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Staff update: active‑transportation plan to go to council; city pursuing LEED for Cities and tracking water rebates
Summary
City staff told the Farmers Branch Sustainability Committee the active‑transportation plan and complete‑streets policy will go to a council study session and that the city is preparing a LEED for Cities certification submission.
City sustainability staff updated the Farmers Branch Sustainability Committee on multiple program efforts, including the active‑transportation plan and complete‑streets policy, the city’s pursuit of LEED for Cities designation, water‑conservation rebates, and a smart‑meter pilot.
Staff said the active‑transportation plan and complete‑streets policy will be the first item on an upcoming council study session (staff said the session starts at 3 p.m.) and that the sustainability committee’s formal recommendation supporting adoption was included in the materials sent to council. The plan provides a data‑weighted project list that would require follow‑up council approval for individual projects; staff said the plan could come back for formal adoption on the regular council agenda on Sept. 16.
On green building and citywide sustainability benchmarking, staff said they are preparing submissions for LEED for Cities certification. They expect to submit an initial (preliminary) filing at the end of the next week, after which the certifying body will take roughly four to six weeks to review and provide feedback. Staff said there will be an additional roughly six‑week window to supply any missing data before a final submission; if accepted, the city could receive a LEED for Cities designation — likely silver, possibly gold — in early 2026.
Staff gave a brief update on water‑conservation incentives: to date they reported 117 toilet rebates and 14 irrigation checkups completed. They also announced a budget town‑hall on Aug. 26 and said the sustainability program is operating under a flat budget direction for the next fiscal year (no new program funds were proposed at the meeting).
Committee members asked about the smart‑meter pilot and its dashboard. Staff said some committee members (Hal and others) are on the pilot list but that no new implementation update was available at the meeting; staff noted smart‑meter dashboards can show daily usage and leak alerts, which residents find useful for conservation.
Additional committee business included recognition that the city was featured by Texan by Nature in a community spotlight and discussion of local opportunities such as MetroCrest’s teaching garden, collection center permitting related to the former Triple C site, and work on tree‑preservation conversations with planning and zoning. Committee members also raised a speculative outreach idea: should local battery manufacturers or large employers (the transcript referenced a company that makes batteries and a local job posting) have interest, staff said the city has no current large battery storage for municipally produced solar power and relies on backup generators, but they noted potential partnership conversations could be explored in the future.
Discussion vs. decision: staff presented program status updates and timelines; the committee’s earlier formal recommendation for the active‑transportation and complete‑streets items had already been forwarded to council, and no new votes or funding decisions were made during the meeting.
Staff asked committee members to attend the study session if available and said they will post application materials and timelines for the LEED submission and the budget town‑hall notice.
