Environmental Policy Commission urges stronger green-building, resilience focus and considers community choice aggregation

Marta Scott, chair of Alexandria's Environmental Policy Commission (EPC), briefed the City Council on the commission's priorities for the coming year and urged further city leadership on climate resilience, building efficiency and green power procurement.

Scott said the EPC is recommending two legislative priorities for the council and state engagement: policies that ensure homes are both healthy and affordable (energy efficiency, ventilation and lower utility bills) and stronger measures to prioritize resilience against heat and flooding. "A home cannot be healthy, it cannot be affordable without it being sustainable and energy efficient," Scott said.

The commission sent a letter supporting the updated green building policy under consideration this fall, Scott said, noting tension between environmental advocates seeking stronger energy reductions and private-sector stakeholders urging flexibility. The EPC's view was that staff had struck an appropriate balance to protect housing affordability and reduce energy burdens.

Scott also raised community choice aggregation (CCA) as a tool to bring more green power to the city, saying the EPC has discussed CCA and applauded council members who asked Dominion about it earlier in the year. The commission plans to coordinate with the housing department on the Housing Master Plan and with staff on the flood resilience plan.

A separate public commenter later criticized city climate implementation and cited gaps in outcome-based tracking; the speaker urged more aggressive city action on electrification and energy benchmarking. Councilmembers welcomed the EPC update and said they would continue to work with staff on related budget and policy decisions.