Sustainability was a key initiative embraced by the Town of Castle Rock in 2008. Now the town planning commission wants to expand this theme into a community-wide action plan.

"The planning commission decided to work on a Sustainability Action Plan because they saw how it tied into the town's vision," said Heather Vidlock, planning manager and staff liaison to the commission.

The town's Project Green efforts include traffic lights being converted to LED lights, recycling bullet casings and bullet-proof vests, town publications being printed with soy-based inks on recycled paper and the purchase of hybrid vehicles.

The Sustainability Action Plan will be an expansion of these efforts to lay out what citizens, community groups, business owners and the town government can do to continue to make Castle Rock a sustainable community, Vidlock said.

The public is invited to offer their input at a public workshop from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 12 at Town Hall, 100 N. Wilcox St.

Topics will include energy efficiency, alternative energy, recycling, water conservation and green building.

"We want to get people involved in this part of the plan development so they can turn around and implement it," Vidlock said.

The planning commission has defined sustainability as the ability to meet today's needs without compromising the needs of future generations, but the commission wants to hear from residents on what sustainability means to them, Vidlock said.

In addition to environmental stewardship, one main goal of the plan is to encourage long-term stability of the local economy, Vidlock said.

Erin Feese: 303-954-2953 or feesee@yourhub.com