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Snowmass adopts an environmental sustainability plan

Aspen Times Staff Report
Aspen, CO Colorado

SNOWMASS VILLAGE ” The Snowmass Village Town Council adopted a new environmental sustainability plan Monday and directed staff to create an advisory committee of residents.

According to the plan, the town of Snowmass Village hopes to one day have town vehicles that use alternative energy, a policy to use only natural cleaners and recycled paper products, and a community garden.

But for the next year, it hopes to focus on 15 concepts that aren’t expected to require special appropriations. Those include requiring special events to meet a green criteria, reducing town paper use by 20 percent, and participating in a reusable bag challenge to discourage plastic bag use.



Before adopting the plan, Mayor Bill Boineau expressed concern about finding a “balancing point” between cutting costs in the current downturn and maintaining the town’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

But Councilwoman Markey Butler argued the town needs to pursue long-term goals like sustainability even through a recession.




Council members stopped short of adopting the plan with the force of law, preferring to keep it as an advisory document.

The plan was created over approximately a year with the help of the Rocky Mountain Institute and input from residents.