Public Comment Period Opens For Oklahoma City’s Draft Sustainability Plan

Press release from the City of Oklahoma City:

April 22, 2020

Earth Day is the official public debut of adaptokc, the City of Oklahoma City’s draft sustainability plan, and the beginning of a 30-day review and comment period.

Visit reviewokc.konveio.com to review and comment on the draft sustainability plan, the first of its kind in Oklahoma City and a proposed amendment to the planokc comprehensive plan. The review period ends May 21.

“Adaptation is a dynamic process of constant improvement and refinement through diligent planning and preparation. This plan is a community-built effort intended to help us prepare for anticipated economic, environmental, and social challenges,” said Sustainability Manager T.O. Bowman. “adaptokc will further enable our policymakers, businesses, residents, and institutions to work together to face volatility and change with practical solutions.”

About adaptokc

Sustainability plans like adaptokc help strengthen communities in the face of economic, environmental and social challenges of the present and future.

adaptokc is a proposed long-range plan and policy document to guide decisions based on community goals. It contains recommended priorities, strategies, actions and responsibilities, and indicators to monitor progress. It’s not a regulatory document or ordinance.

The plan addresses how Oklahoma City can adapt to hotter and drier summers, electricity cost and demand increases, more frequent flooding, higher operational and maintenance costs for infrastructure and mounting public service delivery challenges related to age, language and culture.

The draft plan is organized into four topic areas:

• Energy Productivity: How to reduce emissions associated with energy consumption, diversify local and state energy economies and reduce the cost of municipal operations.
• Natural and Built Environment: How to protect water quality, prevent flood damage, mitigate the effects of extreme heat and ensure access to healthy food.
• Air Quality: How to maintain Oklahoma City’s air quality ratings, and secure sustainable transportation infrastructure funding.
• Waste Reduction: How to recycle or reuse recoverable material, increase demand for products made with recycled content and prevent exposure to hazardous waste.

The Planning Department’s Office of Sustainability created the draft plan with input from six focus groups featuring more than 90 subject matter experts.

The process to create and adopt adaptokc is similar to other major Oklahoma City planning documents either already adopted or in process: bikewalkokc (the master plan for cyclists and pedestrians), AMP UP OKC (the art master plan) and preserveokc (the draft historic preservation plan).

This press release was produced by the City of Oklahoma City. The views expressed here are the author’s own.