Sustainability Plan Meetings and Community Engagement

Comprehensive Sustainability Plan Timeline

August 2021: The Lower Merion Township Sustainability Planning Project commenced under the direction of the Township Sustainability Manager, Paloma Vila, PE, with support from the Montgomery County Planning Commission (MCPC) Environmental Planning Assistant Manager, Jon Lesher.  The Writing Team of Vila and Lesher established the planning framework and identified internal stakeholders. 

November 2021: Internal stakeholders began developing draft plan vision and goals, and identifying external stakeholders. 

March 15, 2022: Leaders of Township non-governmental organizations were invited to a webinar to learn about the sustainability planning process and were invited to participate in the plan’s stakeholder committee.

April 1, 2022: A stakeholder committee of 100 individuals representing Township advisory boards, community groups, organizations, businesses, and institutions, and residents was established to guide the development of the Sustainability Plan.

April 9, 2022:  A survey was distributed to the stakeholder committee to identify the environmental and social areas of concern.

May 4, 12, and 13, 2022: The stakeholder committee met in 3 groups to complete a SWOT exercise to further identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the Township as it relates to sustainability.

June 20, 2022: Ten topic-specific working groups of the Stakeholder Committee were formed to develop implementation strategies for the Sustainability Plan.

July 19, 2022:  The stakeholder committee met to discuss focus areas for the sustainability plan working groups.

July 2022: Completion of a greenhouse gas inventory and energy benchmarking for Township buildings & operations.

August 22, 2022:  The stakeholder committee facilitated a panel discussion with representatives of local organizations.

September 2022: Completion of Township-wide greenhouse gas inventory benchmarking and forecasting. See the Municipal and Community Greenhouse Gas Benchmarking Reports.

October 2022: A planning update was provided.

October 13, 2022: The stakeholder committee met to discuss draft implementation strategies. 

November 2022:  A Township Sustainability Survey began circulation on November 1, 2022 for all who live or work in Lower Merion Township. 

December 2022:  An in-person community meeting was held at the Township Administration Building on December 8, 2022 to present and discuss the draft sustainability plan strategies. Poster boards containing the proposed Sustainability Plan strategies were displayed, and participants were asked to indicate which strategies they support the most and which strategies they felt should be prioritized for early implementation of the plan. The Sustainability Survey closed December 13, 2022 with over 700 responses collected. Find more information about the Sustainability Survey and public engagement below or in this summary report. 

January 2023:  The stakeholder committee met to review the draft of the Sustainability Plan.

February 2023: An initial draft of plan was discussed with staff and stakeholder committee, then revised according to feedback.

February 1, 2023: Lower Merion Township’s public access television station, Lower Merion TV, aired an interview with the Sustainability Manager to publicize the Sustainability Plan.

March 16, 2023:  Lower Merion TV, aired advertisements for the draft Sustainability Plan.

March 29, 2023:  Draft 1.0 of the Plan was presented to the Sustainability Committee of the Board of Commissioners on March 29, 2023. Watch the Sustainability Committee Presentation or view the Presentation Slides.

May 8, 2023: The draft Sustainability Plan was presented at a meeting of the Lower Merion and Narberth Federation of Civics, which includes leaders from each of the Township’s Civic Associations.

May 2023: The plan was then revised based on feedback from Commissioners and other Township stakeholders. Draft 2.0 of the Plan was published.

June 2023: The Final Lower Merion Township Sustainability Plan was presented to the board of commissioners on June 7, 2023. Find the plan here, and more information about its contents here!

October 2023: A launch event for the Sustainability Plan was hosted at the Township Administration Building.

Summary of Sustainability Survey Results

Please refer to the Summary of Public Engagement Report for the complete summary and all attachments. 

Summary of feedback received:

• There was a significant level of concern among respondents about sustainability issues, and strong support for the township to take an active role in addressing these issues. 
• Top priorities for the Sustainability Plan among respondents are reducing greenhouse gases, improving resilience (ability to adapt to climate change), and improving local air or water pollution. They also place a significant emphasis on ensuring that the Sustainability Plan takes into account issues of equity and economic opportunity
• A majority of participants are extremely or highly concerned about climate change, extreme or excessive heat, extreme or excessive flooding, greenhouse gas emissions, resource consumption, waste generation, air pollution, water pollution, loss of biodiversity, declining tree canopy, limited nature and open space, and declining freshwater supply.
• Participants were most concerned about affordable housing and environmental justice, with a majority rating their level of concern as a 5 out of 5. There was also significant concern about economic inequality, representation in decision making processes, and disproportionate burdens of climate change, with a majority rating their level of concern as a 4 or 5 out of 5.
• The most important sustainability plan goals for the majority of participants are Sustainable Development, Natural Resource Management, and Energy Transition. Adaptation & Resiliency, Education & Engagement, and Stormwater Management are also highly rated

See some images from the December 8, 2022 meeting below!