit services will be excluded from the pass.

The program is a unique partnership between UTA and Salt Lake City. While modeled after other bulk pass programs offered by UTA for employees of eligible organizations, it’s the first pass of its kind to be designed for residents.

Benefits: In just 12 local trips per month (6 round-trips), residents who opt in to the pass will have broken even on their investment. Having a ‘pass in pocket’, residents are more likely to use transit.

Timeframe: The program will launch in early 2014. This pass is being implemented as a one-year pilot program. If successful, UTA and SLC may choose to continue the program. The program will be refined as needed and made available to other communities.

Basis: UTA completed a random sample telephone survey to assess interest in purchasing this pass. Based on results of the survey, up to 6,000 passes could be sold.

Media Coverage:

Next Steps: To make this program a reality, work to be completed over the next few months includes:

Funding allocated from Salt Lake City Council (Pending decision)
Set join goals between UTA/SLC to define goals and positive outcomes
Set up administrative systems
Determine tracking mechanisms
Marketing and public information
Materials preparation (passes, etc..)
Back-office functions for both UTA and SLC accounting procedures

Sep 4

Engage, Salt Lake City

What’s your vision of the future of Salt Lake City? We have two unique opportunities for you to weigh in!

Airport

The Salt Lake City International Airport is building a new terminal, and they are looking for your best ideas! Explore the plans for the brand new terminal complex and tell them what you think they should focus on.

One tidbit we learned from visiting their site – the new terminal will be designed to high environmental standards and will aim for meeting a LEED Silver Rating or better from the U.S. Green Building Council. Nice!

Plan Salt Lake

Plan Salt Lake is a citywide vision that will help guide the City into the future, which will bring together all of the existing citywide policies and help residents, business owners, visitors and City decision makers make decisions today that will impact tomorrow.

Let them know what you value about Salt Lake City and be a part of this important conversation!

Psst… sneak preview

Salt Lake City Green is working on a Sustainable City Dashboard that will provide an opportunity for residents to engage in a multifaceted conversation about sustainability in our community.

The dashboard expands on the vision outlined in Mayor Becker’s Livability Agenda and Sustainable Salt Lake — Plan 2015. Stay tuned for the details…

Jul 19

Say Hello to the New Public Safety Building

Today Salt Lake City opened the new Public Safety Building. The state-of-the-art facility will be Net Zero for energy use, meaning that it will produce as much energy as it uses. Cutting edge energy efficiency strategies and the use of solar power make Net Zero possible for a building that traditionally has high energy demands.

Jun 17

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Mayor Becker, SLC Sign on to Resilient Communities

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker has joined 45 other mayors and county officials from around the country who have committed to creating more resilient cities, towns and counties in response to our nation’s growing extreme weather and energy challenges.

As an Inaugural Signatory of the Resilient Communities for America campaign, Mayor Becker is among the first local elected officials in the nation to showcase his leadership on these key issues testing America’s communities.

The national campaign, which launched today, recognizes that local governments like Salt Lake City are on the front lines of responding to increasing disasters and disruptions fueled by a changing climate. An unprecedented increase in heat waves, droughts, floods, severe storms and wildfires have devastated communities nationwide over the past two years and cost America $188 billion in damages.

The Resilient Communities for America campaign seeks to champion the work of Mayor Becker, Salt Lake City and other local governments at the forefront of the emerging national movement to build resilience – and to inspire hundreds more to follow their lead. Every $1 spend on disaster risk reduction can save $4 in recovery and emergency response costs – make resilience efforts a sound investment for our community.

Local Impacts for Salt Lake City

Long-term trends show that as warming occurs, less precipitation is falling as snow in surrounding watersheds, which means diminished snowpack water storage for Salt Lake City. In addition, recent climate studies show that the timing of water runoff will shift to earlier in the season, creating challenges during peak summer water demand.
Increases in temperature and changes in precipitation will impact water supply and water demand. One recent study indicates that Salt Lake City’s watersheds in the Wasatch Mountain range could see an overall average of 3.8% reduction in stream flow per one degree Fahrenheit. Almost all of Salt Lake City’s water supply emanates from these local Wasatch Mountain watersheds.
In recent years, trees in the urban forest are becoming more susceptible to disease due to warming.
Lower precipitation and warmer temperatures are causing changes to forests and vegetation, increasing the danger of area wildfires, and increasing the threat of water quality degradation.

Local Actions Being Taken by Salt Lake City

Long-term master plans for the city will incorporate likely future climate scenarios, including the City’s Water Resource Planning efforts.
Infrastructure Planning: Roads, storm drains and other critical infrastructure will need to handle extreme weather events such as heat waves and greater storm intensity.
Energy Security: To minimize energy demand, especially during heat waves, the City is focusing on energy efficiency upgrades, develop net zero buildings and expanding local renewable energy sources, such as solar PV and solar hot water systems.
Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions include energy efficiency projects and transit-oriented development projects to minimize vehicle trips.

Learn More

Find Resilient Communities for America on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Mar 1

The Code Revision Project

Several years ago, Salt Lake City embarked on a ground-breaking initiative to incorporate sustainability provisions into zoning and subdivision ordinances. The project set out to revise and expand upon existing ordinances that were out of date and/or put up barriers to sustainable city practices.

The topic areas considered include:

Transit-Oriented and Mixed Use Development (Ordinance adopted)
Urban Agriculture (Ordinances adopted)
Renewable Energy (Ordinances adopted)
Accessory Dwelling Units (Ordinance adopted)
Street, Pedestrian and Bicycle Connectivity
Water Efficient Landscape
Tree Protection
Recycling and Waste Reduction
Transportation Demand Management
Outdoor Lighting

Several ordinances have already been adopted by the Salt Lake City Council, with a the rest making progress along the approval process. Get a complete update on the project on the SLCGreen website.

Questions? Let us know!