Environmental Sustainability

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The  Environmental Sustainability chapter covers a wide range of issues impacting the City’s environment from tree canopy to waste reduction. At the core of all issue is an attention to resilience, that is, the ability of the City and all residents to sustain and adapt to the environmental and social impacts of climate change. The impacts are increasing in frequency and magnitude rapidly and Annapolis is particularly vulnerable to them, which adds particular urgency to the many of the goals of this chapter.

ES 1
ES 2
ES 3
ES 4
  1. ES Goal 1
  2. ES Goal 2
  3. ES Goal 3
  4. ES Goal 4
  5. ES Goal 5
  6. ES Goal 6
  7. ES Goal 7

Goal:

Develop a comprehensive and equitable approach to resilience that is relevant to all residents.

Performance Metrics: 

  • Adoption of a Resilience Plan with annual updates on implementation.
  • Participation by residents from all Wards in the development of the Resilience Plan.
  • The CIP includes resilience-related projects in all Wards.

Action 1: For the purposes of ensuring equity in resilience investments, utilize the definition of Sensitive Area provided herein that includes not only natural resource areas of significant value but also areas deficient in ecological value.  Based on this definition, a place with both high impervious coverage and lacking in tree canopy would be deemed a Sensitive Area.

Action 2: Complete the City’s draft Resilience Plan and ensure that it includes an Equitable Resilience Framework.

Action 3: Create a standard and strategy for “resilience hubs” based on the Maryland Energy Administration funding guidelines that can be implemented within the City’s most socially vulnerable communities.

Action 4: Utilize the creekshed small area plans recommended in the Land Use element as a means to identify specific opportunities for neighborhood-scale resilience investments.

Action 5: Work with Anne Arundel County to leverage the full capabilities of the newly created Resilience Authority to implement projects that not only protect the City from sea level rise and other climate change impacts but also improve ecological functions.