On the Environment

THE WENOCA GROUP OF THE SIERRA CLUB 2009 ENDORSEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE
*Esther received the groups endorsement.

Would you like your candidacy to be endorsed by the Sierra Club and why?
Yes, I would like my candidacy to be endorsed by the Sierra Club because I share  common goals with the Sierra Club, that being working toward a safe and health community; smart energy solutions to combat global warming; and, an enduring legacy for America’s wild places.  The Sierra Club is an important, influential movement working to ensure our world’s environmental health, and their endorsement is meaningful to any candidate.

How do you plan to win the election, and what resources do you expect to have available to your campaign? How do you plan to raise funds?
I plan to win this election through hard work and volunteer effort.  The resources I expect to have available to my campaign are both financial as well volunteer hours.  I plan to raise funds by directly asking individuals to support my campaign.  I have over a hundred contributors to date and will continue to ask constituents for their support.

Are you a member of the Sierra Club or any other environmental group?
No, I am not a member of the Sierra Club nor any other group specifically focused on the environment.  However, I am a member of, and a participant in, groups such as the Asheville Jewish Community Center, which promotes, as a component of their preschool education program, an environmental awareness curriculum.

What environmental issues have you been involved with? Did you achieve any success?
Environmental issues, again, have been a component of some larger projects with which I have been involved.  For example, when I was an attorney with the North Carolina General Assembly, I staffed the Commission on the Deregulation of the Electric Industry in North Carolina.  This Commission studied environmental issues as they relate to the production of electricity in North Carolina.  Obviously, deregulation of the electric industry did not occur in North Carolina; however, I do feel that the Deregulation Study Commission’s study began, or helped further, the discussion regarding the eventual smokestack legislation, and was influential in the process that led to the passage of that legislation.

What do you anticipate will be the most important environmental issues you will face if elected? What actions do you plan to take to address these issues? Do you think it is important to engage ordinary citizens in your efforts? How would you do this?
From the standpoint of a municipality, I anticipate that the most important environmental issue will be reducing the City’s carbon footprint.  The City has already begun taking action to reduce its carbon footprint, but, admittedly, further action is needed in order to realize greater reductions.  Yes, I do think it is important to engage citizens in the effort to reduce the City’s carbon footprint.  With citizen input, the City must lead the way in carbon footprint reduction that eventually extends into the community so that businesses and individuals can also reduce their carbon footprint and understand the mechanics of doing so through the City’s leadership.

Do you consider urban sprawl to be an issue in Asheville, and if so, what would you do to minimize it?
Yes, I consider urban sprawl to be an issue in Asheville, as well as an issue throughout our nation.  Urban sprawl is somewhat hindered in the northern area of the City simply by the geography.  However, if left unchecked, urban sprawl will continue to grow in other areas of the City.  In order to minimize urban sprawl, the City must insist on sidewalks, bike lanes, greenways, and other multimodal methods of transit.  One of the greatest harms of urban sprawl is the isolation it brings to residents of subdivision neighborhoods.  A transit infrastructure that encourages non-vehicular movement throughout our city can help reduce urban sprawl and minimize the effect of the sprawl that has already been developed.  The City should also encourage urban redevelopment and encourage higher density development.  The City should continue to strengthen our already existing urban corridors and grow and enhance housing adjacent to our urban corridors.

How would you protect open space in Asheville & Buncombe County?
There are a number of ways to protect open space in Asheville and Buncombe County.  The City can work with private organizations that seek to place conservation easements on land throughout the City and the County.  The City can place conservation easements, or something of a similar effect, on land owned by the City that lies undeveloped.  The City can provide property tax incentives to those who wish to allow their lands to remain undeveloped.

Given the rapid rate of development in the Asheville area, how would you deal with the problems of building on steep slopes? Do you believe the steep slope ordinance adopted by city council and Buncombe County is strong enough?
Development on steep slopes is an issue that communities throughout Western North Carolina must tackle.  I do not favor the various proposed State legislation regarding steep slope development, not because I do not support restricting steep slope development, but because I found the restrictions in the Bill to be confusing and difficult to enforce.  The City of Asheville’s steep slope ordinance is an effective step in the right direction to restrict steep slope development.  However, the County’s current steep slope ordinance (not the proposed steep slope ordinance) is fairly minimal and should be strengthened.  It should not be overlooked, however, that the construction of roadways on slopes should be regulated to require road standards that will ensure that quality roads are constructed.  If road standards are strengthened, due to the engineering required for such road construction, the overall ability to construct roads on steep slopes will be reduced.

Asheville City Council has done a great deal regarding public transportation. Do you think it’s effective, and do we need more? What are your ideas on alternative transportation, e.g. bike paths?
I think that Asheville needs to take a global look at all of the various master plans concerning transportation, such as the Transit Master Plan, the Pedestrian Master Plan, the Greenways Master Plan, and the Bicycle Master Plan.  I am in support of integrating these plans so that they do not operate independently of one another, and then moving forward with implementing them.

What are your views on “new urbanism”?
I embrace the concept of new urbanism as it encourages traditional neighborhood design and transit-oriented development and not sprawl -based development.

Do you think Asheville’s storm water and erosion regulations function well and are adequately enforced? Are there enough personnel to adequately monitor environmental regulations?
Asheville is still grappling with adopting a revised storm water ordinance that was initially poorly drafted in terms of its clarity and its ease of enforcement.  It is my understanding that a revised storm water ordinance is making its way through the committee process and it is unclear as to whether or not it will be an improvement on the current storm water ordinance.  The erosion regulations for the City of Asheville have, in the last couple of years, been enhanced by adding in some strong fining provisions that seem to be more relevant to developers than was the previous perception of these regulations.  However, it is difficult to know how well these ordinances will be abided by and enforced since many of the new construction projects are on hold or have disappeared altogether.  I am supportive of storm water and erosion regulations; however, through my work as a land use attorney and a real estate litigator, I have come to resent poorly drafted regulations.  In my experience, often regulations are not followed by developers because the regulations are difficult to understand and different personnel give conflicting interpretations of the meaning of the regulation, and not necessarily because the developer is refusing to comply with different standards.  As a City Council Member, it would be my goal to make sure that the ordinances the city adopts are clear and easy to follow, and easy to enforce.

Given that Global Climate Change is with us, Asheville City council has adopted a number of energy policies including: Cities for Climate Protection, reduction of Asheville’s carbon emissions by 80%, adoption of LEED Gold Standard for green building, and becoming a “Cool City”.  Are you familiar with these programs, and what other measures would you propose to reduce our carbon footprint? What can we learn from other cities that have taken up the challenge of climate change?
I am familiar with the programs listed in question #12 and recognize they take great strides in furthering the City’s effort to reduce its carbon footprint.  I favor further reducing our carbon footprint by replacing City-owned building roofs, for example, white roofs and placing solar panels on as many City buildings as possible, as well as other measures the City can take to reduce its carbon footprint, such as replacing its vehicle fleet and buses with hybrid vehicles.

In passing the Clean Smokestacks Bill we have made progress in cleaning up our air. Yet every summer we have hazy days and code yellow and orange days. What other things can we do to make our air cleaner and to improve visibility for residents and tourists in WNC? Are you aware of the health risks of high levels of ozone in the air?
Much of the air quality in and around the City of Asheville is obviously impacted by power plants and other emitters that are not located in our area.  However, the City can take steps to make our air cleaner and to improve visibility for residents and tourists in WNC by taking steps that are included in the programs listed in question #12 as well as measures such as replacing our automobile and bus fleet with vehicles that have less impact on poor air quality.