Public safety is the top priority for the City of Dallas and the purpose of the Comprehensive Environmental and Climate Action Plan (CECAP) is to inform how Dallas can become a healthier, cleaner and better city.
The City of Dallas is seeking public input. The City’s Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (DEQS) will begin a second round of community meetings to gather feedback from residents and businesses to help shape its first Comprehensive Environmental & Climate Action Plan (CECAP).
Six public meetings, with the first scheduled for Sept. 17 and ending on Oct. 3, are scheduled to give residents an opportunity to provide their input on CECAP. “Because City operations form such a small part of our overall carbon footprint in Dallas, we have to collaborate with our residents and businesses to find innovative ways to reduce our community-wide emissions, prepare for a changing climate and enhance quality of life through equitable and sustainable planning of our community’s environmental assets,” James McGuire, Director of the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability, explained.
The City of Dallas is working with AECOM, a global infrastructure firm, to develop this plan. Previously, AECOM supported development of the Resilient Dallas Strategy in collaboration with 100 Resilient Cities. The firm also supports the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and the World Bank, as well as, over 50 cities around the world with climate action, adaptation and sustainability planning.
Extreme heat, prolonged droughts and other climate-change related impacts can have detrimental effects on a city and the health of its residents. According to the 2018 National Climate Assessment, Texas alone could see up to 60 additional days per year of temperatures exceeding 100 degrees if carbon emissions aren’t significantly reduced. When complete, the CECAP plan will focus on reducing the root causes of changing weather and the development of benchmarks and strategies for adapting the City to changing local conditions.
“The effects of climate change on our cities are becoming more intense every year. We need to collaborate as a society to facilitate meaningful change,” said AECOM Senior Urban Planner Tatum Lau, deputy project manager for the CECAP plan. “It will take the entire community of Dallas to ensure it’s ready to build a safe future and enhance the quality of life for all residents.”
The contract to develop the CECAP plan, which was first approved by the Dallas City Council in January, is expected to be unveiled on Earth Day 2020. Scheduled public meetings, between 6 to 8 p.m. at locations around the City, will be held to solicit the community’s ideas and goals before the final plan is unveiled. Light snacks and children’s activities will be provided as well as Spanish translation services. The survey will be available at http://www.Dallasclimateaction.com after September 17, 2019 in English and Spanish and will remain open through October 27th. Community listening events are scheduled at the following dates and locations:
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
Lakewood Library: 6121 Worth St.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
MLK Community Center: 2922 MLK Jr. Blvd.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
Bachman Rec Center: 2750 Bachman Dr.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
Singing Hills Rec Center: 1901 Crouch Rd.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30
Dallas Executive Airport: 5303 Challenger Dr.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3
Timberglen Rec Center: 3810 Timberglen Rd.
*Venues have been selected to enhance community engagement and to cover council districts across the City
