Peak Oil: What can planners do to prepare their communities.

Daniel (convener), Debra, Melissa, Kevin and Christine

Debra - Northwest Regional Planning Commission (regional north of Burlington)

• Very limited alternative transportation options in that area; “we've been told there are no opportunities for light rail.”
• There ARE resources for home energy; there are towns int in energy audits, no energy committees in our region.
• Beyond the capacity of local towns to plan long-term for energy prices.

Melissa - Live & work in rural VT town.

• There's interest in local energy, but our regulations don't promote it (although not nec. a barrier) since “we've put them in our town plan, but we haven't really planned for them”.
• Need for information on funding, costs, etc.

Kevin - City Councilor, Portland, Maine

Brett - Citizen, southern Vermont

Daniel - Program Manager, Post Carbon Institute, Portland, Oregon

“This is always a problem for the future, but what's the timeline on that?” People always need more information.

Yes, people know stuff needs to be done, but disagreement on when you need an incubator to get stuff started – “we have 8 policy committees standing”, but not one that can take action on this.

Most towns have technically appointed an energy coordinator; can be anybody regardless of experience.

Difference between motivations/incentives between staff and officials.

Discussions happen on this, but they happen outside formal process.

Having a central person on committee devoted to the issue would be key. If there's no timeline or no responsibility, it won't happen, lack of context for a legal framework.

Towns pass a town/comprehensive plan, which wants energy plan, but they only can really deal with zoning.

Competing issues on Select board – you need that interested person to push it.

Role for task forces? Report that perhaps goes nowhere.

Citizen pressure can push action, but citizens may not feel it's the town's duty.

Christine [Chittenden County MPO] - weatherproofing, transportation, etc., it's all part of energy planning. The average person is now interested in climate change – it's just a skip to energy planning.

Is it even the responsibility of the town, or is it the responsibility of the citizens? What's the role of the town?

• In a more conservative town what's the proper role of government?
• The town should be leading by example, make a lot of noise about it; “we're improving the town buildings, replacing the fleet, etc.”

CFLs should be sold in coffee shops; no hardware store in walking distance…

Education need – the peak oil problem goes beyond energy, but either doesn’t know this or they think it's a long way off.

Some of the easiest ways to make change is to have an election (i.e., education opportunity).

It's easier to get action if someone (or a group of people) can take credit.

Kevin - wants institutionalized committee with permanent, dedicated staff.

Good policy intention without the context to think it out can cause problems (Hooters out-zoning example).

Disconnect between the scale of the problem and the scale of how planners and officials are talking about it (i.e., they're telling people to change their light bulbs when we're looking at the economy imploding). Vermont is not truly prepared for serious energy price hikes. (i.e., getting food to population centers, getting workers to jobs, etc.) We have few facilities for processing food (even wheat and meat).

One thing happening around here is the need for having different choices in housing.

A lot of our rural community can remember a time when we were more self-sufficient. They remember a time when there was a mill to process wheat, to produce electricity, etc. If we can't keep those systems in place right now, we should at least not be dismantling, even the small village grocery store. Infrastructure.

“At least in our community, the idea of planning for self-sufficiency resonates a lot more than planning for disaster.” Forester’s intimate knowledge of where resources are.

“I think one of the roles of planners is to think about it.” We just want to be ready. Burlington 10% challenge program – was only mild successful, was probably too early (was two years ago). “Need to have the message ready for when people are ready to hear it.”

“Is my city equipped to deal with the huge change of public wishes when this happens?” We'll have to depend more on local shipping – will my waterfront still be there, or will it be all condos? People will be moving to Portland (ME), we need to be ready to absorb them.

A lot of communities along rail will probably benefit.

Rails-to-Trails and Rails-With-Trails – would be great if there was a federal or state policy/message: we anticipate that this infrastructure will be needed in the future; we are going to put some money/attention in to this.

Recent move to mass transit – is being pushed by congestion more than energy.

Is there an issue of energy efficiency goals vs. job creation goals statewide, especially for rural areas / small towns? Job creation means more energy consumption.

How do you motivate people to make the tough planning decisions that won't have payoff for decades?

• Make the sustainable future attractive; e.g., local food movement.
• New people (young, diverse) in elected official positions.

• Messaging
• Education
• Stop making things worse – don't tear out infrastructure
• Preparation for change in public opinion
• Accessing local knowledge