Arvada adopts first climate plan, with annual updates instead of new mandates
The Arvada City Council unanimously approved the city’s first Climate and Sustainability Action Plan on July 7. Staff said it will guide yearly work plans, reporting and grant applications rather than create new rules.
Arvada City Council unanimously adopted the city’s first Climate and Sustainability Action Plan on July 7, approving a framework staff said would guide city work rather than impose new mandates.
The city’s plan page describes it as Arvada’s first Climate and Sustainability Action Plan. At the meeting, staff said the plan is built around about 150 metrics and would be carried out through annual action plans, annual reporting and coordination across departments.
“The plan itself is a guiding document; it is not a mandate,” staff said during the meeting.
Staff also said adopting the plan could help Arvada compete for grants, coalition memberships and technical assistance that can be harder to access without an approved climate plan. One example discussed at the meeting was a Bloomberg Philanthropies opportunity the city had previously passed on because it did not yet have an active sustainability plan.
The July 7 vote did not include a new fee, ordinance or budget amendment in the meeting record. Instead, staff said future annual action plans would spell out targets, department work and results, with council receiving yearly progress updates on emissions, resilience and other goals.