Conservation Element in the City of Tempe - Essay Example

Conservation Element in of Tempe Section 65200 of government requires that every and county must draw and adopt a general long-term and comprehensive plan for the physical environment. All important elements of the plan must be included for it to be approved. One of the elements is conservation. The conservation element ensures that there is conservation, development, and effective utilization of natural resources such as water, forests, soil, rivers, harbors, wildlife, minerals and other limited natural resources. This is to ensure that the society achieves sustainable development. Water conservation is done through the coordination with other agencies and authority in order to achieve the best results. The conservation element covers different areas such as reclamation of land and waters. This is to create more space for development and leisure without affecting the ecological balance of the area. In addition, it prevents and controls the level of pollution of streams and other water sources. This is implemented to ensure that city dwellers do not affect the aquatic organisms through dumping waste products in these noble resources. The element also regulates the use of land in stream channels. This is to avoid soil erosion which might affect the water quality in the streams and lakes. Such an issue can affect the life of aquatic organisms and even the health of human beings who depends heavily on these resources. The element also gives guidance on how to prevent, control and correct soil erosion especially in beaches and shores. This is to maintain the recreation facilities and improve the lives of the city residents while at the same time reserving the water quality. In addition, it protects the watersheds from pollution or any other activities that might threaten its existence. These aspects have been covered what I have learnt in this course. The conservation element overlaps all other provisions that can be found in the open space in relation to the use of land, safety issues, and circulation elements. This element emphasizes in the conservation, development, and even how to utilize certain resources. According to this course, the conservation element is very critical in ensuring that any development plan incorporates environmental issues that might affect the natural resources. As a result, all developers must adhere to this element and violation of any of the clauses in this element might lead to jail term or cancelation of the license. The element is highly emphasized because it ensures that the current generation achieves development without compromising the ability of the future general to exist in the same environment without any hitches. Conservation element plays a significant role in protecting areas that have been designated by the area board as of great significance to the state. It may be designated as important due to existence of natural resources such as minerals and therefore, protected from any form of subdivision or development. As a result, in case a permit is provided to any developer, the state agency should give detailed information on why it has given out the area for development and whether the development outclasses the importance of the natural resources. This is to ensure that no private entities take advantage of the minerals in the areas to purchase the area for development. In this course, we have learnt that the government has a role of ensuring that all natural resources are protected. Therefore, this element has covered this aspect in details and has explained reason behind the protection measures. This is significant in enabling me to learn the importance of protection measures and how they can be enhanced in order to avoid any lapses. According to City of Tempe General Plan, land remediation which is under the conservation element focuses on rehabilitating brownfields which are abandoned, unused, or underutilized industrial and commercial sites. Some of these brownfields include gas stations, landfills, dry clears, previous industrial operations and car repair shops. In many cases, these areas are left unclaimed because this can have major environmental conditions. Therefore, this element outlines measures to reclaim these areas through using safe means of cleaning them. When these sites are abandoned, they can pose a health risks to the local population. The element also focuses on recycling the wastes in order to avoid land, air, and soil pollution. Land remediation aims at redeveloping these sites in order to achieve the best land use for the society. According to this course, conservation elements must protect and conserve at the same time. This measure to reclaim such areas is significant especially in order to protect the health of the members of the public. Conservation element incorporates wildlife habitat management. This addresses how Tempe manages both its native and non-native animals that have not been domesticated but residing with the community. This is through promoting their survival even in the urban areas. This element has enabled the city to restore 140 acres to support endangered species. This has been achieved through establishing a riparian, wetland, and upper Sonoran desert habitats. These measures have been put in place to ensure that there is a safe environment that will support a healthy coexistence of the human beings and wildlife. Flood management is another important aspect that has been discussed in details in this element. The City of Tempe has been able to put up measures that aim at managing floods. For instance, five miles of Salt River and one mile of the Indian Bend Wash traverse Tempe are prone to floods. Therefore, the city has set a goal of managing flood prone areas in order to reduce the damage that can affect human beings, their property and protect the natural resources. Energy sources are significant in the growth and development of any city. A city cannot be able to support its population if it lacks an effective source of energy. The conservation element has focused immensely on energy sources. Tempe city has a goal of increasing energy efficiency through the use of renewable energy in order to achieve sustainable economic growth, social equity, and preservation of the environment. This is to be achieved through seeking clean energy solutions in order to reduce the emission of green house gas in the atmosphere. According to this course, a general plan should address energy use issue by the city residents. This is through coming up with an effective plan to ensure that the energy used is clean and sustainable. This is to avoid playing a part in the global warming. The city is outlining other significant strategies in order to achieve this objective. For instance, it aims at implementing a program to manage energy for city buildings and facilities. In addition, it is looking forward towards reducing the level of energy consumption in municipal buildings, fleet, and facilities. These are some of the important measures that will enable the city to reduce the use of non-renewable energy and shift its attention towards renewable energy. In conclusion, the conservation element has addressed important parts that will ensure that the city achieves sustainable development. The element has covered effective all sections that we have learnt in this course. In addition, it makes sense and provides effective guidelines on how to achieve these goals within the timeframe given. The timeframe of the city is good because it provides the authority with enough time to monitor the changes and identify areas that need some corrections. Moreover, the element is achievable. This is because all aspects covered are not beyond the capacity of the city. In addition, the city has already implemented some of the parts of the elements. This is an indication that everything is on course. Read More