Green Building/LID Practices and ROI

Staff has been researching various green building/LID practices that could be encouraged as development occurs within the city.  As the Board knows, LID practices mainly focus on stormwater management alternatives.  In the commercial sector, this could include the use of cisterns, pervious pavements, green roofs and curb stops (and parking lot swales) rather than continuous curbs, among other possibilities.  Calculating the return on investment on any of these options is rather difficult because it is site specific and weather dependent.  However, it may be beneficial to build some flexibility into city code that would help incentivize these alternatives.

Currently, credits of up to fifty percent (50%) are possible for commercial sites related to volume reduction actions. The calculation for this type of credit is very site specific with a number of variables that come into play. There are two (2) credits possible, each up to twenty-five percent (25%), that could be applied to the quarterly stormwater management utility fee. But, both of these essentially entail dedicating land for 'ponding', which reduces the amount of 'usable' area on a site that may be needed to comply with other zoning standards, such as minimum number of required parking stalls.  But, if the site is connected to a regional pond, for instance, these credits are no longer viable.  All the more reason for the EPB to consider how city code could be updated to make it more attractive for potential development in the city.

Potential improvements to city code could include the following (not an exhaustive list):

• Specifically allowing the use of pervious pavements (with executed maintenance agreement)
• Consider allowing reinforced grass paving systems for low traffic areas (fire lanes)
• Allowing curb-less parking areas ('ribbon' gutters) and/or use of curb stops or curb cuts rather than continuous curb in conjunction with landscaped depressions 
• Requiring parking lot landscaping to be done in depressions (rather than curbed islands)
• Promoting use of natural 'daylighting' (building orientation and windows/glass)
• Promoting high-efficiency appliances
• Promoting rain-water harvesting systems rather than traditional irrigation systems and consider requiring soil moisture sensors (smart irrigation) rather than just rain sensors
• Updating lighting standards to require/encourage use of better technology (ie LED)

Some communities have implemented a points-based system that requires projects meeting certain thresholds to attain a minimum number of points for approval.  A variation of this type of program that could be contemplated would be to award credits and/or flexibility in zoning standards (possibly as a PUD) to projects that attain a certain number of points.  This would entail developing a checklist of criteria and eligible points that can be earned for implementing various techniques.  This type of program would not only move Ramsey toward more sustainable development but could also potentially reduce certain fees or allow for certain credits for a project and/or provide some flexibility in project design.  Furthermore, by incorporating some of the LID practices, a developer/property owner could potentially see long term savings in terms of utility (energy/water) bills.

Staff has included several attachments to this case including an example of a points checklist and an example of the performance/zoning standards found within one zoning district.  These are intended to be used as background info for the Board for discussion purposes.

The purpose of this case is to consider how certain portions of city code could be improved, more specifically some of the zoning standards, to promote more sustainable development without adding more cost/burden to prospective projects.

Based on discussion.