City of Southlake

Southlake's Green Pages - Protecting Southlake's Environment

Southlake is a growing city with all the challenges that come with it. New development, service needs and wants, and maintaining the unique quality of life that we all enjoy requires ongoing effort. In Southlake, we have managed these challenges with environmentally-friendly business practices for years, and are always looking for new ways to improve our policies and practices with environmentally responsible solutions.

Strategy Alignment

The Southlake City Council adopted Integrity as one of the city's five corporate values, and defined it as "Being worthy of the public's trust in all things..."  One of the very important stewardship responsibilities we have as an organization is environmental stewardship.  Southlake's Business Code of Conduct (Chapter VIII) outlines our commitment to stewardship of the environment.

 

Regulations

The City of Southlake has adopted several ordinances and other regulations to guide the development of the city in environmentally-conscious ways:

• Tree Preservation Ordinance
• Water Conservation Ordinance and Public Education Campaigns
• Storm Water Management Ordinance
• International Code Adoption (gray water, energy conservation, etc.)
• Environmental Resource Protection Plan
• Storm Water Management Plan
• Erosion Control regulations
• Impervious coverage regulations
• Walk-ability initiatives (sidewalks, etc.)
  • Sidewalk Plan
  • Pathways Plan
  • Urban Design Study & Median Plan
• Backflow prevention regulations
• Grease trap regulations

 

Recycling

In addition to providing curbside recycling through the city's contract with Duncan Disposal, several other recycling opportunities are available, including ongoing efforts and special events, such as the Crud Cruiser.  City employees also recycle paper and aluminum cans in city offices.

• Christmas Tree Recycling Program
• Leaf Recycling Program

 

City Facilities

Wherever possible, "green" initiatives are applied to the development and maintenance of city facilities.  For example, green building techniques were used with the construction of the Bob Jones Nature Center, and organics are used at Bicentennial Park's Liberty Garden.  Well water is used for irrigation in city parks, reducing the need for and expense of using treated water.  Ballfield lighting has been placed on timers to eliminate waste.

We also promote the planting of trees through the city's Street Tree Program.

The city has also developed a plan and implemented action steps in conformance with SB 5 (Texas Emissions Reduction Program).  This plan primarily involves managing the city's electric consumption.  One of the most recent initiatives was the negotiation of an electric contract which included the provision of 10% of Southlake's required energy through renewable sources.

The City of Southlake has joined the Oncor Electric Delivery CitySmart initiative, a pilot program designed to help municipal governments improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs in city-owned buildings. Oncor Electric Delivery is sponsoring the program as an incentive for school districts and municipalities to conserve energy.  The City of Southlake was invited to join the program, free of charge, by Carlos De La Torre, Area Manager for Oncor Electric Delivery. 

Through CitySmart, the City of Southlake is eligible to receive an incentive check for CitySmart projects it implements by November 30, 2008. Incentives are paid by Oncor per peak kilowatt of energy saved, with the Public Utility Commission of Texas providing the mechanism for calculating energy savings achieved. The city is awarded an incentive check when projects are completed and the new equipment is inspected.

Although the City of Southlake has already completed some upgrades to reduce energy use, CitySmart will work with City of Southlake staff to create a facility master plan that focuses on pinpointing additional actions that will deliver the best results. The program also works to involve personnel at all levels to participate in the decision-making process.

 

Other Practices

City departments manage their projects with an eye to minimizing stress on our local environment.  We've switched from strobe and halogen type lighting on vehicles to using LED light bars.  We provide paperless packets for meetings, where possible.  We promote litter pick-up through our Adopt-A-Street program.   And we're always looking for new ideas!

 

Partners

Many of the city's environmental initiatives are possible because of our cooperation with partners, as noted below:

• Tarrant County
• Bob Jones Nature Center
• Carroll ISD
• City of Fort Worth
• City of Grapevine
• Duncan Disposal
• International Code Committee
• Keep Southlake Beautiful
• Keep Texas Beautiful
• Keep America Beautiful
• Musco Lighting
• North Central Texas Council of Governments
• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
• Texas Department of Transportation

 

The Future

An interdepartmental staff team is working hard to generate new ideas and develop a plan of action for implementing them in the coming fiscal year.  This "Green Team" is committed to providing an outstanding quality of life for Southlake residents and businesses through strong initiatives to promote outstanding environmental stewardship.