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6
Smart Bylaws Guide – Part 6
6. Maximizing the Enduring Benefits of Developments by Using
Resources Wisely on Sites and in Buildings that are Tailored to
Specific Neighbourhood Conditions
Each community, neighbourhood, and site is unique. To reflect
this diversity, municipalities are tailoring development standards
to site-specific conditions using zoning, development permits, and
covenants. This unique treatment increases the attractiveness of
developments by providing amenities on site and nearby, and
integrates sites into the larger vision for the community and system
of green infrastructure. This trend is particularly evident in the
high performance building field (energy, water and resource
efficient buildings) where the uptake of green building technologies
and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Building
Rating System has been exponential in BC over the past three years.
While the green infrastructure shapes the block, it also shapes
the site. Local governments can use tools such as subdivision
standards, development permits and conservation covenants to ensure
that buildings and uses are properly situated to maximize the use of
the site for private and public means.
Brownfields (unused industrial lands that may or may not be
contaminated, or that have been remediated) and greyfields (aging
strip malls and shopping centres) offer great opportunities for
growth in serviced areas because they are often sizeable tracts of
land. Municipalities can plan for mixed use and diverse developments
in these locations that can include housing, office and retail,
civic uses and light industrial. Old industrial lands can also be
refurbished using smart growth principles, most notably integrating
the green infrastructure and supporting transit and other
transportation modes, to accommodate new industrial uses.
Over the past decade, the building industry has embraced making
buildings more healthy and pleasant to work and live in through high
quality design and materials. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is the industry
standard for evaluating how sustainable a building is, taking into
account site location and design, energy and water efficiency, the
source and content of materials, indoor environmental quality, and
innovation in the design process. The purpose is to approach the
design of buildings from a systems perspective, accounting for the
impact the building will have on the surrounding environment,
transportation systems and industry as well as on the users.
Based on a 1990 US national survey of large office buildings,
gross office-space rent cost $21 per square foot. Of that amount,
electricity costs $1.53 per square foot and accounts for 85 percent
of the total energy bill. In comparison, office workers cost $130
per square foot. A small increase in productivity brought about by
the enhanced quality of the indoor environment in green
buildings can offset a company's entire annual energy cost. Corporations ranging from
power to insurance companies have realized reductions in energy
costs, increases in productivity and one- to two-year paybacks
through lighting, heating and cooling retrofits. |
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