Forterra and the Building Sustainable Communities Consortium announced that the City of Kirkland is one of six Washington communities receiving free smart growth technical assistance this year from Forterra (formerly Cascade Land Conservancy) thanks to a grant from the US EPA Office of Sustainable Communities under their Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program.

The six communities — Kirkland, Issaquah, Federal Way, the Makah Tribe, the Quinault Indian Nation and Tukwila — were selected for their strong commitment to sustainability and smart growth and a readiness to implement positive change by making use of the assistance the Consortium is offering.

They exhibited the strongest interest in and need for assistance in making their communities more sustainable and clearly demonstrated a commitment from local business, community and political leaders to implement solutions.

Kirkland is developing a citywide Urban Forestry Strategic Management Plan that will provide guidance for city staff, decision-makers and the community to sustainably manage its urban forest resource. The plan will provide long-range goals and clear recommendations that incorporate the community’s values and vision.

Engaging residents, businesses, developers and environmental advocates will be a key component of developing the plan. Forterra will assist the city with community outreach efforts targeting these stakeholders.

“We are honored to be a recipient of Forterra’s assistance with this project,” said Deb Powers, Kirkland’s urban forester. “It’s a great partnership opportunity with an organization that works hard to help communities strive towards being economically and environmentally balanced.”

The technical assistance will be tailored to the needs identified by each community and will consist of workshops, policy analysis, stakeholder engagement and policy recommendations. It will help these communities attract growth, protect the environment, improve public health, facilitate job creation and economic opportunity and improve overall quality of life.

“Forterra is excited to work with a Consortium of partners to lend our expertise to communities such as Kirkland,” said Alison Van Gorp, Forterra Communities Policy director. “This opportunity advances Forterra’s goal to help communities here in Washington enhance their livability, quality of life, economic vibrancy and affordability.”

For more information, visit www.forterra.org.