Ithaca commission weighs public-hearing schedule, housing electrification and cooling measures to meet DEC grant deadline

Rebecca, a city staff member, told the Ithaca City Climate Action Commission that the city must hold at least one public hearing on the draft climate action plan to meet a DEC grant deliverable. "It is one of the deliverables, for the DEC. And in order to receive all of that funding, part of that process is that we have to have at least 1 public hearing on the climate action plan," she said, adding the agency "is not particular about it" beyond the requirement that it be called a public hearing.

Staff framed the timeline as tight: the commission was told the plan should be brought to the Ithaca City Council by October (with formal adoption no later than December) if the city wants to secure reimbursement tied to the grant. Commissioners debated formats — a single formal hearing, an online listening session, or a two-stage approach combining an earlier informational open house (for example at the public library) and an online comment period, followed by a formal public hearing. "I think it'd be great to have 2 events," the commission chair said, recommending an informational event early and a…