The city of Lynwood was awarded the Institute for Local Government 2018 Beacon Spotlight Platinum Award for Sustainability.
“This award reflects the City’s efforts to address climate change, reduce emissions and promote sustainability,” said Mayor Jose Solache. “Congratulations to our entire team for being an active agent for change and inspire all of us in Lynwood to be better stewards.”
The Beacon Program provides a framework for local governments to share best practices that create healthier, more vibrant and sustainable communities. The program honors voluntary efforts by local governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy and adopt policies that promote sustainability.
The city improved its sustainability performance in three areas: energy efficiency and conservation, green building activity, and renewable energy and low carbon fuels.
“We installed LED lighting retrofits at seven city facilities, including City Hall, installed 40 new traffic signals with LED safety lights and even hosted an LED Christmas light exchange in conjunction with our annual Holiday Parade,” said Sal Mendez, Lynwood Public Works Director.
The city’s Green Building Activity also impressed the judges.
As an example, the City Hall Annex development completed in November 2017 houses the new city council chambers and features native and drought tolerant landscaping, an infiltration chamber, LED light fixtures and motion sensors, high-efficiency HVAC units, and low-emissivity window film.
The city also aggressively embraced the utilization of renewable energy and low carbon fuels.
“We encourage our staff to drive their electric vehicles to work by providing free charging of their personal vehicles at the Public Works yard charging station,” said City Manager Jose Ometeotl.
In addition, new bicycle racks were installed at Lucy Avalos Community Center in March 2017 to encourage bicycle use by staff and visitors and the city installed 6 new solar-powered LED flashing stop signs throughout the city in April 2018.
City Councilmember Aide Castro, City Manager Ometeotl, and Public Works Director Mendez represented the city at the award ceremonies in Long Beach.