Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled a citywide sustainability plan on Wednesday, April 8 that seeks to reduce the amount of imported water used by Angelenos, improve overall air quality levels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next two decades.
The Sustainable City Plan, set for 20 years, sets out dozens of major environmental goals for Los Angeles to reach by 2025 and 2035.
Matt Petersen, Garcetti’s top advisor on sustainability issues, said the plan addresses the “economic and equality” issues expected to face a city grappling with rising climate temperatures and denser living conditions in the near future.
By 2035, Petersen said, Los Angeles could have an additional half a million residents.
“How do we have a city where people thrive, rather than just be accommodated?” Petersen asked. “That means we have to help the environment, we have a robust economy and we create an equal opportunity for every Angeleno.”
The 105-page plan comes amid a new focus on climate change at City Hall, and follows the Mayor’s 2013 appointment to President Barack Obama’s Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience.
Several other large cities, including New York, Chicago, and San Jose, have released similar sustainability plans recently.
An ambitious goal outlined in the plan says that Los Angeles would source 50 percent of its water locally by 2035—turning to recycling, stormwater capture, and other conservation methods. The LA Department of Water and Power currently gets most of its water from outside sources, so the goal is a “big shift,” Petersen said.
By 2025, Mayor Garcetti’s extensive proposal also seeks to have “zero days” when air pollution reaches unhealthy levels. The city saw 14 days last year when levels reached unhealthy thresholds, Petersen said.
Some of the proposals listed in the plan are already being enacted. Garcetti has already committed to creating 20,000 “green jobs” by 2017—under the plan, that number would rise to 150,000 by 2035.
Another goal aims that 75 percent of Angelenos would live within a half mile of a park or open space by 2035. According to the report, by 2017, 56 percent of residents will be doing so.
David Pettit, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, expressed disappointment over the plan’s goal of increasing the percentage of port-related goods movement trips that use zero emissions technology to 25 percent by 2035.
“All trips should have zero emissions, and that should happen a lot sooner than 2035,” Pettit said.
The proposal also requires all farmers markets in LA to accept EBT
(electronic benefit transfer, or food stamps), which has gained approval from James Haydu, executive director of Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles.
“[The plan’s efforts] level the playing field when it comes to fresh food access for all Angelenos, no matter where they live and no matter what their income is,” Haydu said.
Garcetti promised his office will release a report every year on the Sustainable City Plan, and provide major updates every four years.
(With reports from Los Angeles Daily News)
