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Planning committee debates 'sustainable' vs. 'regenerative' wording and adopting a definition of sustainability
Summary
Committee members debated language for the comprehensive plan’s natural-resources goals, including whether to keep 'sustainable' or adopt 'regenerative' or 'restorative.' Staff read a proposed formal definition of sustainability and members agreed to add a definition as an objective and return the wording for further review.
The Ashland County Planning Committee spent a substantial portion of its June 16 meeting refining natural-resources language for the county’s comprehensive plan, debating whether the document should rely on the familiar term "sustainable" or adopt a more aspirational term such as "regenerative." Committee members also agreed to insert a formal definition of sustainability into the plan as an objective and to bring action language back for formal adoption.
Why it matters: Wording in the plan will guide future actions, grant applications and how the county evaluates resource-use proposals. One committee member suggested that "sustainable" may be insufficiently aspirational for areas where ecosystems are degraded, recommending "regenerative" or "restorative" instead. Another member warned that unfamiliar or politically charged words could limit grant eligibility or trigger controversy.
Staff provided draft language to anchor the discussion. Erica read a proposed definition intended to be adopted as a guiding objective: "Sustainability is defined as meeting today's needs without reducing the ability of future generations to meet theirs while caring for our economy, environment, and community." Committee members agreed to add the definition into the document and to circulate a proposed "regenerative" definition for review before the next meeting.
Other discussion: Members also debated specific objective wording (habitat protection, water quality) and whether to avoid technical targets in the plan (for example, not specifying phosphorus limits in the narrative). The committee asked staff to add the sustainability definition as an objective and to provide written language by email so members can review it before the next session.
Next step: The committee will return to the natural-resources wording at a future meeting with proposed objective and action-step language and a circulated definition of "regenerative."
