What is a Livable & Sustainable Community? – A livable and sustainable Tri-City community is one where local governments including municipalities, Counties, Port Authorities, and Special Districts partner with Educational, Community Health, Business and Citizen stakeholders to create a vibrant local community through a long-term policy, planning, and investment strategy that:

• Promotes community health and wellness
• Protects and preserves the unique attributes of our natural environment
• Encourages local enterprise innovation and economic diversity
• Serves the short term and long term needs of local residents
• Promotes stable employment and revenues by building competitive advantage in the global marketplace

How does ALSC effect change in the Tri-Cities? – There are a number of ways in which the ALSC engages community leaders, policy developers, citizens, and other stakeholders, as we work towards a Livable and Sustainable Community. Our primary methods of effecting change include: Education, Outreach/Engagement, Local Governance, and the Endorsement of key regional initiatives.

• Education – Symposiums/conferences related to sustainable design and development, masterplanning, complete streets, etc.
• Outreach (Engagement) – Marketing and communicating a consistent message across as many regional stakeholder groups as possible; volunteer support for existing programs and efforts (i.e. electrathon, park clean up, trails, food-bank events, etc).
• Local Governance – ALSC can/should be actively involved in the dialogue among local municipal, county, and Port policy and decision-makers.
• Endorsements – ALSC will become an influencer by supporting certain local policies, initiatives, and organizational efforts, (as well as information about state and federal legislation).

How is ALSC funded? – The ALSC is a not for profit organization funded entirely by donations and fees associated with regional events.

Is the ALSC a Political Action organization? – No. The ALSC is governed by a volunteer Board of citizens that are interested in working with local and regional policy makers, corporate leaders, citizens, and other stakeholder groups in a collaborative manner, without engaging in political campaigns, or divisive efforts with narrow geographic or special interests.

What affiliations does ALSC have? – Board members and individuals involved in the work groups do not officially represent employers or other organizations that they may be a part of. In 2013 a three-part ‘Huddle’ process established a core group of organizations affiliated through shared values and a commitment to community collaboration. This core group includes:

• Benton Franklin Community Health Alliance (BFCHA)
• Benton Franklin E3 (BFE3)
• Friends of Badger Mountain  (FoBM)
• Friends of MidColumbia River Wildlife Refuges  (FOMCRWR)
• GoGreenTriCities  (GGTC)
• Lower Columbia Basin Audubon Society  (LCBAS)
• Ridges to Rivers Open Space Network  (RROSN)
• Sustainable Energy & Environmental Network  (SEENet)
• Sustainable Living Center  (SLC)
• Tapteal Greenway  (TG)

Areas of agreement include:

• A robust economy and a good quality of life is dependent upon healthy people living in a healthy environment
• Environmental stewardship is critical to creating and maintaining a healthy environment for humans and habitat for other animals.
• Environmental education is a mainstay of good stewardship.
• Open space contributes to a high quality of life, community health, and economic development.
• Alternative energy development and deployment will conserve non-renewable resources and reduce harmful emissions and other pollutants.

While not necessarily adopting similar positions on specific issues, ALSC and its Affiliates share a commitment to building an environmentally sustainable community.

What regional efforts has ALSC supported? – The ALSC has provided and/or participated in

• regional education forums
• the Health Care Alliance symposium on the connection between human health and our built environment
• a student Electric Vehicle event
• formally endorsing the City of Richland’s proposed hillside development ordinance
• formally endorsing the Ridges to Rivers Open Spaces Network planning concepts