There was the slightest hesitation and a few inquires, but ultimately the decision was made: Charlottesville is ready to officially declare itself a nature-loving city.
City Council passed a resolution Monday that puts Charlottesville a few steps shy of joining a global network of "biophilic cities" which place a high premium on nature preservation in urban design.
The resolution was passed unanimously with all five councilors in attendance and marks the first of three steps required to officially join the University of Virginia-based Biophilic Cities network which spans 32 cities across the globe, including such faraway destinations as Panama City, Barcelona and Singapore.
Even though the network has been based in Charlottesville since 2013, the city has only recently considered joining.
A biophilic city is one that puts nature at the center of urban planning and incorporates it into its built environment. It is more of an information-sharing collective than a set of policies or regulations a city must abide. Proponents say that such cities promote economic growth and benefit the happiness and health of residents.
The remaining steps to join the network include submitting a statement outlining both Charlottesville’s existing biophilic qualities and its future initiatives, as well as a list of five indicators by which progress can be measured.
Virginia cities already part of the network include Richmond, Norfolk, Arlington and Reston.
JD Brown, program director with Biophilic Cities and a UVa alumnus, told councilors on Monday that there are practically no reasons not to join the network.
“I don’t want to overstate the resolution and the application,” he said. “It’s really about participating in this global network where it’s an exchange of ideas, finding out what other cities are doing [and] using this as an opportunity to be a talking point.”
Joining the network comes at no cost. Rather, it offers cities an opportunity to benefit from collaboration with scholars and other cities. Charlottesville would be able to participate in events, exchange ideas with peer cities domestic and international and contribute policies and plans to a shared resource library.
“Basically only benefits and no cost,” said Mona El Khafif, an associate professor at the UVa’s School of Architecture who was present during Monday’s meeting. El Khafif and Brown, along with Kristel Riddervold, director of the city’s Office of Sustainability, are part of a team that together presented the resolution to Council.
The Biophilic Cities network was founded 12 years ago by Tim Beatley, the Teresa Heinz professor of sustainable communities at UVa’s School of Architecture. Beatley remains its executive director.
Initial membership for partner cities is for a period of two years, followed by subsequent periods of two to five years.
Councilors discussed the resolution for about 10 minutes before voting Monday, at which point some took the opportunity to ask a few clarifying questions.
“From a tangible perspective, can you help me think through what sort of practical things might result from this in terms of how the city does work?” Councilor Brian Pinkston asked Riddervold. “I’m just trying to be realistic. I mean, I support this — I mean, who couldn’t? But I’m just wanting to make sure there’s not something that we don’t know about that will hinder us from making some other decisions that we need to make, particularly around land use.”
“I think it’s fair to say that there’s nothing that’s going to restrict us,” Riddervold replied. “I think this is really about, ‘Is this part of the fabric of this community? Is this part of what people feel is part of Charlottesville?’”
Mayor Juandiego Wade raised a similar point, asking if the city were to entertain a new housing project would its membership get in the way of development.
Charlottesville has been in the midst of a self-described "housing crisis" since at least 2009. The city is now the second-most expensive real estate market in all of Virginia, after the Washington suburbs. And a recent rezoning meant to boost density in the city and make housing more affordable faces a lawsuit that is prepared to go to trial.
Riddervold told Wade he had nothing to worry about.
“If we join the network, it will not limit your consideration of those type of proposals,” she said.
Riddervold, who’s been with the city for more than two decades, told councilors Monday that if for some reason things don’t work out, the initial two-year membership offers a convenient way out.
“If it’s not a good fit, we have another conversation,” she said.
But on the other hand, if it is a good fit, Charlottesville could be making history. The Biophilic Cities is already having conversations with neighboring localities, including Albemarle County, to join the network and establish the world’s very first "biophilic region."
Christine Putnam, who sits on the Albemarle County Natural Heritage Committee, told Charlottesville councilors Monday that she hopes to bring the proposal before the county Board of Supervisors.
“I think that there is some interest in the county to do that,” Putnam said. “But I can’t speak for them.”
Reached for comment, Albemarle County spokeswoman Abbey Stumpf confirmed to The Daily Progress that work is being done at the Natural Heritage Committee level to bring the proposal forward but no timeline has been set yet.
It is not immediately clear when Council will move forward with the remaining steps required before officially joining the Biophilic Cities network. But the resolution passed Monday gives city staff the go-ahead to submit a formal application.
Riddervold told The Daily Progress that joining the network is “less about enforcement and more about inspiring.”
“It’s not something that can be necessarily enforced," she said. "But I think it provides formality to a commitment of honoring and celebrating and baking the value of nature into what we do as an urban area.”
“At the end of the day," Riddervold continued, "this is an information-sharing, experience-sharing collective, concerted effort. It isn’t a legal term, and it’s not a technical site plan or code or regulation. It’s really a kind of a different universe.”
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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