(Washington, DC) — The Environmental Law Institute® has issued a report providing a detailed review of selected municipal green building policies that address private-sector development. Covering all regions of the United States, Municipal Green Building Policies: Strategies for Transforming Building Practices in the Private Sector looks at more than 25 different municipal policies that (1) establish mandatory green building criteria; (2) provide expedited review as an incentive for green building, or (3) offer other direct financial incentives. The report provides an up-to-date reference and benchmark for municipalities interested in adapting or updating their green building laws and policies.
“The past few years have seen tremendous growth in local policies in this area,” according to ELI Senior Attorney Tobie Bernstein. “Cities and counties throughout the United States are playing an important role in advancing sustainable building practices, both through their leadership in public building projects and through their initiatives to transform private-sector building activities.” Policy makers in about half of the municipalities covered in the report feel that the most effective way of changing building practices is by establishing green building requirements for all projects covered by the local ordinance. Other local governments have opted to provide incentives to help local builders overcome barriers to building green. Several of the cities and counties covered in the report have combined these strategies, establishing minimum requirements for all covered projects, while offering incentives to developers who incorporate a wider range of green building features.
The report stresses that local decision makers considering green building policies should:
- Determine which priority green building measures are not yet incorporated into municipal codes and address those priorities when adopting green building criteria;
- Identify agency resources and processes for overseeing compliance with green building criteria; and
- Incorporate formal evaluation mechanisms to update green building criteria and to gauge whether policies are being implemented effectively to achieve environmental and public health goals.
The report is available free of charge from ELI’s Web site, at http://www.elistore.org/reports_detail.asp?ID=11295. Contact Tobie Bernstein directly at (202) 939-3869 or bernstein@eli.org. Print editions are not available.