Climate Smart Communities Certification Report

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bronze Certified

This is the Climate Smart Communities Certification Report of North Salem, Town (Westchester). North Salem, Town (Westchester) is a bronze certified Climate Smart Community.

North Salem, Town (Westchester) was certified on September 19, 2022 with 136 points earned from 14 completed actions. Listed below is information regarding North Salem, Town (Westchester)’s Climate Smart Communities efforts and materials associated with its certified actions.

The certification for North Salem, Town (Westchester) will expire on September 30, 2027.

Contact Information

The designated Climate Smart Communities contact for North Salem, Town (Westchester) is:

Name:Janine Kourakos
Title:Chief of Staff
Address:Delancey Hall, 266 Titicus Road
North Salem, NEW YORK 10560

Actions Implemented

Each approved action and supporting documentation for which North Salem, Town (Westchester) was approved for in 2022 appears below. Note: Standards for the actions below may have changed and the documentation listed may no longer satisfy requirements for that action.

  • 1. Build a climate-smart community.

    1.1 Pass a Resolution Adopting the CSC Pledge

    4 Points

    Program Summary:

    PE1 Action: CSC Task Force

    20 Points
    Bronze Mandatory Silver Mandatory

    Program Summary: This documentation contains the three required elements for this section, a resolution appointing the committee, the committee affiliations and minutes of two meetings.

    PE1 Action: CSC Coordinator

    10 Points
    Bronze Mandatory Silver Mandatory

    Program Summary: Resolution appointing Council Member Daniels as the Climate Smart Communities Coordinator

  • 2. Inventory emissions, set goals, and plan for climate action.

    PE2 Action: Government Operations GHG Inventory

    16 Points
    Bronze Priority Silver Priority

    Program Summary: Nina Eisenman, a member of the CSC Leadership Team, has conducted a 2021 municipal Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory report for the Town. The Town’s GHG Inventory provides the data-driven insights needed to set The Climate Action Plan’s 2030 GHG emission reduction goal and net zero target date. The Inventory is a tool that can be updated yearly to help the Town lower its energy use and operating expenses, reduce its GHG emissions, gain CSC certification and become a leading Clean Energy Community. The Inventory follows the ICLEI Local Government Operations Protocol for the quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions inventories Version 1.1 (The Protocol), May 2010. Partial, estimated Scope 3 emissions calculations follow the methodology of the World Resource Institute’s (WRI) Greenhouse Gas Protocol Technical Guidance for Calculating Scope 3 Emissions, Category 7: Employee Commuting (WRI, 2013). This report has been presented to the Town Board in addition to being posted on the town's website.

    PE2 Action: Government Operations Climate Action Plan

    16 Points
    Bronze Priority Silver Priority

    Program Summary: The Town of North Salem has completed a Climate Action Plan that outlines the importance of combatting Climate Change, sets concrete goals for the Town (including GHG emissions reductions targets) and identifies successes to date. Action areas address water, land air, clean energy, transportation and waste reduction, among others. The draft Climate Action Plan was widely circulated via email, available for review on the Town website and a Public information session was duly noticed in the local newspaper and was held on May 24, 2022.

  • 3. Decrease energy use.

    PE3 Action: Interior Lighting Upgrades

    5 Points

    Program Summary: Over the past two years, the Town has replaced 100% of it's interior lights with LED lights.

    PE3 Action: Benchmarking - Municipal Buildings

    4 Points

    Program Summary:

    PE3 Action: LED Street Lights

    12 Points

    Program Summary: LED Streetlight program was completed, submitted to NYSERDA and approved. See copy of email below. I should have requested 12 points, not 4, because we did all of our lights in Town - 100%

    PE3 Action: Energy Code Enforcement Training

    5 Points

    Program Summary: Our Building Inspector and Assistant Building Inspector completed the Energy Code Enforcement Training.

  • 6. Implement climate-smart land use.

    PE6 Action: Unified Solar Permit

    5 Points

    Program Summary: W have the resolution, the actual permit and the confirmation of points from the NYSERDA webpage.

    PE6 Action: NYStretch Energy Code

    10 Points

    Program Summary: The email form NYSERDA documents that we have passed NY Stretch Energy Code. I also included the letter of approval from the code council and the letter of filing with NY Department of State.

    PE6 Action: Natural Resources Inventory

    8 Points
    Bronze Priority Silver Priority

    Program Summary: A grant from New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets funded this open space inventory and the subsequent outreach to North Salem landowners. This inventory builds upon previous open space inventorying work done by the North Salem Open Space Committee as part of the North Salem Open Space Plan completed in 2009 and the 2000 Open Space Inventory done by the North Salem Land Preservation Alliance. Matching contributions to this grant have been made by the Town of North Salem and by North Salem Open Land Foundation (NSOLF). Once properties have been prioritized and identified in the inventory the bulk of the grant funds will be used for outreach and education to North Salem landowners about land conservation. Topics will include: the value of the Town's natural resources and open space; the tax advantages of land conservation through easements and fee donations; recent tax law changes for standard deductions, deductions of property taxes and charitable contributions; the types of revenue needed to qualify for agriculture assessments; changes in carry-over periods for conservation easement tax deductions and state tax credits for conservation easements and farm building restoration, among others topics. Remaining funds will be used for consultations with tax and estate planning experts with the goal of increasing the amount of land protected in North Salem. In addition to prioritizing properties for protection and pursuing conservation in a proactive and strategic manner, the inventory can also be useful in educating individual landowners about the environmental values of their properties and steps they can take, in addition to preservation, to protect and enhance those natural resources. And since funders--including local, state and federal governments, foundations and individuals--want to be confident that conservation is well planned and based on science and citizen input, the inventory can be helpful when applying for land preservation funding.

  • 8. Support a green innovation economy.

    PE8 Action: Community Choice Aggregation

    18 Points

    Program Summary: The Town of North Salem has been and still is a member of the CCA program through Sustainable Westchester. I have uploaded the email from NYSERDA approving the CCA item.

  • 9. Inform and inspire the public.

    PE9 Action: Local Climate Action Website

    3 Points

    Program Summary: https://www.northsalemny.org/climate-smart-community-leadership-committee In addition to posting our GHG Inventory Report, we recently issued a newsletter. This was emailed to town residents as well as posted on the webpage.