City of Decorah Sustainability Plan

Posted: December 18, 2019 in City News

Decorah has adopted a multi-prong approach to sustainability that views economic prosperity, environmental integrity, and community resilience as essential ingredients to our vision for Decorah – one that is healthy, resilient, adaptable, and safe.

The eight interconnected systems outlined in this plan will have a tremendous impact on creating the type of community we want for our grandchildren. They will also help Decorah thrive in the face of outside threats and rapid social and environmental pressures. The City of Decorah’s Sustainability Plan is intended to assist local officials and community members as they make future decisions regarding growth, management, and preservation of the community. At its most basic level, the plan does this by outlining a series of specific policies, infrastructure improvements, communication tools, and educational programs that will reduce our carbon footprint, mitigate our vulnerability to floods, strengthen our local economy, and cultivate a more connected and welcoming community.

A Public Process

Over the course of 2019, the Sustainability Committee utilized a robust public input process to develop the vision statements and related actions in this 2020 Decorah Sustainability Plan. The process began in June 2019 with two community-wide input sessions as well as additional meetings with key stakeholder groups including city employees and the business community. An online community input survey was released in June and remained open for public comments throughout the summer. Following the public input sessions, the Sustainability Committee developed eight working groups that focused on the themes that emerged from the input sessions. The workgroups met throughout the months of August through September to fine-tune the initial vision statements and to generate a list of action items to accomplish them. The Sustainability Task Force reviewed the fruits of these labors in October and November. The following plan includes the vision statements and related action items from each of the working groups.

Initial Commitments

To achieve the vision and actions outlined in this plan, the Sustainability Committee recommends the following initial action steps:

  1. Establishment of a new Decorah Sustainability Commission by appointment of the Mayor and/or the City Council, with representation from city departments, area institutions, economic partners, social service providers, and the Winneshiek Energy District.
    Recommended size: 8 – 10 members.
  2. Determine capacity of current city staff to embed portions of the plan into their work. Consider job description changes as needed and fits. Consider the needs for sustainability work in any new position.
  3. Restructuring of tax abatement incentives to encourage green building designs, sustainable economic development, and low/moderate/workforce development projects.

During year one of implementation, the Decorah Sustainability Commission will work with City Administration to embed the work of the Decorah Sustainability Plan into existing job descriptions and governing documents including the city’s comprehensive plan.

 

Click to View the Full Sustainability Plan 

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