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Sustainability staff outline Q1 projects: water planning, turf‑replacement exploration, tree canopy work and EV outreach
Summary
Commerce City’s Energy Equity & Environment division reported Q1 work on water‑portfolio rules, grant applications, turf‑replacement pilots, EV outreach and a tree‑canopy assessment, and said two grant efforts did not advance.
Commerce City’s Energy Equity & Environment (E3) division presented its first‑quarter update, describing community outreach, partnership activities, water portfolio work, grant pursuits and pilot projects aimed at reducing emissions and water use.
Libby Tart, sustainability planner, and Melody Mascarenas, sustainability manager, reviewed the division’s priority areas under the Sustainability Action Plan and listed events and partnerships in Q1: employee and resident “challenges” (166 participants reported), a March lunch‑and‑learn with Drive Clean Colorado (including EV test drives), a LEED study cohort that helped two employees pass the LEED exam, and coordinated public outreach for a xeriscape demonstration garden.
Tart said the E3 team completed 11 land‑use application reviews in Q1, issued two general service area allocations for water ERUs, and ran internal water‑education sessions including a “Water 101” recorded presentation for staff. She said the division is identifying internal policies and processes for water allocation so departments can understand where water comes from and how to request the city’s water portfolio units.
On grants, staff reported two setbacks: a CDPHE environmental‑justice application was not awarded, and a Healthy Homes grant in which Commerce City had been a subrecipient was discontinued by the prime recipient. The division said it has submitted an EPA “Mountains and Plains” environmental‑justice application (Cycle 2) that would, if successful, support greenhouse‑gas inventories and a desktop soil assessment to inform tree‑canopy and garden planning.
Staff described pilot and demonstration work: a xeriscape demonstration garden design with community feedback, a turf‑replacement study via a Project Accelerator technical assistance grant (partnering with SACWSD), and a tree‑canopy assessment to map existing canopy using GIS. They reported coordination with Xcel Energy, Drive Clean Colorado, Adams County municipalities, the Commerce City Chamber of Commerce and the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge on outreach and events.
Council members asked about equity of EV deployment, utility incentives, and whether Suncor engagement or air‑quality monitoring meetings could be regularized. Tart said staff have met Suncor and plan additional meetings but had not yet established regular cadence. Staff also described work with SACWSD on water‑conservation programs and said the city is exploring opportunities for cash‑for‑grass programs and other landscape conversions that could reduce residential water use.
No council legislative action was taken at the presentation. Staff asked councilors to note the loss of two grant opportunities and said they would continue to seek funding and report back on any new awards or program starts.
