Does anyone have any examples of communities that have provided incentives in terms of increased lot coverage, reduced setbacks, increased height or reduction of parking requirements for structures that have either a particular level of LEED certification or are net zero?
We are looking at including green incentives as part of a master plan goal, but want to know if any other communities have them on the regulation side.
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I considered something like this for Greensburg. It appeared too burdensome for a small town to administer. The approach that I would try is as a conditional use where most all standard 'requirements' are negotiable. If parallel standards are codified you are bound to miss the one thing the first applicant needs. I would add that it is for LEED or similar commonly accepted sustainalbe development practices.
Agree with Mike's point... Don't limit it to just LEED. LEED can be good, but sometimes LEED is not the best way to produce energy efficient buildings. It's amazing how many points you can rack up by providing bike racks and things of that nature...
I don't have an example for ya, sorry - in California, LEED is simply one way of complying with the state's greenhouse gas reduction requirements, though we rarely (if ever) require LEED certification itself. LEED is only one way to achieve energy-efficient construction.
I might recommend considering tying your incentives to the level of energy efficiency of the buildings, rather than to LEED. In CA, we require typically 20-33% reduction in energy consumption as compared to what would occur in the absence of conservation measures (depending on jurisdiction).
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