Dallas City Council to vote on integrating environmental sustainability into 2024 bond projects

On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council will vote on a resolution that will determine whether buildings built with the recently passed $1.25 billion city bond will be built to meet green building certifications and goals.

If passed, the measure would be a significant step towards implementing the city’s Comprehensive Environmental and Climate Action Plan (CECAP), which was passed in 2020. That plan calls for increasing building efficiency across the city and ensuring that all new construction will be net zero energy beginning in 2030.

The CECAP calls for a whole-of-government approach to increasing efficiency and protecting the environment, and this resolution indicates that the city is on the right path. Additionally, the resolution has accountability measures built-in, which make sure that the public is kept informed of progress and any deviations from the resolution are explained and accounted for.

If implemented, this common sense solution would come at no cost to the city, and could even save the city money over time. At the City Council briefing, Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability Director, Carlos Evans said that he expects the resolution would save the city money by decreasing maintenance and operations costs, which is what happened when the city previously built buildings with LEED environmental certifications.

This resolution comes over a year after it was initially called for by the city’s Environmental Commission and it is critical to pass it as soon as possible, so that it can be implemented before the city begins to spend 2024 bond dollars.