Town of Taos | Fractional sustainability Coordinator

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Lotus is supporting the Town of Taos as a fractional sustainability coordinator. Partnering with Lotus has provided the Town of Taos with a deep bench of subject matter experts for various sustainability initiatives. To date, Lotus has reviewed the town’s Investment Grade Audit, advised on a Water and Sewer Plan, and supported a Land Use Review Committee. Lotus has also analyzed the Town’s foundational planning documents (Comprehensive plan, Hazard Mitigation Plan, Taos Regional Water Plan, and more) to create integrated sustainability recommendations on strengthening climate action and resiliency within the town’s ongoing operations and initiatives.

The Lotus team will also deliver a sustainability framework in early 2026. The sustainability framework is designed to provide the Town with clear sustainability next steps and serve as the foundation for a sustainability plan. The project team is working to engage the community and key partners of the Town through a series of interviews and meetings-in-a-box to understand the nuances of Taos’ relationship to resilience and sustainability. The findings will be used to create a prioritization methodology by which the town can make quick decisions to address multiple competing priorities on limited resources. 

The final deliverable of this scope of work is twofold. The first is a set of recommendations for planning processes to lead to more sustainable, resilient outcomes for the town through cross-sector collaboration. The second will lay the groundwork for a successful future planning process through the sustainability framework. Lotus never deploys a one-size-fits-all approach, and that has been especially helpful to Taos in staying flexible. Given Taos’ unique, complex social structure, remote location, and tourism-based economy, Lotus continually hones and adjusts the approach to meet the Town’s needs and ensure the work ladders up towards long-lasting sustainability.