An Analysis of Selected Community Green Building Programs in Five Southeastern States Conducted by the Southeast Watershed Forum and University of Georgia River Basin Center On behalf of the Southeast Smart Growth Network Written and edited by Christine Olsenius Support provided by The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 Acknowledgements The development of this research was a collaborative effort between the Southeast Watershed Forum, The University of Georgia River Basin Center, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 office and community leaders in five southeastern states. At EPA, a special thanks is in order to Karen Bandhauer, who provided early guidance on the research focus for this project. In addition, Steve Smith and Suganthi Simon helped in the final review and fine-tuning of this report. We would like to acknowledge Laurie Fowler, Associate Dean of the Odum School of Ecology, and Director of Policy at the University of Georgia River Basin Center, for her early support of this project. From the University of Georgia, we would like to thank Katie Sheehan, Anne Marie Pippin, Becky Gabelman, Alan Jones and John Templeton for their research work. Additional research and writing of the case studies was done by Amble Johnson, Alex Robertson, Nicole Babcock, Matt Brigman, Brad Brizendine and Denise Yen. Thanks also to the more than 20 local community leaders who helped immensely in reviewing and editing their respective case studies. Jay Scott Pippin deserves special thanks for coordinating and editing the research. Christine Olsenius and Jane Fowler of the Southeast Watershed Forum synthesized and analyzed all the research data and Christine wrote much of the final report. Copyright@ 2012 Southeast Watershed Forum This program was funded by EPA Cooperative Agreement: PI95470911 Design by Sara Martin table of contents Executive Summary 01 Approaches that Enhance Successful Green Building Programs What More is Needed to Enhance Green Building Programs Introduction & Project Overview 06 Selected Highlights from Green Building Research 13 Selected Case Studies by State 22 Appendix: Matrix of Green Best Management Practices 88 Appendix: Selected Research on Community Green Building Practices 90 AN ANALYSIS OF SELECTED COMMUNITY GREEN BUILDING PROGRAMS executive Southeastern “ communities have a history of learning from summary one another, so it is hoped PROJECT OVERVIEW that this review of green In 2010, a consortium of over 20 universities, organizations and agencies came building approaches together to form an association called the Southeast Smart Growth Network (Net- and programs will work). The Network is designed to be a collaborative effort to enhance the ability of inspire communities to member organizations to assist southeastern communities in implementing smart craft similar programs growth policies and practices. The goal is to share information and best practices on tailored to their own smart growth activities in southeastern states to enhance efforts in community train- “ ing, public education and green building. needs, politics and The Network was interested in identifying common features and practices of lo- demographics. cal and state government efforts that support green building programs. Several Network members joined together in the development of this research project to review selected green building programs, policies and incentives in five south- eastern states where some of the most intense activity has been occurring. These states included Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina and Tennessee. The Network members participating in this research effort were the Southeast Water- Planners, public shed Forum, University of Georgia River Basin Center and the Georgia Department “ works staff, engineers, of Community Affairs. The objective was to gather a regional snapshot of existing green building programs, the kind of incentives used to encourage them and the developers, construction cost savings being realized. companies, and The focus is on green building, because there are widely acknowledged benefits stormwater and utility from green building practices in three general areas. Green building creates healthier managers all have homes and workplaces by encouraging the use of safer materials. Green building a stake in building saves on operating costs by reducing heat loss, reducing energy and water use and encouraging the use of renewable energy sources, like solar or geothermal. And greener communities Green building protects the environment through low impact development prac- where the cost of tices and careful siting of buildings to better preserve trees, habitat, nearby water community services and resources. infrastructure remain Southeastern communities have a history of learning from one another, so it is sustainable, where local hoped that this review of green building approaches and programs will inspire communities to craft similar programs tailored to their own needs, politics and market value and quality demographics. This report certainly showcases a variety of approaches to en- of life remains high and couraging green building practices. While various themes and approaches were where communities seen in the communities reviewed, it was evident that each community had are equipped to better their own rationale, incentives, and priorities for implementing green building face economic and programs. “ environmental challenges This study is designed to provide information that will inspire or encourage other communities to see the benefits from implementing sustainable building prac- in the years ahead. tices. While the Network members are an audience for this report, the prime audience is southeastern communities and developers who need to understand the economic and environmental benefits from green building practices. Plan- ners, public works staff, engineers, developers, construction companies, and SOUTHEAST WATERSHED FORUM AND UGA RIVER BASIN CENTER | 1 AN ANALYSIS OF SELECTED COMMUNITY GREEN BUILDING PROGRAMS stormwater and utility managers all have a stake in building greener communi- ties where the cost of community services and infrastructure remain sustain- able, where local market value and quality of life remains high and where com- munities are equipped to better face economic and environmental challenges in the years ahead. REPORT METHODOLOGY Much of the framework for this report was taken from EPA’s Sustainable Design and Green Building Toolkit for Local Communities. The Toolkit offers an assessment process for communities to review their green building practices in such areas as; building materials, materials reuse and recycling, indoor air quality, water and energy efficiency, transportation and green site design and land use. So the term, “green building”, as used in this report, refers to a wide range of activities that in- clude sustainable site design and land use development; recycling building materials and construction waste; energy conservation and air quality; water conservation and water quality; promoting the use of environmentally-safe products, and encouraging green power generation and use. While the research on green building programs focused on these practices, we tried to find integrated approaches that covered not just the building process, but the building site design and its placement within the natural setting. While this report is not an exhaustive review of every county or city program, researchers looked at approximately 74 communities in five states with green building programs. From the 74 communities reviewed, about 60 communities provided enough specific information for comparison. From this group, 16 com- munity case studies were developed for this report. The case studies offered an opportunity to analyze city or county green building programs in greater depth to learn more about how they were formed and implemented and what led to their success. The communities were chosen for geographical balance and for their variety of approaches to green building practices. Information was sought in four main areas of activity: 1. The type of green building policies being developed, 2. The process and motivation for developing those programs, 3. The type of incentive programs being used to encourage green building, and 4. The cost effectiveness of green building programs. It is hoped that the analysis of green building requirements, ordinances, cost ef- fectiveness and incentives in selected communities will encourage the replication of such programs in other southeastern communities. In addition, the information and community case studies will provide data on: • The ways communities are providing incentives for energy and water efficiency in public, residential and commercial buildings and new construction, • The ways communities are providing incentives for energy and water efficiency in their overall operation and maintenance, • The ways that communities are reducing waste and increasing efficiency in construction and development to enhance resource conservation, SOUTHEAST WATERSHED FORUM AND UGA RIVER BASIN CENTER | 2 AN ANALYSIS OF SELECTED COMMUNITY GREEN BUILDING PROGRAMS • Information on the cost of implementing green building programs, Specific planning guidance in how to implement green building programs, • Many communities see • Specific ordinances, practices or incentives to promote to other the need to make long communities. “ term investments in water This report contains 16 case studies on community green building