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Tag: award

  • Citrus Heights Wins ‘Greenprint’ Award from Tree Foundation

    Citrus Heights Vice Mayor Sue Frost (left) and council member Jeannie Bruins (right) accept the 2014 "Growing Greenprint" award from the Sacramento Tree Foundation. // Photo courtesy of City of Citrus Heights.
    Citrus Heights Vice Mayor Sue Frost (left) and council member Jeannie Bruins (right) accept the 2014 “Growing Greenprint” award from the Sacramento Tree Foundation. // Photo courtesy of City of Citrus Heights.

    The City of Citrus Heights received the 2014 “Growing Greenprint” award from the Sacramento Tree Foundation this month, in recognition of the City’s “noteworthy contributions” toward building a better urban forest.

    “We are honored to receive the Growing Greenprint Award,” said Citrus Heights Vice Mayor Sue Frost, who accepted the award on behalf of the City. “We appreciate Sacramento Tree Foundation who has played an important role in helping our city achieve our greenhouse gas reduction goals.”

    Contributing factors that led to the award include the City’s establishing of urban forest policies, developing community partnerships, working to create an Urban Forest Management Plan and the City’s planting of approximately 150 new trees in 2013.

    Emphasizing the benefit of trees in the city, the vice mayor explained the role of trees in promoting clean air, protecting against harmful UV rays and helping to filter and retain water.

    The City’s General Plan also cites the benefit of shade trees in reducing building energy use – a fact which SMUD has recognized as well, offering free shade trees to residents through a partnership with the tree foundation.

    This year, the City is continuing its green efforts through a Green Parking Lot Demonstration and Monitoring Project which includes the planting of 65 native trees.

    “We all know ‘Trees are a blessing,’ and we look forward to continuing our efforts to replenish our wonderful tree canopy,” said Frost.

    For more information about the award, or to participate in the free Shade Tree program, readers can visit http://www.SacTree.com/.

  • City Kicks Off Building Safety Month

    Holding a Citrus Heights city council proclamation in recognition of Building Safety Month, Susan McLendon and Greg Anderson from the building department stand with Mayor Mel Turner (right).
    Holding a Citrus Heights city council proclamation in recognition of Building Safety Month, Susan McLendon and Greg Anderson from the building department stand with Mayor Mel Turner (right). Photo courtesy of City of Citrus Heights.

    The Citrus Heights building department hosted a Thursday kick-off event in order to raise awareness to Building Safety Month, an international effort which seeks to improve building safety through education during the month of May.

    In addition to the city council passing a Building Safety Month proclamation, city officials were at work educating about building safety even before the month-long event began.

    An April monthly meeting of the Citrus Heights Neighborhood Area 6 featured a visit from Chief Building Official Greg Anderson who discussed the purpose of Building Safety Month, and explained the “why’s” of building codes.

    Although often thought of by homeowners as a nuisance to deal with, Anderson emphasized that his department’s codes have an underlying motivation of “safety first and foremost.”

    Highlighting several examples, he offered a reason behind a code requiring buildings to be built no closer than five feet of a property line — explaining how fires can travel more easily from structure to structure when buildings are closer together.

    Anderson also explained that Building Safety Month is divided into four separate weeks, with a focus on different aspects of building codes each week.

    According to the International Code Council’s website, week one will focus on fire safety, followed by week two on disaster preparedness. The following week will focus on backyard safety, and the final week will close out the month with a slight shift away from building safety by focusing on energy efficiency.

    Citrus Heights will also be hosting a few of its own building safety events throughout the month — and such efforts in the past helped Development Services Technician Susan McLendon earn the ICC’s 2013 “Raising the Profile” award.

    The community is invited to kick off the start of week one at city hall with chips and salsa at  3 p.m. on May 5. There will also be a barbeque event to close out the month on May 29, but RSVP is required ahead of time.

    Those interested in more information are invited to visit the Building Safety Month display inside Citrus Heights city hall, or call the Building Department General Information Line at (916) 727-4760.