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Rolling Meadows committee: 29 of 47 sustainability goals complete as plan ends its third year
Summary
City staff told the Environmental Committee that the city's three-year Sustainability Plan (ending 2026) has 47 goals—29 complete, 16 in progress, 2 with no action—and recommended developing a new three‑year plan with Council guidance this winter.
Planner and Management Analyst Robert Savage told the Environmental Committee that Rolling Meadows' three-year Sustainability Plan is entering its final year with 47 goals: "29 are complete, 16 are in progress, and 2 have no action," he said. The committee discussed how to sequence unfinished work and recommended returning to the City Council with next-step proposals in December or January.
Members identified two items where no local action is planned until higher-level guidance is available: revisions to the City's subdivision regulations (dating largely to the 1960s) to better protect public green space and waterways, and mitigation of pollution from disposable bags, which Savage said is currently awaiting State legislation that could include a ban and fee. The committee agreed the City will monitor state parameters before pursuing local regulation.
Committee members and staff reviewed a set of in-progress initiatives: public-realm recycling pilot negotiations with the City's waste hauler, the start of a FEMA Community Rating System (CRS) application to potentially reduce flood-insurance premiums, and ideas for allocating the City's $60,000 public-arts grant (mural or installation sites were discussed). They also flagged operational items such as documenting integrated pest-management practices and exploring reuse options for removed trees (wood-chip trails, benches, outreach to local wood shops).
Several members raised environmental concerns requiring public education and targeted action. Member Raymond Mau noted improvement in native areas after a change to mowing practices and pointed to fertilizer and pesticide runoff that he tied to algae blooms at Kennedy Pond. Member Maggie Trevor asked whether the City could regulate fertilizer and pesticide use on private property (an action members said would face political resistance) and suggested using outreach events to promote nonchemical lawn alternatives. Staff said they will fold these ideas into public-engagement plans and the proposed new three-year strategy.
