Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout007 2025-03-20_report CountyCompPlanUpdate_ClimateElementClimate Element - DRAFT Goals and Policies - Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan Update Zoning and Development Goal 1: Utilize land use planning, conservation, restoration, and hydrological strategies to minimize the occurrence and impacts of climate hazards, such as flooding and wildfire, including relocating existing infrastructure located in flood prone and inundation areas. Goal 2: Establish land use patterns and development practices that increase the resilience of the built environment, ecosystems, and communities to climate change. Policy Direction Consider how land use patterns and designations can improve resilience to climate change impacts and lead to environmental justice outcomes. Support programs that protect rural lands and resource areas from conversion to mitigate County greenhouse gas emissions. Water Resources Goal 3: Manage water resources and systems that seek to protect and preserve water quality and quantity from drought, extreme heat, and other hazards exacerbated by climate change. Goal 4: Utilize and update flood maps, climate science, and hazard mitigation strategies to ensure climate change is considered in stormwater management and planning. Goal 5: Encourage the use of green infrastructure and nature-based solutions for water resources management. Where feasible, require use of green infrastructure and low-impact development to address increased storm intensities and stormwater runoff. Policy Direction Better understand and anticipate climate change impacts to water resources. Promote water conservation initiatives to enhance the security and quality of the water supply. Ecosystems Goal 6: Ensure the protection of and support the recovery of ecosystems to provide functioning habitats in a changing climate. Goal 7: Improve the health and resilience of the county’s streams and rivers, including efforts to mitigate climate change impacts such as flooding and drought. Goal 8: Encourage forest canopy cover in urban and rural areas with native tree species to reduce wildfire, sequester carbon, improve air quality, and reduce surface temperatures for humans and wildlife. Policy Direction Prioritize the protection and restoration of natural systems, forests, and shorelines through conservation, best management practices, and climate-resilient flood control measures. Enhance aquatic habitat resilience through ecological restoration, water conservation, and implementation of salmon recovery and watershed restoration plans. Expand and protect native tree canopy, providing resilience and GHG mitigation benefits. Cultural Resources and Practices Goal 9: Protect and preserve valued cultural and historic resources at risk to climate change impacts. Policy Direction Collaborate with Tribes, communities, and agencies to protect cultural and natural resources from climate change impacts, ensuring the preservation of historical sites, ecosystems, and Tribal treaty rights. Support farm and forest preservation programs to maintain working lands, enhance resilience, and improve carbon sequestration. Agriculture and Food Systems Goal 10: Support sustainable local and regional agricultural practices that improve the agricultural economy’s resiliency to climate change impacts. Policy Direction Strengthen local food security and the food economy by expanding access to healthy, climate-friendly foods, supporting food banks, and establishing community gardens in underserved areas. Promote sustainable farming and water practices and invest in climate-resilient agricultural technologies to ensure long-term food production and rural sustainability. Conserve existing agricultural lands and preserve land outside the UGA for long term agricultural use. Buildings and Energy Goal 11: Increase renewable energy project development and improvements to provide jobs and clean, reliable electricity. Goal 12: Promote equitable, affordable, and sustainable housing options that enhance community resilience to climate change. Goal 13: Seek opportunities to repurpose and renovate existing buildings, especially historic buildings, to reduce resource consumption and GHG emissions. Alternative uses for buildings can include housing and public spaces that provide shelter, warmth, or cooling during extreme weather. Goal 14: Prioritize developments that use technological and passive strategies to mitigate harm to public health, safety, and welfare, especially those caused or amplified by climate change. Policy Direction Explore opportunities to increase affordability and sustainability of housing in Jefferson County. Prioritize weatherization and housing quality improvement efforts, focusing efforts in underserved areas of the County. Explore renewable energy opportunities such as wind, solar, water, and more. Emergency Management and Community Well-Being Goal 15: Enhance emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts to mitigate risks and impacts associated with extreme weather and other hazards worsened by climate change ensuring the most vulnerable residents do not bear disproportionate health risks. Policy Direction Ensure investments, policies, programs, and projects are equitably distributed and promote environmental justice outcomes. Enhance emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts to mitigate risks and impacts associated with extreme weather and other hazards worsened by climate change. Transportation Goal 16: Ensure that the local transportation system — including infrastructure, evacuation routes, and travel modes — can withstand and recover quickly from the impacts or hazards exacerbated by climate change, with special attention to the needs of overburdened and vulnerable populations, including isolated communities. Policy Direction Ensure resilience of the transportation system to impacts or hazards exacerbated by climate change. Collaborate with regional partners to expand multimodal transportation, connecting transportation hubs with the broader community and working to reduce vehicle emissions. Expand EV infrastructure and promote vehicle adoption to reduce vehicle emissions. Communications and Collaboration Goal 17: Expand county and community partnerships to integrate equity and vulnerability to frontline communities in prioritizing resilience strategies. Policy Direction Expand partnerships to strengthen infrastructure resilience against climate impacts, prioritizing vulnerable communities. Promote collaborative initiatives and partnerships to support sustainable resource management, enhance climate resilience, and implement environmentally smart practices. Suggested Changes Goal 1: Occurrences and impacts of climate hazards, such as flooding and wildfire, are minimized. Goal 2: Built environment, ecosystems, and communities have increased climate change resilience. Utilize land use planning, conservation, restoration, and hydrological strategies to improve resilience to climate change impacts, including environmental justice outcomes. Establish land use patterns and development practices that increase resilience of built environment, including the relocation of existing infrastructure located in flood prone and inundation areas. Support programs that protect rural lands and resource areas from conversion, and support resilience oriented stewardship Goal 3: Management of water resources and systems is dedicated to protecting and preserving water quality and quantity from drought, extreme heat, and other hazards exacerbated by climate change Goal 4: Flood maps, climate science, and hazard mitigation strategies are utilized and updated to ensure climate change is considered in stormwater management and planning. Goal 5: Green infrastructure and nature-based solutions for water resources management is encouraged and broadly used. Study and articulate publicly the anticipated climate change impacts to water resources. Promote water conservation initiatives to enhance the security and quality of the water supply. Incorporate use of green infrastructure and low-impact development requirements into building code to address increased storm intensities and stormwater runoff. Goal 6: Ecosystems that provide functioning habitats in a changing climate are protected and their stewardship is supported. Goal 7: Improved health and resilience conditions of streams and rivers help mitigate climate change impacts such as flooding and drought. Goal 8: Forest canopy cover in urban and rural areas is improved in ways that help reduce wildfire, improve habitat, sequester carbon, improve air quality, and reduce surface temperatures for humans and wildlife. Protect and restore natural systems, forests, and shorelines through conservation, best management practices, and climate- resilient flood control measures. Conduct ecological restoration, water conservation, and implementation of salmon recovery and watershed restoration plans. Expand and support the stewardship of native fire-resistent tree canopy around population centers. Goal 9: Valued cultural and historic resources at risk to climate change impacts are protected and preserved. Protect cultural and natural resources, ensuring the preservation of historical sites, ecosystems, and Tribal treaty rights, in collaboration with Tribes, communities, and agencies. Support farm and forest preservation programs to maintain working lands, enhance resilience, and improve carbon sequestration. Goal 10: Agricultural economy is prepared for predicted climate change impacts. Strengthen local food security and the food economy by expanding access to healthy, climate-friendly foods, supporting food banks, and establishing community gardens in underserved areas. Promote sustainable farming and water practices and invest in climate-resilient agricultural technologies to ensure long-term food production and rural sustainability. Conserve existing agricultural lands inside and outside the UGA's for long term agricultural use. Goal 11: More and improved renewable energy projects provide jobs, and clean, reliable energy. Goal 12: More equitable, affordable, and sustainable housing options help enhance community resilience to climate change. Goal 13: Existing buildings, especially historic buildings, are repurposed and renovated to reduce resource consumption and GHG emissions, and to increase community resilience associated with extreme weather. Goal 14: New development use technological and passive strategies to mitigate harm to public health, safety, and welfare, especially those caused or amplified by climate change. Increase affordability and sustainability of housing in Jefferson County. Support weatherization and housing quality improvement efforts, focusing efforts in underserved areas of the County. Simplify regulatory pathways that increase renewable energy production as wind, solar, water, and more. Goal 15: Emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts mitigate risks and impacts associated with extreme weather and other hazards worsened by climate change. Equitably distribute investments, policies, programs, and projects, ensuring the most vulnerable residents to not bear disproportiate risks. Enhance emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts to mitigate risks and impacts associated with extreme weather and other hazards worsened by climate change. Goal 16: The local transportation system — including infrastructure, evacuation routes, and travel modes — can withstand and recover quickly from the impacts or hazards exacerbated by climate change. Test and prepare the transportation system for impacts or hazards exacerbated by climate change, with special attention to the needs of overburdened and vulnerable populations, including isolated communities. Reduce vehicle emissions by expanding multimodal transportation, and connecting transportation hubs with the broader community, in collaboration with regional partners. Reduce vehicle emssions by expanding EV infrastructure and promoting EV vehicle adoption. Goal 17: Equity and vulnerability to frontline communities is integrated into county and community partnerships Improve climate resilience of infrastructure that serves vulnerable communities. Participate in collaborative initiatives and partnerships that support sustainable resource management, and enhance climate resilience.