Sustainability and Resilience

In December 2020, The Orange County Chief Sustainability & Resilience Officer Jeff Benavides presented the Sustainable Operations and Resilience Action Plan to the board of county commissioners. This 40-member committee of community leaders and technical experts will assist Orange County in setting goals and planning strategies that are innovative, achievable, and impactful.

The development of the 2030 Sustainability and Resilience Action Plan contains six focus areas and the following goals.

Energy & Climate Action: Achieve 100% of County operations electricity load from clean, renewable sources by 2035
Buildings & Infrastructure: Design and operate County-funded buildings and infrastructure that meet high-performance and green building standards
Water Use & Quality: Protect water quality through innovative technology and integrated water management audits at County facilities
Mobility & Fleet: Improve vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian roadway safety, resilience, and interoperability through traffic technology retrofits at 300 intersections by 2025
Supply Chain & Materials Management: Increase waste diversion rates to 70% by 2030 at County facilities
Trees & Lands: Preserve an additional 23,000 acres of environmentally sensitive lands and increase County natural land assets by 2030

Vision 2050 and Orange Code:

Vision 2050 is Orange County’s is the 30-year planning process in order to lead the County toward a future vision for the next generation. This initiative aims to guide how and where growth will occur over the next three decades. The implementation process of Vision 2050 will be completed through a new land-development code called Orange Code, which will focus on placemaking standards and context-based regulations.

Orlando EV Readiness Code

In August 2021, the City of Orlando passed the EV Readiness Code, a milestone policy initiative designed to prepare Orlando to lead Central Florida into the future of innovative, sustainable transportation. The code encourages the installation of new charging stations throughout the city, emphasizing the importance of equity for charging stations near multifamily housing. As electric vehicles continue to prove their ability to limit fossil fuel use and save money for users, it’s becoming more clear the EVs are going to become a key component in conserving Florida’s environment.

Affordable Housing

In Orange County there is a tremendous need for affordable housing, “The region’s residents needed to work 75.5 hours weekly to cover monthly rent on a two-bedroom apartment” (orlando business journal). INVEST is the $5 million dollar plan to tackle the growing affordable housing problem. The goal of this initiative will be to accelerate the availability of affordable rental housing for Orange County and increase access to those units for families in need. The purpose of these funds is to provide financial incentives for the construction or rehabilitation of affordable rental developments targeted to very low and low-income households.

Transportation

The Transportation Development plan (TDP) is a 10-year needs-based evaluation required by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to qualify for state public Transit Block Grant Program funding. This plan is mandated by both federal and state statutes and the process is repeated every five years with a major update to the plan, as well as annual updates during the interim years, as reflected in this document. As well as a comparison of LYNX to 10 peer transit agencies in terms of operations and service characteristics. The Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority (d.b.a. LYNX) is the public agency charged with providing transportation services in Orange, Seminole, and Osceola Counties. this TDP update reflects LYNX’s role in enhancing public transportation choices in the Greater Orlando region with improved connectivity, new and realigned services, coordination with local land use partners to support transit-oriented development(TOD), while fostering public and private partnerships to achieve regional mobility and economic development goals.

Pedestrian Safety

The Transportation Development plan (TDP) is a 10-year needs-based evaluation required by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to qualify for state public Transit Block Grant Program funding. This plan is mandated by both federal and state statutes and the process is repeated every five years with a major update to the plan, as well as annual updates during the interim years, as reflected in this document. As well as a comparison of LYNX to 10 peer transit agencies in terms of operations and service characteristics. The Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority (d.b.a. LYNX) is the public agency charged with providing transportation services in Orange, Seminole, and Osceola Counties. this TDP update reflects LYNX’s role in enhancing public transportation choices in the Greater Orlando region with improved connectivity, new and realigned services, coordination with local land use partners to support transit-oriented development(TOD), while fostering public and private partnerships to achieve regional mobility and economic development goals.

Smart Cities are Connected Communities

We believe that development can be smart. Urban sprawl has eaten into our local wildlife habitats, decreasing Florida’s biodiversity and limiting the opportunities of homeownership for lower and middle-class Floridians by shutting them out of the housing market. Commissioner Wilson is working to provide smarter alternatives to growth in District 1 that include innovative housing solutions to meet the needs of her constituents while also creating equitable opportunities for those shut out of prosperity by the status quo.

Smart Growth & Transportation

Urban Design Impacts Our Quality of Life.