Sustainability Plan Review

Posted: March 28, 2024 in City News, Sustainability Commission

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

From the City of Decorah

Contact: Jim Martin-Schramm

Chair, Decorah Sustainability Commission, marschja@luther.edu


The Decorah Sustainability Commission invites the community to review the current Sustainability Plan and provide input into updating the plan in 2024. The meetings will be on Wednesday, April 3rd, from 5:00-7:00 p.m., and on Saturday, April 6th, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. at the Pulpit Rock Brewery event room.

There will also be additional opportunities to provide input online or via written response. The Decorah Sustainability Commission’s webpage has further information on this planning process and how community members can participate. Interested individuals are encouraged to visit the Commission’s webpage at tinyurl.com/yem273t8 and click the button for “current projects.”

The Decorah Sustainability Commission was established in July 2020 after a community-driven process in 2019 to create a Sustainability Plan for Decorah. The Decorah City Council adopted a multipronged approach to sustainability that views economic prosperity, environmental integrity, and community resilience as essential ingredients to our vision for a Decorah that is healthy, resilient, adaptable, and safe.

The plan includes the following areas of focus: Transportation; Energy; Economic Development; Waste; Land Use; Communication & Educational Outreach; Social Sustainability – Equity & Wellbeing; and Air & Water.

These eight interconnected systems have a big impact on creating the type of community we want for current and future residents. They are meant to help Decorah thrive in the face of outside threats and rapid social and environmental pressures.

Since its adoption, the Decorah Sustainability Plan has assisted local officials and community members in making responsible, forward-looking decisions regarding development, management, and community preservation.

At its most basic level, the plan has done this by outlining a series of specific policies, infrastructure improvements, communication tools, and educational programs that will reduce our community’s carbon footprint, mitigate our vulnerability to floods, strengthen our local economy, and cultivate a more connected and welcoming community.

The Decorah Sustainability Commission is focused on updating the Plan in 2024. The process will include reflecting on the work that’s been accomplished and outlining goals for the coming years. As in 2019, this process will include a robust public process, and the Commission welcomes all input for the development of an updated Plan.

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