Planning and sustainability budget highlights community solar, Inner Harbor plans and pending EV grant

Owen Kearney, deputy commissioner for planning and sustainability, told Syracuse councilors the division is two staff and is focused on long‑term planning, policy development and project implementation, including a draft climate action plan with a public comment period the office expects to close in about a week.

Kearney described the community solar program, a partnership with Energy Smart CNY that enables residents and businesses to subscribe and receive a 10–20% reduction on the National Grid portion of monthly bills. “We’ve had just over 2,000 people enrolled. We have about 600 people on a wait list,” Kearney said, and staff attributed that backlog to limited capacity from regional solar providers that must come online and connect to the grid.

Councilors asked about outreach and language accessibility; Kearney said paper signups are available and staff will clarify which non‑English languages are supported. He noted the program operates on a first‑come, first‑served basis and that savings typically appear after a sign‑up‑to‑activation delay while provider connections are completed.

Kearney also summarized planning projects and grants: Progress Park (New York State‑funded improvements), brownfields monitoring at several city sites (including a remediated Chester & Bellevue lot requiring ongoing testing), and an application for more than $400,000 in EV‑charging funding that would complement park investments.

On energy policy, Kearney said the city used a moratorium to pause battery energy storage installations because the zoning ordinance is silent on that new use; staff propose zoning updates to create a review process that balances private development with public concerns. He described a state‑supported pilot on a thermal energy network in the Inner Harbor that would use wastewater as a renewable heat source and said city‑owned piers on the Inner Harbor’s east side — acquired from New York State — present opportunities for survey, public‑space improvements and private investment coordination.

Kearney emphasized that most planning work includes public engagement and that roughly 80% of the division’s current work is grant‑funded, which extends the city’s reach on projects that would otherwise exceed local discretionary budgets. He said staff will follow up with councilors on program details and provide contacts for constituents with questions.

The council thanked staff and moved on to the next agenda item.