City Council Candidates Discuss City’s Climate Plans and Priorities

In a September letter, FCCAN asked the two City Council candidates to share their perspectives on what the City government can and/or should do to address the climate change issue. Specifically, the letter asked their views on:

• the City government’s roles and ambitions in reducing greenhouse gas emissions;

• funding and other actions to implement the Community and Government Energy Action Plans;

• other climate-related comments each wished to discuss.

Their responses are below. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, and early voting at the Community Center is underway now.

From JOHN MURPHY:

The goals and strategies of the Community Energy Action Plan are welcome as the City and entire world face the challenges of climate change. Addressing carbon reductions is not easy. It requires changes to everyday routines, investments in more efficient equipment, and frankly money. The Community Energy Action Plan provides a data centric approach involving energy audits and suggestions for incentives to bring about necessary change.

The City has taken steps to use renewable energy in large scale projects such as geothermal at the High School and geothermal to be installed as part of the Community Center renovations but we need to do more. Our reliance on Dominion Energy and Washington Gas for large parts of our fuel in Government, commercial, and residential settings is going to hold us back while trying to meet our goals. Therefore, I fully agree with additional solar for all of those applications and greater use of purchased renewable electricity sources. Proposed incentives and education will help but they cost money in an environment where funding for the current business energy audits is scarce. If the environment is a priority, we have to fund initiatives appropriately.

The market is going to help to some extent. Recent development projects have included a limited number of electric vehicle charging stations but forward thinking ones have proposed installing adequate conduits to massively increase the number of changing stations as demand develops. When negotiating voluntary concessions for new development we have to include the environment as a priority.

On the transportation front, we can help transportation choices for bicycles and pedestrians. The Bicycle Master Plan is a good start but it needs to have a coordinated Pedestrian Master Plan as well. A unified plan will help us focus on modes of transportation other than on road vehicles. The Bicycle Master does nothing to improve our existing sidewalks and the routes designated as primary often do not have existing sidewalks. We need to focus on sidewalks to the same extent that we focus on bike lanes. Our sidewalks include many obstacles including utility poles and even wayfinding signs that limit safety when walking. We can do better if we want to get people out of cars for short trips in the City.

There are some glaring omissions in the Community Energy Action Plan. In particular, there is no strategy for reducing the urban heat island effect referenced in the Executive Summary by planting and maintaining healthy trees. Recent development has included open space but very limited green space. Concrete and artificial turf do not help water quality issues or urban heat island effects. The City should focus on true green space and trees in the open spaces for new development. The City has also cut funding for the neighborhood tree program. The impact of tree canopy and shade for roofs greatly reduces the use of electricity. However, greater canopy also limits new solar installations. That is a tough issue to resolve. Still tree canopy and shade is an important part of reducing cooling energy usage.

I look forward to helping distill the community’s priorities for reducing carbon emissions and advocating for funding those priorities.

From LAURA DOWNS:

The General Government and Falls Church City Public Schools both play a role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in our city.

On the school side, the newly built Meridian High School was awarded the LEED Gold certification. Its geothermal HVAC, solar panels, and net zero-ready status prove that it is possible to have a state-of-the-art building that is environmentally responsible and can be built on time and on budget. That said, there is room for improvement with our school bus fleet. Due to the distances buses must travel to take our athletes to away games (sometimes as far as a two-hour drive), FCCPS will need some diesel buses, but the school system could determine the minimum number of diesel buses that would be necessary. I would assume a goal of just 25% of the school bus fleet being diesel would be a realistic goal. While electric buses cost nearly three times the amount of a diesel bus, given that carbon emission reduction is a city-wide goal, I would support efforts for the general government to help supplement and obtain grant funding to offset the costs.

On the General Government side, I’m in support of offering tax incentives for businesses and developers who implement measures to reduce carbon emissions, as well as city funding for programs that promote energy audits. Often making an environmentally friendly investment can also be the financially prudent choice, saving money for the city, residents, and businesses in the long run. Finally, making the city more walkable, with a variety of housing options, enables people to live, work and shop here and become less reliant on cars. Improving the infrastructure for alternate modes of transportation like electric scooters and electric bikes will also help reduce the number of cars on the street.

The majority of our police cars are not electric so just as we are focused on the school’s vehicles, we should focus on transitioning our police cars to electric. Additional revenue at the end of the fiscal year could be used to purchase one electric police car each year to transition the fleet without having to spend too much all at once.

I support your organization’s efforts to expand bike racks throughout the city, advocate for solar panels on the Aurora House and the Community Center as well as funding commercial energy audits and subsidizing residential energy assessments.

I was interested to see the success of the recent “Electrify Falls Church” event and think something like this could be expanded and held during the “Falls Church Festival” each Fall. Finally, the “One-Stop Shop for Community Energy Action” city website is a great resource that should be promoted more broadly to city residents.