Aurora is set to endorse the 2021 Climate Action Plan for the Chicago region.
The plan, sponsored by the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is considered a road map for action by units of government on sustainable practices.
Alex Minella, a senior planner who works in the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, wrote in a memo to Mayor Richard Irvin that Aurora, as a member of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, was part of the process to make the climate action plan.
The plan is “anchored in inclusion, collaboration and good use of alternative funding,” Minella wrote.
He said the plan is built around five goals: increasing access to utility savings and renewable energy, prioritizing households; building circular economies to create jobs and reduce waste; delivering a zero-emission mobility network that connects communities and improves air quality; driving equitable development of a clean-energy future; and strengthening communities and protecting health.
“The city aims to achieve these goals through ranging strategies that include enabling building and personal vehicle electrification; making walking, biking or transit viable options for all trips; encouraging equitable transit-oriented development and enabling zero-emission transit and fleets; decommissioning fossil power; and enabling adaptation to climate impacts,” Minella wrote in his memo.
Minella pointed out that Aurora published its first sustainability plan in 2009 and enhanced it by passing an updated plan in 2019.
Minella spoke about the climate action plan at the Aug. 15 City Council Committee of the Whole meeting, and aldermen put endorsement of it on the consent agenda for Tuesday’s regular meeting, meaning it is likely to be approved.
While Ald. John Laesch, at large, said he supports the plan, he asked what city officials are “going to do to put meat on the bones.”
Minella said the city will “strongly” support all regional and statewide action, and apply for all grants available on a case-by-case basis that involve sustainability. He said the city will use a multi-departmental approach.
Minella said the city is developing EV charging stations for electric vehicles, looking to implement solar elements and working on building code changes to allow for more solar and alternative energy elements.
At this point, the city will not look at adopting the Illinois stretch codes, which are designed to hold new residential and commercial construction to a higher level of energy efficiency, because state officials have suggested holding off.
John Curley, the city’s chief development officer, said the city of Aurora enforces state law, which at this point does not allow the city to do any more or any less than state standards, even home rule communities. He said that has been the case for more than a decade.
The city likely would adopt the stretch codes, but Curley said the state’s Capital Development Board, which oversees construction of new state facilities, such as prisons, state parks, mental health institutions and college and university projects, has delayed adoption for about half a year.
When the stretch codes were first adopted in Illinois, and signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, they were to go into effect by the end of this year.
But the Capital Development Board was basing the stretch energy codes on the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code, which is not readily available yet.
The board decided to hold off on the stretch code for another half a year, putting the effective date at June 31, 2024.
In an email to The Beacon-News, Curley said “the stretch energy code will be the first opportunity for a municipality to elect to enforce a state endorsed higher standard, but that opportunity is not provided to us until middle of next year at the earliest.”
Minella said the city is looking for all grant opportunities under the federal Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The program will provide grants to states, local governments and territories to develop and implement plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution, Minella said.
The Inflation Reduction Act provides an investment of $5 billion to support efforts by states, municipalities, air pollution control agencies and others to develop and implement strong, local greenhouse gas reduction strategies. This two-phase grant program provides funding of $250 million for noncompetitive planning grants, and $4.6 billion for competitive implementation grants, Minella said.
