Bill Penny
Bill Penny

Bill Penny is a Member in the Nashville office of Stites & Harbison. He is a member of the firm's Environmental, Natural Resources and Energy Service Group as well as the Green Industry Practice Group. Bill has more than 25 years experience in environmental law. You can contact him at william.penny@stites.com or by phone at 615-782-2308.

Martin Corinne
Corinne Martin

Corinne Martin is an Associate in the Nashville office of Stites & Harbison. She is a member of the Environmental, Natural Resources & Energy Service Group, the Green Industry Practice Group, and the Business Litigation Service Group. cmartin@stites.com or by phone at 615-782-2218.

green building

EPA Issues Sustainable Design and Green Building Toolkit for Local Governments

07.21.10 4:44 PM
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued its Sustainable Design and Green Building Toolkit for Local Governments (Toolkit) in order to assist local governments in identifying and removing barriers to sustainable design and green building within their permitting process. This Toolkit addresses the codes/ordinances that would affect the design, construction, renovation, and operation and maintenance of a building and its immediate site. There are two sections to the Toolkit: the first section is an Assessment Tool and Resource Guide. The second section is a guide to developing an Action Plan for implementing changes within a community’s permitting process.

 

The goal of the Assessment Tool is to help the user better understand how a jurisdiction’s current codes/ordinances and permitting process might allow or disallow sustainable design and green building practices. The Toolkit contains an Assessment Tool, a Resource Guide, and an Action Plan for implementing changes to the permitting process.  The Assessment Tool is designed for local governments to review their permitting process and identify barriers or resistance to sustainable design practices.  The Assessment offers a green/yellow/red progress indicator for the user.  Green indicates that the community is doing well in encouraging sustainable design through its codes and ordinances. Yellow indicates that there is room for improvement within the existing permitting process. Red indicates that the community may want to identify the cause of the barrier(s) and remove it from the process. 

 

The Resource Guide contains links to existing organizations and documents that will help communities learn more about each category in the Assessment Tool.  Additionally, the Resource Guide provides users with information that can aid in making codes and ordinances more compatible or supportive of sustainable design and green building.  If green tools or techniques are not permitted or encouraged, this information can help local governments implement changes to allow these techniques. 

 

 

 

 

 

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