City Grapples With Meaning of 'Sustainability'

Sierra Madre’s General Plan Green Subcommittee convened at over environmental issues specific to local residents and their families Thursday. Paramount among many issues was the group's desire to establish of working definition of "sustainability."

The subcommittee grappled with drafting a personalized definition of the word "sustainability," a term that coincides both morally and pragmatically with their efforts to draft a new General Plan.

“[Sustainability] has been used as a catch-all in the environmental community, it’s been conscripted by many groups, diluted and then given new meanings,” Subcommittee member Ed Miller said.

The group seeks to augment the definition of sustainability to encompass economic and social sectors of Sierra Madre as well as the city’s primary ecological concerns

“[Sustainability] is not just environmental, it’s not applied to one thing, it’s applied to so many different things that it’s extremely hard to pin down,” Subcommittee member Wendy Davis said.

Building on her ideas, Davis went on to add that the revised Sierra Madre General Plan will encompass the environment, lifestyle, traffic and housing.

“[Sustainability] gained popularity among environmental groups, but its use spread to other concerns and that’s why it’s kind of hard to define,” said Miller.

In addition, the subcommittee addressed Sierra Madre’s accessibility for pedestrians, an issue that raises safety concerns but ultimately aims to lower hefty fuel emissions produced by local and commuting motorists.  

The group’s call to action materialized just over a year ago, in response to Sierra Madre City Council’s need for a revised city General Plan.

The General Plan, a mandatory city policy that maps Sierra Madre’s economic, environmental and social legislation, is revised every twenty or so years. What the Subcommittee hopes to achieve is an ethical and sustainable General Plan that will tackle many of the pertinent issues created by Sierra Madre’s busy thoroughfares and the state’s water crisis.

“Every city has to have [a General Plan] under state law, I guess one could liken it to a vision document, or the constitution of a city,” said Subcommittee member Wendy Davis.

The subcommittee endeavors to revise the existing city General Plan and modify its current provisions. The current General Plan in effect was finalized in 1996 and leaves much work for the committee to address issues such as water reduction and environmentally-safe building and remodeling standards.

The subcommittee’s crusade will continue as they meet every fourth Thursday of the month.