Among the Maple Ridge citizens pleased with the local election results and changes at city council are the members of the Maple Ridge Climate Hub.
“Dear Council: Please Fix the Climate” is the name of a new online survey posted to the Climate Hub Facebook Page. Its intention is to inform council what environmental changes residents want to see.
“The last council updated the city’s targets to reduce greenhouse gases, but failed to plan to meet the targets,” notes the survey.
“The targets are good. Now we need the plan.”
Kirk Grayson, founding member of the Climate Hub, said the survey is simply asking what citizens are concerned about, and makes her group able to show council there is public support for action directed at stopping climate change.
She noted that both councillors Ahmed Yousef and Sunny Schiller are on the Climate Hub board, as are two school board trustees in Kim Dumore and Hudson Campbell.
In addition to having voices at the table, Grayson notes that Mayor Dan Ruimy and his A Better Maple Ridge slate said during the campaign that they will be making decisions through an environmental lens. So her group is expecting a more sympathetic hearing at council.
“We could not be more thrilled,” she said of the election results. “It looks like a sea change, and it’s so needed.”
READ ALSO: UN chief warns planet is heading toward `climate chaos’
The survey offers so called “quick wins,” which are important changes city hall could enact. These include:
• Creating an advisory committee to develop Climate Action Plan for the city.
• Adopt the BC Energy Step code to reduce emissions from new buildings.
• Require all new buildings to have secure parking for bikes and e-bikes.
• Require all new buildings to have electric charging infrastructure that is plug-in ready.
• Require all new housing to install zero-emission heat sources rather than fossil-fuel furnaces.
There are numerous other quick wins, which those taking the survey can choose to support, or not.
“We’re asking what people are concerned about,” said Grayson. “We want to show council there is public support for the things we will ask them to do.”
The Climate Hub has asked to appear as a delegation before council, in a future workshop meeting.
READ ALSO: GOING GREEN: Electing a Maple Ridge council committed to climate action
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