Support Complete Streets Policy online and at Tuesday, April 17 City Council meeting

Through the efforts of former Sustainable Saratoga co-chair Jim Zack, our former Transportation Committee chairs John Rich and Cathi Anne Cameron, Local Economy Chair Alex Chaucer and longtime Sustainable Saratoga participant and supporter Molly Gagne, Sustainable Saratoga was very active in Shared Access Saratoga, a diverse group brought together by Tobin Alexandra-Young to assess and then implement transportation initiatives aimed at improving pedestrian, public transport, bicycle and non-auto transportation and related issues in Saratoga Springs.  On Tuesday night, April 17 at 6:15 p.m. in City Hall, Shared Access is recommending that the city become the 50th community to adopt the Complete Streets protocols.  Complete Streets assures that roads are designed and built for all users, of all ages and abilities.  “Complete Streets communities are safer for pedestrians, cyclists, drivers and those who use public transportation,” Tobin explains.  “By rethinking the way we design and use our roads, we will be enhancing our quality of life, creating a more vibrant economy, and improving community health.  People will finally have the option of leaving their cars at home!”

There are several ways to support Sustainable Saratoga’s work on this initiative and help Saratoga Springs to become the 50th Complete Streets community.  (The full Complete Streets policy is available to read at City Hall, and online at www.saratoga-springs.org.)  You can sign the online petition supporting Complete Streets and “Like” the initiative via the Shared Access page on Facebook.  Finally, the best support is turn-out: please join us at City Hall on Tuesday, April 17 at 6:15 p.m. to show your community support for Shared Access and Complete Streets in person!

From the National Complete Streets Coalition:

The streets of our cities and towns are an important part of the livability of our communities.  They ought to be for everyone, whether young or old, motorist or bicyclist, walker or wheelchair user, bus rider or shopkeeper.  But too many of our streets are designed only for speeding cars, or worse, creeping traffic jams.

Now, in communities across the country, a movement is growing to complete the streets.  States, cities and towns are asking their planners and engineers to build road networks that are safer, more livable, and welcoming to everyone.

Instituting a complete streets policy ensures that transportation planners and engineers consistently design and operate the entire roadway with all users in mind – including bicyclists, public transportation vehicles and riders, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.

What are the most important things in life? What are the keys to happiness? What are the things that really matter, when you are facing death? Who are the people you have impacted and helped? What is the legacy that you will leave? What really matters? What are you thankful for? What is your purpose?

Think about the important questions we ask ourselves, as we exist in the society we live in today. As I dwell on these important questions, there is an unsettling disconnect. There is a dichotomy. There is the life I aim to live, and the life that I have been stuck in and I am trying to break out of.

The story of stuff captures some aspects of this very well. Spending the a few valuable minutes to watch this video is a reminder of the big picture, the unhealthy “system” that has been created, which continues to operate, much of it largely invisible to the average “consumer.” In this system, that is what I am. I am a consumer. It is my job to buy things and that is what will give me temporary happiness, before I am supposed to throw it away and buy a replacement for it. No, I am not supposed to get it fixed, I am supposed to throw it away.

How do I shift from a consumer to something else? I am not a consumer. I refuse to be part of this system. But, if not a consumer, what am I?

I am a person. I am a community member. I am a citizen. I am a friend. I am a brother. I am a father. I am a learner. I am a teacher.

I am not a consumer.

When I focus on moving beyond consumerism and living a life more simply, I have found that the important questions, the one’s listed in the first paragraph, become more clear. I have turned off my cable, so the unhealthy messages in ads and TV shows cannot come in and tell me that I need some new product or am out of style. I read more. I focus my mind and my energy on the things that I want to change in my life. I experience life. I give my time and energy to people and causes that I care about.

But, I still have a lot of stuff.

On January 24th, Sustainable Saratoga is putting together a program on gifting and ways to get rid of stuff other people can use.

Come meet some like minded people focusing on the same questions you are. Come meet some people who are looking at simplifying their lives. Come meet some people who are trying to focus on the important things in life.

Come get rid of some stuff.

See you on the 24th.

Alex Chaucer
Local Economy Committee Chair, Sustainable Saratoga

Watch this video called “The Story of Stuff”

Kate shares the goals and efforts of the The Stakeholders Inc. in Albany, NY with the Capital Consulting Alliance.

Kate Hedgeman founder of The Stakeholders Albany, NY from David Levesque on Vimeo.

International business consultant Frank Dixon spoke at our July 2009 community meeting.

Below is the audio from his presentation.

Frank Dixon on Global System Change [ 1:00:00 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tobin was part of our October 2011 panel discussion on Sustainability minded transportation options for Saratoga Springs residents. You can follow the work of Shared Access, Saratoga on their Facebook page.

Doug was part of our October 2011 panel discussion on Sustainability minded transportation options in Saratoga Springs.

Healthy Transportation Ideas for Saratoga Springs – Doug Haller from David Levesque on Vimeo.

Zero Energy  Power-House

Creating Your Path to Energy Independence
and a Resilient Lifestyle

An informative presentation by Tina Clarke

Wednesday, November 16, 7:00 p.m.

in the library of the Greenwich High School

$5 donation suggested to help defray costs

Are you concerned about rising fuel costs and the cost of everything that depends on fossil fuel? How will this impact your quality of life and the lives of your community?  Come hear Tina Clarke, Transition Towns Trainer  www.transitionus.org and educator for resilient, sustainable communities. She has trained citizens in over two dozen communities, mostly in the north-east United States. Her presentation will give you practical solutions that you can help to implement here in your community.

Sources in City Hall have told me that an exclusion from the Site Review Process and issuance of a Special Use Permit has been extended to an as-yet unnamed local tomato grower wishing to sell produce from his own 13-acre property.  This ruling creates a precedent for others who wish to legitimately sell produce from a seasonal produce stand located in the area of County Road 22 (Crescent Avenue) in Saratoga Springs.  At this time it is unclear whether the exclusions would apply to other parts of the City.

Sustainable Saratoga members had been asked to encourage City Council members (the Mayor and four department commissioners) to grant the exclusion through letters and attendence at the City Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 5th, at 7pm.  Please note due to the resolution described here, this issue will not be on the meeting agenda.  Members of the public may, however, offer verbal public comment on this, or any other issue, by rising during the public comment period of the meeting, which should begin at approximately 7:10 pm.  Prepared statements may be read and a copy of the statement can be entered into the public record.

Thank you for your assistance in helping to secure more local food sources for the Saratoga area!

I’d like to offer my thanks to Bill Sprengnether for his tenure as Co-chair of Sustainable Saratoga over the past fifteen months. Bill’s energy and enthusiasm for the organization’s mission was instrumental in getting Sustainable Saratoga over the first hurdle in our goal towards becoming a bonafide 501(c)(3) Not-for-Profit corporation eligible for tax-deductible contributions and the receipt of grants. He also directed our limited resources and personnel on specific projects that have yielded positive results and continue to generate success. I’d also like to congratulate Bill and Caroline on the birth of their second daughter last month. She represents the next generation of our continued endeavors towards a sustainable future.

I’m also thankful for the opportunity to serve as your Co-chair along with Celeste Caruso, who has been vital to the organization’s day-to-day operations. I will do my best to advance the concepts of sustainability within and outside the organization.

Ed. note (4 Apr 2011):  The following issue has been resolved, thanks to the input of concerned citizens and a responsive City Council.

That said, I’d like to relate a bit of troubling news I received last week: I was told that a resident of the City of Saratoga Springs had approached the City Planning Department to ask what was required of him to have a seasonal produce stand on his own thirteen-acre property so he could sell the produce he grows on it. He was informed that he had to go through the site plan review process and obtain a special use permit. The cost for the site plan review and a special use permit would be around $1300.

Upon the Accounts Department review of the City’s Zoning Ordinance, they found confusing language regarding what is or is not required to have a seasonal produce stand in a RR-1 zone. The intent of a RR-1 zone is to provide low density residential and agricultural uses in order to preserve open space and a rural character. It is the Accounts Department’s interpretation of the Zoning Ordinance that a seasonal produce stand is exempt from both the special use permit and the site plan review, as the seasonal produce stand does not increase the building coverage and/or impermeable ground coverage by two percent or 1200 square feet. In addition, it is a basic tenet of sustainability and local self-reliance that municipal governments should be encouraging local agriculture, not making it difficult for our residents to produce and sell the fruits of their hard labor.

You can review the presentation made to City Council on March 15th, 2011 in either the webcast or meeting minutes, both of which are posted on the City’s website (click here for the City meeting schedule). Accounts Commissioner John Franck’s remarks can be viewed in the portion of the webcast labeled “ACCOUNTS DEPT.”

I have been told that the Council is attempting to fast-track approval for this agricultural exemption, but there is no guarantee that approval is forthcoming in time for the upcoming growing season.

This issue will be in the spotlight for the next Saratoga Springs City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 5th at 7pm. Your voice can make the difference. You can participate in the process in various ways:

• Write your Commissioners of City Council and express your opinion on this matter
• Attend City Council meeting of April 5th, read a prepared statement, and ask for it to be entered into the official record
• Write a letter to the editor of the Saratogian

This resident’s plight is truly at the core of sustainability and food security. As transportation costs mount, we will no longer be able to provide inexpensive food from the other side of the country, and we will need to rely on our own foodshed to provide more of the food that we’ve been accustomed to getting from afar. I hope you’ll express yourself and your concerns for the future of our community.

Links/Addresses:

• City of Saratoga Springs website: www.saratoga-springs.org
• City of Saratoga Springs Zoning Ordinances: www.saratoga-springs.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=226&Itemid=130
• Mayor Scott Johnson, City Hall – 474 Broadway Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
• Commissioner of Finance Ken Ivins, Jr., see City Hall address above
• Commissioner of Accounts John Franck, see City Hall address above
• Commissioner of Public Safety Richard Wirth, see City Hall address above
• Commissioner of Public Safety Anthony “Skip” Scirocco, see City Hall address above
• Guidelines for submitting opinions to the Saratogian, www.saratogian.com/articles/2011/03/29/opinion/doc4ac2540b945e2496326904.txt

Think Globally, Act Locally,
Jim Zack, Co-chair, Sustainable Saratoga