City council candidate Paul Engels identifies four key issues in run

There are many important issues facing this city in the next few years.

I believe the four critical areas are climate change and the implementation of our climate action plan; the need for additional affordable housing and where best to locate it; the need for preserving current and additional open space for climate mitigation and for our collective peace of mind; and urgent increased and improved access to governmental decisions by our neighbors.

As a city councilor, I hope to work to find solutions and improvements to these critical issues.

Climate change requires all of us to work together to rapidly reduce use of fossil fuels. We are fortunate that the city has a Climate Change Task Force report that has laid out what we need to do as a city to survive and flourish.

Among other things, I will work hard to transition our existing housing stock to renewable sources, as well as transition transportation systems to rely more on electric vehicles and non-automotive forms of transportation.

The changes will not be easy but these rainy winters and blistering summers in Vermont are only harbingers of what’s to come. My experience on the planning commission has provided a strong foundation of knowledge to address this.

South Burlington needs affordable housing, but with the cost of land, materials and labor, building affordable housing is nearly impossible. The conflict between preserving the environment and building affordable housing must be resolved.

Property along Shelburne Road and Williston Road can support housing that has access to stores and transportation without further destroying forests and meadows. I will focus on increasing density in the right places to address the need.

Open space, parks, view corridors, fields and meadows to provide needed carbon sequestration are also part of the challenge and solution. I am pleased that recent revisions to the land development regulations enhance protection for wetlands and wildlife habitat. I am committed to ensuring that these protections continue.

I will work toward identifying other areas in the city that deserve protection. In the past, I have supported city purchase of important natural resource land and will continue to advocate for that.

I have lived in the same house in the Eastwoods neighborhood for 35 years. We have a great neighborhood. We know each other and help each other. I am sure there are many neighborhoods like ours. We are a city of neighborhoods.

Residents in the Chamberlin neighborhood, which is near the airport, wrote a neighborhood report outlining the needs of their neighborhood. It’s a good report and deserves implementation.

I will support measures that give all neighborhoods the ability to follow Chamberlin’s lead and develop their own reports. This could provide the necessary impetus for greater public input and for the city’s increased knowledge of all our needs and wishes.

It’s for these reasons that I am running for the two-year term for city council. I respectfully ask for your support.