Following Up: Sustainability Summit for HOAs
Posted May 20, 2024
CCPC's Sustainability Division hosted a Sustainability Summit for those living in, working with, or serving on the Board of Homeowners' Associations (HOAs) across Chester County on Tuesday, April 30. The event was attended either in-person or via Zoom by more than 180 individuals interested in taking on sustainable initiatives within their HOA communities.
Along with Sustainability Director, Rachael Griffith, CCPC's Executive Director, Brian O'Leary, provided the Summit’s opening remarks in addition to Tony Campisi of the Keystone Chapter of the Community Associations Institute.
The Summit included highlights of local sustainability success stories featuring Establishing an Environmental Sustainability Committee by Dr. Tom Ventimiglia of Ovations at Elkview — Penn Township; Creating a Green Plan for Your Community by Matthew Bauer of Twin Hills — West Pikeland Township; Transitioning to Clean Energy by George Alexander, Chair of the Kendal Energy Committee — Pennsbury Township; and Strategies for Planting and Maintaining Healthy Trees by Francine Kaplan of Tyler Walk — Newtown Township, Bucks County.
Following the success stories, additional presentations included Managing Trees and Woodlands Proactively by Michael Dunn of Brandywine Urban Forest; Solar Power for Community Associations and Their Residents by Monica Carey of Solar United Neighbors; and The Sustainable Landscaping Difference by Jennifer Nichols of Greenweaver Landscapes.
With interest in sustainability growing across the county, the Summit provided a great opportunity to connect with others and share information and resources specific to community sustainability. "Since we started working on our Sustainable HOAs initiative, it's been clear that there is a ton of interest in this topic — both from HOA board members and residents, as well as the environmental organizations that would like to partner with HOAs on projects. We're in the early stages of figuring out how we can leverage all this interest to support HOAs in becoming more sustainable."
CCPC's Sustainability division is currently planning a series of virtual roundtable discussions that will allow for deeper dives and dialogue between HOAs and local experts on some of the topics in which HOAs expressed the most interest, including sustainable landscaping and stormwater management challenges. These roundtables will be held over the summer. To stay informed about HOA-related news and opportunities, sign up through the contact form at the bottom of this webpage.
Learn more about sustainable initiatives and activities in Chester County and be sure to sign up for our quarterly eNewsletter.