Dear City Council,

As I will be unable to attend the May 20th Council meeting, I would like to express my support for the staff recommendations related to F-2, items 1 and 2 -- Residential Design Guidelines (CD3) and Sustainable Building Program (CD5), respectively.

Residential Design - It is my hope that the city's Community Engagement Manager will be available to assist the volunteer Steering Committee during Phase One, at a minimum. Her expertise could be very beneficial to help develop a detailed plan for outreach, research, and consensus building. Her expertise could also be beneficial during subsequent phases.

Sustainable Building - I would hope that for the Burgess Gymnasium and Gymnastics Center Project the city require adherence to LEED guidelines even if the sponsor is not committed to certification, which is more costly and time consuming. The objective is to incorporate sustainable building and energy conservation principles into the project, starting with site placement and orientation to the sun, and including materials and construction techniques.

As a member of the Green Ribbon Citizens' Committee Land Use and Building workgroup, I can attest to the fact that considerable information has already been gathered from other communities about their sustainable building programs and from certification programs. I believe that volunteers would be willing to provide that information and to further assist city staff with research, particularly if staff were able to provide guidance to ensure that appropriate data is gathered and questions asked.

I am hopeful that the council will approve these items. Sincerely,
Patti Fry Received on Sun May 18 00:02:03 2008