Residents urge council to reconsider repeal of Scottsdale sustainability plan, citing heat and tree loss
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Summary
On Earth Day a Scottsdale resident urged the City Council to reverse a decision to repeal the sustainability plan adopted months earlier, focusing on strategies to address extreme heat and protect desert vegetation.
During public comment on April 22, a local arborist and longtime resident urged the Scottsdale City Council to reconsider a recent decision to repeal the city’s sustainability plan adopted in December and highlighted extreme-heat strategies and urban tree planting.
"The extreme summer heat not only affects the residents, but it also is increasing the stress on the health of our desert flora," Deborah Wallace told the council. Wallace identified herself as an international certified arborist and said the sustainability plan was the result of three years of research and thousands of hours of staff and volunteer work. She called out the plan’s extreme-heat strategies, including expanded heat-relief communications, nature-based solutions and planting more trees.
Wallace asked the council to "reconsider your earlier decision" and framed the plan as a set of common-sense protections for public health and the desert landscape. Her remarks came during the public comment period that opened the regular meeting; no council action on the plan was on the agenda that evening.
