Chatham County, NC
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Plan Chatham
In 2017, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners adopted a Comprehensive Plan called Plan Chatham. This is a long range policy document that sets goals for implementation over the next 25 years. The plan looks at the future of the County from a variety of perspectives and attempts to balance healthy growth with preserving the elements of Chatham that define it’s character.
Greenhouse Gas Inventory
Since 2010, the County has performed periodic inventories of greenhouse gases produced in the county over a one-year period. Three have been performed so far for the years: 2010, 2015, 2019-2020. Since greenhouse gas emissions are rarely measured as they are being produced, these inventories are models based on secondary factors, such as the amount of electricity used, the amount of solid waste produced, or the amount of fuel estimated to have been used throughout the year. If there is a consistent method for estimating these factors, then the individual year inventories can be compared to gauge progress towards reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
One of the “Big Ideas” from Plan Chatham is to become a carbon neutral county. In other words, the County’s carbon absorption from various types of land use and vegetation is greater than the carbon equivalent of the greenhouse gases produced. Unfortunately, tracking progress towards this goal using the inventories completed so far would be inaccurate. Some key sources of information from the 2010 and 2015 inventories were no longer available, or could not be located, which means the model used for determining the carbon output had to change in the 2019-2020 report.
For the 2019-2020 report, research was done to find alternate sources that were easy to locate and would likely be updated over time. In addition, new tools became available to estimate the county-wide carbon uptake of the various types of vegetation and land uses. The resulting model for estimating greenhouse gas emissions should remain the same for future inventories, allowing the County to track progress towards our Comprehensive Plan goals.
Affordable Housing
Reasonably priced housing that meets the needs of those who work in Chatham is part of a sustainable community. Housing that is not only initially affordable, but affordable to heat and cool over the long run is important. Affordable housing impacts not only a family’s finances but can also impact their quality of life and the local economy, as well. Learn more of the benefits of affordable housing and how Chatham County is working to increase access to this valuable community resource.
Weatherization Programs
Chatham County supports non-profit organizations who help low-income residents with weatherization and home repairs. Weatherization means protecting the interior of a building from the weather. Repairing roof leaks, caulking windows or doors to eliminate drafts, and improving insulation are just some examples of weatherization projects. These projects not only improve the comfort of the people living in the house, they also tend to improve the energy efficiency of the house. Rebuilding Together of the Triangle and Central Piedmont Community Action are two groups who do this work in Chatham County.
Unified Development Ordinance
The County’s Planning Department currently works from a variety of different ordinances which were created at different times for various types of development. Currently, they are working to combine these into a single document, the Unified Development Ordinance, or UDO. This process is expected to take another year, and is currently in the drafting process in 2022. More information on the progress of the UDO process can be found at Recode Chatham- www.recodechathamnc.org. The UDO is expected to incorporate the County’s excellent existing watershed protection ordinance, along with many of the goals from Plan Chatham, into what should be a coherent code for sustainable development going forward.
Climate Change Advisory Committee
The County has a standing committee focused on ways to mitigate the County’s impact on climate change. The committee is filled with volunteers who have knowledge, interest, and/or aptitude in sustainability and reducing the County’s carbon “footprint.” Their meetings are open to the public and minutes from past meetings can be found at their webpages.