Agenda Item Name:
Title
Climate Change Policy Discussion
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Presenter:
Chris Bird, 264-6801
Description:
Discuss county policies and strategies as they relate to climate change.
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Provide direction to staff.
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Prior Board Motions:
At the June 25 regular Board meeting, The BOCC approved a motion to direct staff to return to the Board at a future Policy Meeting with best business practices by reaching out to both Florida Association of Counties and the National Association of Counties on policies related to climate change and renewable energy. The motion carried 5-0.
Fiscal Consideration:
Fiscal Consideration
N/A
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Background:
The topic of climate change has come up several times at County Commission meetings over the years and staff has been addressing local issues related to climate change that date back to at least 2007 when a climate change expert, Dr. Sam Brody, Texas A&M spoke to the county and stated that the most important local climate change adaptation strategy for Alachua County is protecting wetlands and floodplains. To keep up with the challenges and efforts at the state and federal level, staff has reviewed FAC and NACo policies, attended many climate change related conferences, summits, webinars, and collaborated with other federal, state, and local agencies, non-profits organizations and climate experts. Most recently, county staff co-facilitated a Resiliency-Building Workshop on September 12, 2019 at the Senior Recreation Center and on August 8, 2019 a "Climate Crisis: An Intergenerational Discussion hosted by the Gainesville NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Committee.
Staff also reviewed and compared our current Comprehensive Plan policies with the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Compact and provided a comparison table and presentation outlining how our policies and strategies on climate change compare to the action plans and strategies of this very large and well estab...
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