Green City Initiative Update

I thought I would provide an update of what happened with the initiative Leia posted about here.

 

Wednesday night the city council of Aliso Viejo addressed the proposed Green City Initiative. Information on it can be found here. Some Soka students, including Ecowing members (Sarah and myself), attended the meeting and some spoke publicly to the council expressing the students’ support of the initiative. The night lasted three and a half hours (!!!) and got quite heated with many community members expressing concerns over the costs and other issues with the initiative and others expressing deep belief in the initiative. Ultimately the council decided to postpone voting on the initiative, asking the staff to provide further information before they decided on it. The date was not set but we’ll let everyone know when we know.

City Hall was packed!

Personally, I was quite upset at some of the comments that were made. Many questioned the existence of climate change, questioned the education we receive at Soka, focused on the immediate costs of the initiative without considering the long term benefits or benefits to future generations, implied a conspiracy theory is behind the GCI, etc. Some members of the crowd were very intolerant (and quite frankly rude) and did not seem to be open to any new ideas that were presented. But I think it’s also important to recognize that some that oppose the initiative have very real and reasonable concerns about how their businesses will be affected and where the money for writing and implementing the initiative will come from. There were also many voices that spoke in support of the GCI, such as the Sierra Club, high school and Soka students, and residents. A review of the event can be found here.
 

Despite the surprising divisiveness of the issue, I think there is an important lesson we can take away from the city hall meeting: participating in government, especially local government, is a wonderful and important way to living sustainably. People feel empowered by participation and are more likely to take on leadership roles in the community. The fact that this conversation was allowed to happen and that (most) voices were heard shows that citizens can help shape their lives and can help create a more sustainable life in their community. I am very proud of our participation in the event.

Some ideas for discussing:

-What do you think about the Initiative?

-One resident expressed the idea that the initiative is merely an example of great city planning and just the name “green” makes it scary to some and draws criticism. Do you think the name plays a big role? Is “green” overused? Does it come with a positive/negative connotation?

- How important is participating in the community?