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This is reflected in the priority this topic has been given in previous planning efforts. Throughout the current planning work, people have pushed on topics of climate adaptation, climate action, renewable energy sources, ecological protection and sustainable development. This reflects a deep underlying value and desire to see Keene be a responsible community. As the climate changes, adaption will be essential. Urban environments will need to be designed to handle a hotter world, and more intense climate events. There will be a need to provide infrastructure to help transition to carbon neutral transport and energy systems. Keene has an opportunity to build on the existing solid work and move the community to a more resilient and sustainable future.
Below is what we know so far (from the community visioning phase of the comprehensive master planning process):
The environmental stewardship focus offers a way to take a proactive and positive approach and think creatively about ways to improve Keene’s community amenities while enhancing the environment. The exciting challenge is to create urban landscapes that are highly livable and appealing to people, while also enhancing and improving the environment.
Keene is fortunate to have fantastic landscapes, ecosystems, and natural resources. These are a key part to the community value proposition and appeal, and should be further enhanced and nurtured through this Comprehensive Master Planning process.
As cities across the world grapple with the effects of climate change paired with the challenges of transitioning to green energy, opportunities are arising for municipalities looking to become more resilient and sustainable. Due to its history of environmental stewardship, Keene is well positioned to take advantage of these new opportunities.
Reduction in GHG emissions from the energy sector happens in two ways, shifting to renewable energy production and the reduction of energy use.
Due to Keene’s older housing stock, weatherization and energy efficiency improvements have the potential to greatly reduce emissions. The 2015 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory identified that even though the number of households increased by 4% between 1995-2015, residential energy consumption increased by 20%.
On the other hand, completing the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is a priority for the community. However, the public is concerned about expanding green energy production in ways that does not consume open space and productive agricultural lands. Therefore, regulating and incentivizing ways to concentrate energy production like solar onto rooftops and parking lots will be essential in boosting energy production while conserving undeveloped land. Maryland created its Solar Canopy and Dual Use Technology Grant Program for this reason.
Keene is a community that is attractive to many people. Knowing that there are a range of views on this topic, we are keen to hear your comments about the future trajectory of the city.
For more information about the Keene Comprehensive Master Plan Project, please contact:
Mari Brunner, Senior Planner
City of Keene
3 Washington Street
Keene, NH 03431
(603)352-5440
mbrunner@keenenh.gov
David Beurle
Chief Executive Officer
Future iQ
(612)757-9190
david@future-iq.com
Future iQ® provides customized research and planning services to governments, communities, corporations and industry groups. Please contact us to discuss our services.
27 Comments
I love that environmental conservation and climate action are so important to the people of Keene. It makes me very proud of my hometown.
The important thing about sustainable thinking is that it permeates every aspect of citywide decision-making, and Keene is, to a large extent, making that happen. We must remember to remain vigilant as outside, short-term pressures encourage poor long-term environmental decisions.
Energy efficiency and sustainability are crucial to ensuring we have a resilient community. This pillar transcends all the other pillars. For example, housing affordability is tied to how energy efficient homes are and access to renewable energy sources that aren’t as susceptible to ever increasing energy costs. The same is true for our businesses and organizations that drive our local economy.
We are in a state that is making short sighted decisions in this area and as a state we have fallen far behind all the other states in New England. We have some the highest energy costs and lowest percentage of renewable energy generation in the country. This puts our businesses at a competitive disadvantage due to higher costs and takes money out of residents pockets that could otherwise be spent supporting the local economy. We must continue to make progress on sustainability and energy efficiency to remain a vibrant and resilient community for years to come.
What is going to happen to the Bent Ice House part next to the new dam on Wilson Pond? The rather steep slopes would make a great pollinator garden and eliminate the need for mowing it. There may be some local volunteers that could plant and maintain it.
Hi Linda, I believe that area is owned by the School District (I’m not sure what is going to happen to the Bent Ice House). I love the idea of more pollinator gardens! The Keene Conservation Commission often recommends pollinator-friendly plantings for projects that take place within our local surface water buffers.
Has the city ever done a study of extreme flooding events, such as the one that hit NC in Fall 2024? I think we need the results of a modeling exercise to provide that kind of data. It would help us to (1) Prepare some focused, climate resilient actions on the ground; (2) Convince some people that we need to be more proactive in our climate mitigation strategies.
This is a great question as flooding is the largest natural hazard/threat to our community. I don’t believe the City has done its own study, but we do use the Cornell University Extreme Climate Models to model rainfall events and design our own projects / evaluate private development projects (no increase in volume or velocity of runoff from a 25-year storm event). The City also has floodplain regulations that go above and beyond the minimum that FEMA requires, which means that residents and businesses get a 10% discount on flood insurance in Keene. FEMA is in the process of updating their Flood Insurance Rate Maps based on new studies/modelling, which is expected to increase the number of properties in Keene that are in the floodplain. This will impact not only the flood insurance rates for those properties, but also the development constrains. For example, Keene does not allow any new structures in the Floodway, and any development in the 100-year floodplain has to create “compensatory storage” to ensure there is no net loss of flood storage capacity as a result of development. We also have a steep slopes ordinance to mitigate impacts to steep slopes. Would love to hear additional ideas/ thoughts about how we can mitigate flood risk and prepare for increases in flood frequency and/or severity!
We also need to implement some building codes to require building weatherization and efficiency, and to apply for some grants to support those efforts. AND we desperately need staffing to take these efforts on – a Sustainability/Energy Manager. That positiion would allow us to set benchmarks and measure progress on a regular basis. Other municipalities have found that this position pays for itself in energy savings, pretty quickly!
Perhaps involve our school system , educating students in sustainability measures and having them become actively involved in taking care of public spaces as part of their curriculum, maybe be active in creating community gardens
I love this!! Thank you for sharing this idea.
I strongly agree that a Sustainability/Energy Coordinator for Keene makes very good sense – there’s no substitute for a dedicated staff member focusing time and effort, learning from other cities, etc. Hanover has one, Peterborough has one – and of course Keene is larger than both of those communities combined. Such a person could also help us chart our progress and reach the city’s declared energy goals, approved by City Council in 2019. This is the most impactful thing we can do as a city!
I want to share a couple of comments / ideas that were brought up recently to get feedback from people:
1. There is an opportunity to celebrate and connect to the Ashuelot River more – recognize it’s importance to our culture and history, improve access for residents, help with our flood strategy, and overall increase visibility and leverage it as an asset.
2. Solid waste diversion rates in Keene are currently at about 20%, this could go up to over 80% if we invest if we invest in a modern advanced materials recovery facility (which would reduce our landfill disposal by over 60%).
How could the City better celebrate the Ashuelot River and recognize it as an asset that can enhance the quality of life for residents?
Is there an appetite in the community to invest in an advanced materials recovery facility drastically improve our solid waste diversion rates?
I really like the idea of including an educational aspect into this plan. As Maureen commented above, there is a great benefit to teaching students about sustainability and involving them in the care for public spaces. Education is the foundation of change!
I agree 100%! I think education is how we can start turning things around and focusing more on the knowledge of these topics.
I think green infrastructure is crucial, not only for practicality but also for general well-being and happiness of all residents/ visitors. Green roofs should definitely be prioritized on both public buildings and homes within Keene. I think converting vacant parking lots into public green spaces is exactly what this town needs, excess pavement and concrete should be ripped up and the soil below converted into communal gardens/ recreational spaces. I really like Mari Brunner’s suggestion of viewing the Ashuelot River as a way to enhance the town and viewing it as something to celebrate.
I love that keene wants to be 100% renewable for its energy, if we harness some of the untouched climate issues in keene ( hydro for flood water control or wind because of how strong our winds are in the valley). We could see this potentially happen. The bigger issue I see that the town of keene has not addressed is proper flood plans, graphing what a 100 year and 1000 year flood would do to our streets and infrastructure and how we could prepare for when this day comes.
I like that Keene wants to build on its strengths of maintaining great parks and protected areas, a really special network of bike paths and trails, and centering its conservation on the Ashuelot River area. I agree with some of the above comments that the bigger challenges lay in decarbonizing energy production and transportation. I think more work could be done in that direction. Also, I think making a large scale composting facility would alleviate some of the overuse of just putting that waste into the landfill (which also contributes to climate change through methane generation).
I really like the idea of incorporating green infrastructure into future projects. I think the rainwater caption ideas above are a really good way to keep our streams clean, and make an effort to have a handle on climate change induced heavy rainfalls.
I think that educating students about sustainability would create long-term change If the city of Keene wants to keep working on these areas. It could be the leader city of environmental responsibility.
I think the plan is concise in how it addresses how it wants to be a greener city with the maintenance of the parks and ashuelot river as well as the reliable bike paths. I think Keene needs better transportation that traverses the entirety of Keene. I also think that we need an alternative waste management (compost).
I think that putting this information out to a wider variety of incoming students or students looking into Keene State would be very beneficial. Students who see that Keene emits on average 7.1 Tonnes of greenhouse gas per household annually which about 1.4 Tonnes less than the average New Hampshire household could be a deciding factor on coming to Keene. Knowing that Keene incorporates green infrastructure into current and the future is important, so students have a sustainable education, greener campus, and know Keenes top priority is maintaining a top-notch environment.
I love how committed the town is to converting to sustainability even in this time of distress when it comes to what’s next for renewable energy. It makes me proud to live here, the solar panel rooftops on parking lots are something I’ve heard before and I’m glad that is being put into consideration. I was wondering if there was a goal year for when Keene may become 100% renewable. I support making a better town for our people that does not involve the oil and gas industry.
Hi Cameron, thank you for your comments! The City Council adopted a goal to transition to 100% renewable electricity by 2030, and 100% renewable energy for transportation and heating/cooling by 2050.
I like that there is a focus on supporting small businesses. For example, one idea was to create an arts corridor on Gilbo Avenue which would provide pedestrian space, farmers market, outdoor stage space and possibly a winter farmer’s market. This would allow small businesses to get the word out more to support our local community and economy.
I appreciate how dedicated Keene citizens are to protecting the natural spaces around us. The results of the Environmental and Landscape portion of the survey show that a majority of takers thought natural spaces in general should be protected, and I definitely agree.
I think the inclusion of future planning for flood zones is a great idea and one that will likely help mitigate future damages, also moving forward incorporating green designs as well as renewable energy into buildings is always good, especially to offset energy usage.
I believe green infrastructure is is also vital, not only for its practicality but also for the overall well-being and happiness of both residents and visitors. I also fully support the idea of having a Sustainability/Energy Coordinator for Keene—it makes perfect sense. I truly admire the town’s dedication to sustainability, especially during these challenging times when the future of renewable energy is uncertain. It’s crucial that we continue making strides in sustainability and energy efficiency to keep our community thriving and resilient for years to come.
I think it’s a great concept to include green infrastructure in upcoming projects. The following rainwater caption ideas, in my opinion, are a great method to maintain the cleanliness of our streams and try to control the heavy rainfalls brought on by climate change. I also think that educating students about sustainability would result in long-term change. If Keene continues addressing these issues, it might be the most environmentally conscious city.