The community is invited to attend the next two community meetings in February to review the draft document and offer input into Elgin's Sustainability Action Plan. The next meeting will take place on Feb 10, at Hawthorne Hill Nature Center, 28 Brookside Drive, Elgin 6-8 PM.At this meeting, residents will hear recommendations regarding Green Infrastructure, Water Resources and Alternative Energy. Each group will discuss their goals and strategies for improving the quality of life in Elgin and reducing Elgin’s environmental impact.
Another meeting will be held on February 22, at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 39W830 Highland Avenue 6-8 PM. where the Green Building Technology, Urban Design and Eco-nomic Development will present their recommendations outlined in the proposed plan. As in each meeting, these groups will discuss their goals and strategies for improving the quality of life in Elgin and reducing Elgin’s environmental impact.
The proposed action plan was developed and written by residents who participated in Elgin's nine sustainability working groups over the last 18 months and is meant to help lead our city forward to create a self-sustaining community. As part of the plan, the groups evaluated current practices and policies to find ways to lessen our environmental footprint and identified opportun-ities to preserve, minimize and restore our natural resources for future generations to enjoy. The community is encouraged to give comments and suggestions about the plan before it is officially presented to the City Council for formal adoption.
Nearly 100 Elgin residents volunteered on nine separate working committees to study various sustainability issues facing our community. The nine work groups included Alternative Energy; Economic Development; Green Building Technology and energy conservation; Green Infrastruc-ture; Healthy Living and Community Engagement; Recycling and Waste Management; Trans-portation and Mobility; Urban Design; and Water Resources. After much research and discus-sion, each group formulated their recommendations which will be presented to the Elgin City Council to consider for formal adoption.
The outreach meetings were designed to give community members the opportunity to see what their fellow Elginites are proposing for each of these nine categories, which include over 120 dif-ferent recommendations. Previous meetings held at Gail Borden Public Library on January 13th and 18th included an overview of the entire plan and a presentation by the Recycling and Waste Management, Transportation and Mobility and Healthy Living and Community Engagement groups. Residents are encouraged to attend all the sessions that cover subject matter of personal interest.
For more information, or to request a presentation to your school or organization, please call Aaron Cosentino at 847-214-5861 or visit www.cityofelgin.org/green.