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Climate Smart Communities Certification Report

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bronze Certified

This is the Climate Smart Communities Certification Report of Buffalo, City (Erie). Buffalo, City (Erie) is a bronze certified Climate Smart Community.

Buffalo, City (Erie) was certified on September 19, 2022 with 184 points earned from 25 completed actions. Listed below is information regarding Buffalo, City (Erie)’s Climate Smart Communities efforts and materials associated with its certified actions.

The certification for Buffalo, City (Erie) will expire on September 30, 2027.

Contact Information

The designated Climate Smart Communities contact for Buffalo, City (Erie) is:

Name:Kelley St. John
Title/Position:Climate Action Manager / Office of Strategic Planning
Address:65 Niagara Square 920 City Hall
Buffalo, NY 14202

Actions Implemented

Each approved action and supporting documentation for which Buffalo, City (Erie) 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.

    PE1 Action: CSC Task Force

    20 Points
    Bronze Mandatory Silver Mandatory

    Program Summary: Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown issued an executive memorandum in 2019 establishing a Task Force of local government and community representatives to guide the City's Climate Smart Communities initiative. Included in the attached documentation is the Executive Memo, a current (as of June 2022) list of members, and documentation from all meetings held from May 2019 - June 2022. Meetings were hosted virtually beginning in April 2020 to present in response to public health concerns of the coronavirus pandemic. Held were six (6) meetings in 2020, five (5) meetings in 2021, and three (3) meetings to date in 2022.

    PE1 Action: CSC Coordinator

    10 Points
    Bronze Mandatory Silver Mandatory

    Program Summary: Mayor Brown's executive memorandum creating the Climate Smart Community Task Force for the City of Buffalo identifies Kelley St. John, Resiliency Grants Manager as the CSC Coordinator. Responsibilities and expectations of the role are outlined in the attached document. Documentation supplied for PE1 Action: CSC Task Force demonstrates that Kelley St. John continues to fulfill the role of CSC Coordinator for the City of Buffalo.

    PE1 Action: National/Regional Climate Program

    3 Points

    Program Summary: In 2018, the City of Buffalo and its partner in local government, the Buffalo Sewer Authority were invited to participate in the Urban Transitions Alliance: https://urbantransitions.org/. The UTA is a program of ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, a peer learning network of global industrial legacy cities collaborating to define new paths for sustainable urban development. Phase two of the UTA program, the City Challenges Cycle, commenced in late 2019: https://urbantransitions.org/challenges/. Buffalo participated in the 2020 support cycle with the challenge of understanding refuge, in which the City undertook a series of one-on-one meetings with network practitioners and experts, webinars and peer learning series, to develop an equity planning framework for urban development as a climate haven. The attached Challenge Profile and Support Package outline the intent and outcomes of Buffalo's intensive participation in the ICLEI Urban Transitions Alliance. The City of Buffalo and Buffalo Sewer Authority continue to engage in the UTA by sharing examples of best practices and expertise to cities committed to the 2021 challenge cycle.

    PE1 Action: Partnerships with Other Entities

    3 Points

    Program Summary: Attached is a letter of support from the Western New York Environmental Alliance demonstrating partnership with the City of Buffalo on environmental and climate action initiatives in the Region.

  • 3. Decrease energy use.

    PE3 Action: Government Building Energy Audits

    8 Points
    Bronze Priority Silver Priority

    Program Summary: The City of Buffalo completed ASHRAE Level-2 audits for two (2) of its largest municipal buildings, City Hall and Dillon Courthouse, between 2016-2017. These two buildings account for 15% of the total square-footage of all municipal buildings. The ASHRAE Level 2 audit reports are included. The Audit Inventory lists municipal buildings and their square footage.

    PE3 Action: Benchmarking - Municipal Buildings

    2 Points

    Program Summary: The City of Buffalo adopted an Energy Benchmarking resolution in April 2021 that commits to annual reporting of energy consumption in municipal buildings. Attached is the adopted resolution from Common Council proceedings and the confirmation of submission of the action to the NYSERDA Clean Energy Communities program.

    PE3 Action: Energy Code Enforcement Training

    5 Points

    Program Summary: City's Code Enforcement Officer completed NYSERDA Energy Code Enforcement Training on June 14, 2022 at the Erie County Fire Training Center in Cheektowaga, NY. The training was organized by the University at Buffalo's Regional Institute (UBRI), Erie County, and training provider - Newport Ventures. This action has not yet been approved by NYSERDA's Clean Energy Communities program so we are submitting the notification of completion email from Newport Ventures as well as a list of attendees provided by UBRI.

  • 4. Shift to clean, renewable energy.

    PE4 Action: Renewable Energy Feasibility Studies

    3 Points

    Program Summary: The City of Buffalo collaborated with a University at Buffalo Graduate Studio from the School of Architecture and Planning in spring 2017 to conduct a site suitability analysis of potential vacant land and City buildings for siting ground mounted or rooftop solar PV. The final report is available here: https://issuu.com/zhamstead/docs/from_vacant_to_viable_-_finalbook

  • 5. Use climate-smart materials management.

    PE5 Action: Government Solid Waste Audit

    2 Points

    Program Summary: In 2018, the City of Buffalo engaged MSW Consultants to perform a waste characterization study of municipal solid waste and single stream recycling for the single and multi-family residential and the commercial/industrial sectors. Basis for the audit was waste records; data collection was conducted through waste sorts and facility walk-throughs at the City's transfer station and materials recovery facility. The attached report documents the findings of the waste characterization study, specifically: - The total amount of waste and recyclables collected by the City of Buffalo’s curbside residential collection system, as well as commercial waste and recyclables collected by the City and private haulers; - The composition of disposed wastes and mixed recyclables (estimated) to identify opportunities for increasing diversion within the framework of the existing diversion goals; - Critical inputs and baseline recycling system data for the City’s CRA (to be completed in a subsequent phase).

    PE5 Action: Community Repair

    4 Points

    Program Summary: The City of Buffalo has hosted "Dare to Repair Cafe" event each spring-summer season since 2018 in partnership with local organization, The Tool Library. To date, there have been 19 events, repairing 403 items, resulting in an approximate diversion of more than 3,000-pounds of waste. Attached are the flyers for the event programs for 2018, 2019, and 2020. More info about the events are available on The Tool Library's website: https://www.thetoollibrary.org/daretorepair/

    PE5 Action: Compost Bins for Residents

    2 Points

    Program Summary: The City of Buffalo has partnered in recent years with surrounding local governments and the WNY Stormwater Coalition on a rain barrel and compost bin sale. In 2019, the program offered two types of compost receptacles for purchase: 1) Earth Machine compost bin, 80 gallon capacity; 2) Kitchen scrap bucket, 57-ounce capacity, and with lid. These items were purchased in bulk by Erie County and offered at cost to residents for purchase, thereby transferring a savings to residents. The attached flyer describes the compost bins and costs. This year, 51 City of Buffalo residents purchased compost receptacles. New for 2019, the City of Buffalo is offering free food scrap kitchen collectors as part of its expanded food scraps drop-off program. The first 250 residents at each of the five (5) drop-off locations will receive a kitchen collector; 135 have been distributed, to date. More information about this opportunity is available at: https://buffalorecycles.org.

    PE5 Action: Residential Organic Waste Program

    10 Points

    Program Summary: The attached document describes the City of Buffalo's residential organic waste program, including services for yard waste, curbside or drop-off, and food waste drop-off. This information is found in the 2020 Comprehensive Recycling Analysis. Additional informational, educational, and marketing materials are included in the additional attachments and are found at the City's recycling website: https://buffalorecycles.org and in the CRA online: https://buffalorecycles.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Full-Final-Revised-Report-Buffalo-CRA-7-9-20.pdf

  • 6. Implement climate-smart land use.

    PE6 Action: Smart Growth Policies

    8 Points

    Program Summary: In January 2017, Mayor Byron W. Brown signed the Buffalo Green Code Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) into law. The Green Code UDO represents the first major overhaul to City zoning law since 1953 and serves as the City’s blueprint for zoning and development in the 21st Century. The Common Council unanimously approved the Green Code in December 2016. The Green Code UDO is Chapter 496 of the City Code, available at: https://www.buffalony.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1785/Buffalo-Green-Code---Unified-Development-Ordinance-PDF?bidId= The Green Code UDO incorporates Smart Growth Principles as outlined in the attached document. The City maintains a webpage with resources for utilizing the UDO: https://www.buffalony.gov/1224/Using-the-Unified-Development-Ordinance The Buffalo Green Code zoning map is available for public viewing and use via the City's OpenData Buffalo portal: https://data.buffalony.gov/Economic-Neighborhood-Development/Green-Code-Zoning-2017/ysq7-2qyk

    PE6 Action: Policies for Local Food Systems

    4 Points

    Program Summary: The Buffalo Green Code Unified Development Ordinance, adopted into law by Mayor Byron W. Brown in 2017, establishes and outlines market gardens (urban agriculture) and community gardens (6-17), and farmer's markets (6-33) as permissible land uses within the City of Buffalo, as demonstrated by the attached. The complete UDO is available for viewing online: https://www.buffalony.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1785/Buffalo-Green-Code---Unified-Development-Ordinance-PDF?bidId=

    PE6 Action: GreenLITES

    15 Points

    Program Summary: The City of Buffalo was awarded a GreenLITES Evergreen award for the Ohio Street and Inner Harbor Improvements project in 2016. The award summary from the DOT has been uploaded, and was obtained from the GreenLITES Awards webpage: https://www.dot.ny.gov/programs/greenlites/awards

    PE6 Action: Infrastructure for Biking and Walking

    15 Points

    Program Summary: The City of Buffalo Bicycle Master Plan Update, completed in 2016, demonstrates the City's active commitment to planning for and implementing bicycle and pedestrian facilities. The Buffalo Green Code Unified Development Ordinance, adopted in 2017, outlines requirements for bicycle parking and related signage (8-2 to 8-5), and enforces bicycle facilities improvements and related signage (10-8). Since 2006, the City of Buffalo has installed more than 100 miles of bicycling facilities - ranging from sharrows to cycle track to dedicated lanes - as demonstrated by the Bicycle Facilities Master List. The City continues to enhance its bicycle facility network in accordance with the Buffalo Bicycle Master Plan Update. Construction continues on the Niagara Street Gateway project, which will introduce Buffalo’s first on-street, separated cycle track. A second cycle track project on Buffalo’s Main Street is currently in the design phase. Both projects include curb ramp and sidewalk enhancements plus upgraded pedestrian signals with count down timers. Additional bicycle parking is also being incorporated into both projects. Both projects are outlined in Chapter 4, "Catalyst Projects" of the Bicycle Master Plan. Reddy bikeshare is a bike sharing mobility program that operates throughout the City of Buffalo. The City is an active participant in the permitting process for the Reddybike docking facility locations. Reddybike provides five different membership options for accessing the fleet of about 200 bicycles at more than 40 docking locations.

    PE6 Action: Alternative-fuel Infrastructure

    18 Points
    Bronze Priority Silver Priority

    Program Summary: The City of Buffalo installed 16 electric vehicle charging stations throughout the eight City-owned public parking ramps in the City of Buffalo in 2018. Details of the ZEV infrastructure effort and the City's contribution are described in a press release from the Mayor's Office, available here: https://www.buffalony.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=289 The parking ramps are managed by Buffalo Civic Auto Ramp (BCAR), who have an electric vehicle charging station usage policy, publicly-available at: https://bcarparking.com/policies/electric-vehicle-parking-charging-policy In 2018, BCAR reported that demand for EV charging stations was beginning to outweigh supply, and administered a user survey to guide future planning efforts. The survey is available at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5YR62HW As of 2022, the City of Buffalo operates two (2) publicly-available EV charging stations at each of the five (5) parking ramp locations throughout the central business district/downtown area, for a total of ten (10) charging stations presently, with proof of activity demonstrated by the PlugShare map and ownership demonstrated by the GIS parcel history information in the "EV Charging Stations" attachment. The Clean Fleets High Impact Action approval from the Clean Energy Communities program has been uploaded.

    PE6 Action: Local Forestry Program

    8 Points

    Program Summary: The City of Buffalo completed a city-wide Tree Canopy Analysis in 2018 as part of the Rain Check Buffalo green infrastructure initiative. The Rain Check 2.0 Report details how results from the tree canopy analysis are incorporated into the initiative, available for viewing online at: https://raincheckbuffalo.org/rain-check-2-0-2/. Complimentary to the analysis is a city-wide street tree inventory, available online at: https://buffalony.mytreekeeper.com/. The City Code enacts tree preservation in Section 309-8, "Public Parks" and Chapter 467, "Trees, Shrubs, and Plants," detailing requirements for annual tree plantings by City contract, and plantings as part of all publicly-funded streetscape projects. Article 7, "Site Development" of the Buffalo Green Code Unified Development Ordinance describes requirements for site landscape, tree conservation, and street trees (pages 7-3 to 7-4) specific to "[A]ll development that involves new construction of a principal structure, expansion of an existing principal building by 2,500 square feet or more, or new construction or reconstruction of a parking lot, or expansion of a parking lot by 20 or more spaces..." The City's local forestry programs and tree planting efforts include the Re-Tree WNY initiative, and Tree City USA, as described in the attached document. The Tree City USA member community directory for New York State is also available online: https://www.arborday.org/programs/treecityusa/treecities.cfm?chosenstate=New_York Additional resources for tree plantings in the City of Buffalo are available from the Bureau of Forestry's webpage: http://www.buffalony.gov/358/Bureau-of-Forestry

    PE6 Action: Zoning for Protection of Natural Areas

    6 Points

    Program Summary: The Buffalo Green Code Unified Development Ordinance, adopted into law by Mayor Byron W. Brown in 2017, preserves and protects natural open space within the City of Buffalo, most notably conserving important land along Buffalo's Outer Harbor and the extensive Olmstead Parks System. The complete UDO is available for viewing online: https://www.buffalony.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1785/Buffalo-Green-Code---Unified-Development-Ordinance-PDF?bidId= The Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan, adopted in 2018 and approved by the State in 2019, includes a natural resource inventory of parks, wetlands, flood plains, and riparian environments throughout the City of Buffalo, including waterways and water bodies. The LWRP is available for viewing online: https://docs.dos.ny.gov/opd-lwrp/LWRP/Buffalo_C/BuffaloLWRP.pdf

  • 7. Enhance community resilience to climate change.

    PE7 Action: Conserve Natural Areas

    8 Points

    Program Summary: Tifft Nature Preserve, and Times Beach Nature Preserve on the Outer Harbor, are two habitat areas in the City of Buffalo that are conserved as such according to priority use identified in the City's Green Code and Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan. The Buffalo Green Code Land Use Plan provides zoning code maps that correspond to definitions provided in the UDO, identifying areas of the city held to standards for zones C-W and D-ON (99-117). The Buffalo Green Code Unified Development Ordinance highlight defines land use restrictions in the areas zoned as C-W, Waterfront and D-ON, Natural for ecological conservation and restoration, with special requirements for the Outer Harbor (4-39 to 4-42, 5-7 to 5-10). The Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan includes an inventory and assessment of natural resources located in the local waterfront revitalization area highlights the importance of the habitat provided by these sites, among many others (Section VIII).

    PE7 Action: Watershed-based Flood Mitigation Plan

    4 Points

    Program Summary: Buffalo's Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan (LWRP), adopted 2018 and approved 2019, includes a watershed assessment identifying areas vulnerable to water quality or quantity problems (pages 101-127). The Niagara River Watershed Management Plan is a regional watershed assessment document that identifies areas vulnerable to flooding, erosion, and/or water quality or quantity problems (pages 2-1 to 2-25). The Buffalo Sewer Authority Long Term Control Plan (LTCP) outlines specific priority projects for improvement of water quality through reduction of CSO events (pages 12-1 to 12-26).

    PE7 Action: Green Infrastructure

    12 Points

    Program Summary: In 2019, the Buffalo Sewer Authority produced a community-wide plan for green infrastructure called Rain Check 2.0. A link to that report can be found here: https://regional-institute.buffalo.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/155/2020/11/RainCheck2_0_Opportunity_Report.pdf (2 points for Create a community-wide plan for green infrastructure) The City of Buffalo updated its zoning code in 2017 and included a new section on stormwater management for new site development. This section encourages new development to utilize Green Infrastructure Best Management Practices and details what those practices entail. A link to that code section can be found here: https://bufgreencode.com/site-development/stormwater (4 points for Implement one or more policy changes and/or incentives) In 2017 an engineering report was prepared for the Willert Park Green Infrastructure project. A copy of that report has been uploaded. (2 points for Complete a feasibility study for green infrastructure for one or more priority locations) The Willert Park Green Infrastructure project was completed in 2018 and utilized a variety of green infrastructure techniques to achieve an effective capacity of nearly 40,000 cubic feet (see uploaded Willert Park Executive Summary - Project Capacity). Documentation uploaded to demonstrate completion of the project includes before-after photos, the cover sheet from projects plans indicating project design, and a maintenance plan. (4 points for Implement green infrastructure projects capturing over 5,000 cubic feet per storm event) Many Buffalo Sewer Authority staff have participated in NGICP training courses. A list of participating employees has been uploaded. (1 point for Support the National Green Infrastructure Certification Program (NGICP))

    PE7 Action: Riparian Buffers

    4 Points

    Program Summary: The Buffalo Green Code Unified Development Ordinance (2017) incorporates waterfront buffer protection into the City's zoning and land use regulation (pages 5-7 to 5-10). The Niagara River Remedial Action Plan (2012) identifies and prioritizes sites for restoration of floodplains, and conservation or re-vegetation of buffers (pages 15, 28). Buffalo's Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan (2018) includes an inventory and assessment of floodplain and riparian areas, with identification and prioritization of sites for conservation, restoration and re-connection of floodplains, and conservation or re-vegetation of buffers (pages 101-127).

  • 8. Support a green innovation economy.

    PE8 Action: Brownfield Clean-up & Redevelopment

    6 Points

    Program Summary: The Buffalo Green Code Land Use Plan prioritizes brownfield redevelopment as a strategy for economic development and an opportunity to repair the natural environment. The Land Use Plan incorporates four (4) Brownfield Opportunity Area plans that support economic growth and emphasize environmental restoration. The Brownfield Opportunity Area Plans consist of four redevelopment strategies: Buffalo Harbor, Buffalo River Corridor, South Buffalo, and Tonawanda Street Corridor. The BOAs include several sites that that have significant prospects for redevelopment despite environmental challenges. The studies provide in-depth analyses of these areas and identify strategic sites that are ready for investment. Below are links to each of the documents: Buffalo Harbor - https://www.buffalony.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3278/Buffalo-Harbor-BOA Buffalo River Corridor - https://www.buffalony.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3279/Buffalo-River-BOA South Buffalo - https://www.buffalony.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3280/South-Buffalo-BOA Tonawanda Street Corridor - https://www.buffalony.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3281/Tonawanda-Street-Corridor-BOA RiverBend Commerce Park, the former Republic Steel site within the South Buffalo BOA, demonstrates the completion of brownfield clean-up activities, and the siting of new green industry facilities. A description of the site and clean-up activities is included in the RiverBend Master Plan. In 2018, the SolarCity Gigafactory began production in Buffalo, manufacturing photovoltaic (PV) cells on a portion of the remediated steel mill land at RiverBend. Most recently, the City completed clean-up and remediation work, and new industry siting at 683 Northland Ave, a brownfield site within the Northland Beltline opportunity neighborhood. The Certificate of Completion, CoC Fact Sheet, and projects progress map document the completed and ongoing efforts in the Beltline area of the City.

  • 9. Inform and inspire the public.

    PE9 Action: Climate Change Education & Engagement

    4 Points
    Bronze Priority Silver Priority

    Program Summary: The City of Buffalo and Buffalo Sewer Authority conducted public engagement and climate change education efforts throughout the development process of the Buffalo Sewer Authority Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment. The City requests eight (8) points for this action, as education efforts focused on communicating the difference between mitigation and adaptation, specifically how local government and community members can participate through actions in both areas. Buffalo Sewer Authority General Manager, Oluwole McFoy provided the attached memo as certification of activities. Additional documentation includes: the community engagement strategy for the CCVA; a flyer provided to residents and event participants; and, presentation slides used at community events.

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