Barriers to Implementing LID and LEED
- 1. LID and Policy: Sustainable Development Practices What is Stopping Us? Jon Barsanti Jr Masters in City and Regional Planning BA Interdisciplinary Study in Biology and Chemistry jbarsanti@alumni.unc.edu 919.943.1915
- 2. Ave Sq. Footage US and South 1975-2009 3000 2500 2488 US S q u a 2000 South r e 1705 F 1500 o o t a g 1000 e 500 0 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2009
- 3. Nitrogen in the soil Microbes are part of the answer It is estimated that 40% of all chemical nitrogen fertilizer additions are never used by plants. Some bacteria convert nitrogen into ammonia by the process called nitrogen fixation; Other bacteria bring about transformations of ammonia to nitrate, and of nitrate to nitrogen and other nitrogen gases; Many bacteria and fungi degrade organic matter, releasing nitrogen for reuse by other organisms. http://www.greatbigplants.com/Nitrogen/
- 4. Nitrogen absorbing Plants are part of the answer In the warm season, water convolvulus showed more activity than mint, jute or water hyacinth (a plant widely used against eutrophication). In the cold season, calla lily showed the highest level of activity. Thus, the plant species need to be selected depending on the season. Both plants can be effectively used to improve water quality and as useful resources after harvest. (author abst.) Evaluation of Plants for Absorbing Nitrogen and Phosphorus to Purify Eutrophic Water http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/200319/000020031903A0621438.php
- 5. Who is holding us back B N N A I O N M My A B D N Y A
- 6. Who is holding us back Build Not Not Almost In On Nothing My My Almost Back- Dime Nowhere Yard Anytime
- 7. Community: Show me the benefits Developer: Show me the Money Community Leader: Show me the Savings Eason, Dixon, et. Al http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/researchpubs/EasonE79.pdf
- 9. Who Why Developers Others Aren’t Designers Others Are Departments Infrastructure Decision Good all Makers around
- 10. Who Why Why Not Developers Others Aren’t “Cost” Designers Others Are Resistance Departments Infrastructure Ordinances Decision Good all Fear of Loss Makers around
- 11. Land Use Transportation Water Quantity/ Water Quality
- 12. All Development Occurs in a Watershed Wetlands are more than Undevelopable Land Stream Buffers Impact Development and Developments Impact Stream Buffers All Land Uses have a Pollutant/Volume Profile
- 13. Undeveloped Land can be valuable LID & LEED can improve Water Quality and Quantity; Cost Less Need to view Run-off as a Resource Net Density versus Gross Density
- 14. All Development Occurs in a Watershed Three Parts: Watershed Critical Areas Watershed Protected Areas Remainder of the Watershed Barriers: • “Highest and Best Use of the Land;” • One person’s/community’s out-flow is another’s intake
- 15. Wetlands are more than Undevelopable Land Wetlands are nature’s filtration system Wetlands manage volume and sediment load Wetlands are key to wildlife habitat preservation Barrier: Wetland is undevelopable; Can fill and replace, although manufactured is not as good as natural
- 16. Stream Buffers Impact Development Developments Impact Stream Buffers Stream Buffers protect encroachment on ecosystem by development Stream Buffers Protect development from encroachment by ecosystem (e.g. floods.) Barriers: Inconsistent setbacks between communities; Vertical versus Horizontal Setbacks
- 17. All Land Uses have a Pollutant/Volume Profile Volume of water flow Nutrients Temperature of water flowing off the land Toxins Bacteria From Kimberly Brewer’s Presentation to the TJCOG Smart Growth Committee ftp://ftp.tjcog.org/pub/tjcog/regplan/smrtgrow/devwq.pdf
- 18. All Land Uses have a Pollutant/Volume Profile Sources Land-Use Contribution Contribution to N Load to P Load Residential (SF) 29% 12% Residential (MF) Agriculture 36% 51% Forest 19% 15% Commercial/ 9% 6% Industrial Other 7% 16% Non – Point Source Pollution Only Data from A Nutrient Credit Trading Framework for the Jordan Lake Watershed: Using Market-Based Mechanisms to Make Watershed Restoration More Cost-Effective http://www.cfra-nc.org/documents/FinalReport-FullReport_000.pdf
- 19. All Land Uses have a Pollutant/Volume Profile Sources Land-Use Contribution Contribution to N Load to P Load Residential (SF) 14% 29% 12% Residential (MF) 1% Agriculture 20% 36% 51% Forest 56% 19% 15% Commercial/ 3% 9% 6% Industrial Other 6% 7% 16% Data from A Nutrient Credit Trading Framework for the Jordan Lake Watershed: Using Market-Based Mechanisms to Make Watershed Restoration More Cost-Effective http://www.cfra-nc.org/documents/FinalReport-FullReport_000.pdf
- 20. Soil Compaction Occurs in almost all situations How much is reversible? http://www.cwp.org/Resource_Library/Center_Docs/PWP/ELC_PWP36.pdf
- 21. Table 1: Comparison of Bulk Density for undisturbed Soils and Common Urban Conditions (Compiled from various sources) Undisturbed Soil Type or Urban Surface Bulk Condition Density (g/cc) Peat 0.2 to 0.3 Compost 1.0 Sandy Soil 1.1 to 1.3 Silty sands 1.4 Silt 1.3 to 1.4 Silt Loams 1.2 to 1.5 Organic Silts/Clays 1.0 to 1.2 Glacial Till 1.6 to 2.0 Urban Lawns 1.5 to 1.9 Crushed Rock Parking Lot 1.5 to 2.0 Urban Fill Soils 1.8 to 2.0 Athletic Fields 1.8 to 2.0 ROW and Building Pads 1.5 to 1.8 (85% Compaction) ROW and Building Pads 1.6 to 2.1 (95% Compaction) Concrete Pavement 2.2 Quartzite 2.65 http://www.cwp.org/Resource_Library/Center_Docs/PWP/ELC_PWP36.pdf
- 22. Reversing Compacted Soils • Soil Amendments • Compost Amendments • Reforestation • Time http://www.cwp.org/Resource_Library/Center_Docs/PWP/ELC_PWP37.pdf
- 24. Benefits of Compost Amendments Compost Amendments Can: • Increase Porosity • Reduce Peak Flows • Produce Thicker lawns • Reduce Fertilizer Applications and Watering Needs • Create better lawns, faster http://www.epa.gov/ednnrmrl/publications/reports/epa600r00016/epa600r00016.pdf EPA/600/R-00/016
- 25. FAQ regarding Compost Amendments Compost Amendments Appear to: • Increase Concentrations of N and P • Decrease Total N & P (Less water means lower concentration) Amendments can be tilled or applied directly and reseeded. 2:1 ratio soil to compost tilled to at least 12 inches Construction compaction can reach 24 inches http://www.epa.gov/ednnrmrl/publications/reports/epa600r00016/epa600r00016.pdf EPA/600/R-00/016
- 26. Other perspectives on Compost Amendments Barriers: It takes time and money to measure predevelopment conditions and post-development conditions Cost to amend soil decreases, per lot, as area amended increases
- 27. LID Can Improve Water Quality & Water Quantity How we develop Where we develop (and where we do not) What we do with the Run-off (Pipe or Percolate) What is disturbed – What is conserved?
- 28. LID Can Improve Water Quality & Water Quantity http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/water_resource.htm http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/water_density.htm
- 29. LID Can Improve Water Quality & Water Quantity • Impacts on Land Start At the Grading Stage • Fertilizers can have an impact on water quality, even in LID Neighborhoods • Volume and Peak Flows were kept at predevelopment levels. • Need to Control Compaction, Minimize Soil Disturbance, and have on-site supervision. http://www.jordancove.uconn.edu/jordan_cove/publications/final_report.pdf
- 30. LID Can Improve Water Quality & Water Quantity Conventional Development negatively impacts water-related ecosystems through Impervious Surfaces (Volume and quality) Introduction of Contaminants Site Location of Development relative to natural features http://www.nahb.org/fileUpload_details.aspx?contentID=112936
- 31. LID Can Improve Water Quality & Water Quantity Perceived Barrier: It costs more and does not provide a benefit to the builder Actual Barrier: Educating the entire community to the value versus costs of LID (Almost always costs less http://www.nahb.org/fileUpload_details.aspx?contentID=112936 than conventional)
- 32. LID Can Improve Water Quality & Water Quantity … (In) the vast majority of cases, significant savings were realized due to: • reduced costs for site grading and preparation, • stormwater infrastructure, site paving, and landscaping. • Total capital cost savings ranged from 15 to 80 percent when LID methods were used... http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/lid/costs07/documents/reducingstormwatercosts.pdf
- 33. LID Can Improve Water Quality & Water Quantity http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/lid/costs07/documents/reducingstormwatercosts.pdf
- 34. LID Can Improve Water Quality & Water Quantity • Site Design was 103 Lots on 24 Acres • Conventional Site Design required 270,000 Cu Ft of Stormwater Facilities • LID Required 55,000 cu ft of stormwater facilities • 62% of land was saved as open space • Cost Savings of 20% to the Developer • 10% More units were able to be built than conventional design would have allowed. Managing stormwater in Pierce County: Kensington Estates case study sheds light on low impact development http://www.djc.com/news/en/11135654.html
- 35. LID: How do we define conservation/disturbed Type of Residential Disturbed Open Space Conserved Space Development Space Low Density Could be entire Yes – may be yard No (e.g. 1 unit/2a) site Cluster Could Be entire Fragmented No site Open Space 50% or less 50% or More Open Space can be undevelopable Conservation Less than 50% More than 50% Undevelopable area excluded Barrier(s): How each is defined varies by community/county
- 36. What is being conserved? http://www.stormwaterpa.org/assets/media/ http://www.swircd.org/pdf/conservation%20 resources/CnsrvDsgn-overview_NLT.pdf subdivision%20design%20handbook.pdf
- 37. What is being conserved? Belvedere Subdivision – Charlottesville, VA http://www.belvedereneighborhood.com
- 38. What is being conserved? 2008 Green Project of the Year NAHB Green Building Award Hidden Lakes Preserve – Wake Forest, NC http://www.hiddenlake-crescent.com
- 39. What is being conserved? 10 Acre Minimum Lot Size Pleasant Green Farms – Hillsborough, NC – Durham County http://www.pleasantgreenfarms.com/PropertyMap.aspx
- 40. What is being conserved? Bundoran Farm -- North Garden, VA http://www.bundoranfarm.com/
- 41. What is being conserved? Pale Yellow – Public Viewshed Pale Peach – Productive Farmland Green/Dark Blue – Active Forestry Wildlife Habitat Aqua Stream Corridor & Wetlands Bundoran Farm -- North Garden, VA – Predominantly 20 Acre sites http://www.bundoranfarm.com/
- 42. What is being conserved? Pale Yellow – Public Viewshed Pale Peach – Productive Farmland Green/Dark Blue – Active Forestry Wildlife Habitat Aqua Stream Corridor & Wetlands Bundoran Farm -- North Garden, VA http://www.bundoranfarm.com/
- 43. What is being conserved? Pale Yellow – Public Viewshed Pale Peach – Productive Farmland Green/Dark Blue – Active Forestry Wildlife Habitat Aqua Stream Corridor & Wetlands Bundoran Farm -- North Garden, VA http://www.bundoranfarm.com/
- 44. What is being conserved? Pale Yellow – Public Viewshed Pale Peach – Productive Farmland Green/Dark Blue – Active Forestry Wildlife Habitat Aqua Stream Corridor & Wetlands Bundoran Farm -- North Garden, VA http://www.bundoranfarm.com/
- 45. Need to change thinking from stormwater as waste to stormwater as resource. Barrier: Need to change the way we think about water http://waterparadigm.org/indexen.php?web=./home/homeen.html http://www.onthecommons.org/media/pdf/original/OurWaterC omonsOctober2008English.pdf
- 46. Need to change thinking from stormwater as waste to stormwater as resource. Barrier: We cannot solve our problems at the same level of thinking that created them We need a new way of looking at our water quality and water quantity problems http://www.clemson.edu/restoration/events/past_events/sc_water_re http://www.coe.neu.edu/environment/DOCUM sources/t4_proceedings_presentations/t4_zip/zimmer.pdf ENTS/Wingspread%20Final%20Report.pdf
- 47. Need to change thinking from stormwater as waste to stormwater as resource. Five Stages of Water Management Opportunistic Utilization Storage and Conveyance Water Treatment Non-Point Source Pollution Control Closed Loop Water http://www.coe.neu.edu/environment/DOCUM ENTS/Wingspread%20Final%20Report.pdf Management
- 48. Need to Change thinking from stormwater as waste to stormwater as resource. The concept of the Cities of the Future, the fifth paradigm of urbanization… is a paradigm of integration • Future, and existing, urban developments will accommodate landscape, drainage, transportation and habitat infrastructure systems • Cities will be resilient to extreme hydrological events and pollution • There will be an optimal balance between recreation, navigation and other economic uses of water. http://www.coe.neu.edu/environment/DOCUM ENTS/Wingspread%20Final%20Report.pdf
- 49. Need to Change thinking from stormwater as waste to stormwater as resource. The concept of the Cities of the Future, the fifth paradigm of urbanization… is a paradigm of integration • Future, and existing, urban developments will accommodate landscape, drainage, transportation and habitat infrastructure systems • Cities will be resilient to extreme hydrological events and pollution • There will be an optimal balance between recreation, navigation and other economic uses of water. http://www.coe.neu.edu/environment/DOCUM ENTS/Wingspread%20Final%20Report.pdf
- 50. Water is Water Paradigm Shift All Development Impacts Water Quality Highest use versus the best use of the land Wetlands and stream buffers are undervalued One community’s outflow is another community’s intake Reducing usage of drinking water for irrigation and toilets
- 51. Barriers to Implementing LEED Across the Region Similar to Implementing LID “Everybody knows….” it costs more. http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=2908
- 52. Barriers to Implementing LEED Across the Region • Sometimes, its is not about the costs (price,) rather it is really playing up the benefits http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=2908
- 53. Barriers to Implementing LEED Across the Region Cost premiums ranging from ZERO to 6.27% Energy Savings from 23% to 50% Water Savings from Zero to 78%
- 54. Case Study: Residential Development • 73 Projects • Range Under 5 Acres to Over 100 Acres • Utilization of LEED techniques depend on points awarded and cost to develop • Gold and Platinum Certified Utilize Green Technologies and Green Construction • Platinum tend to include affordable housing and http://pdfserve.informaworld.com/316990__914017852.pdf Habitat/wetland restoration
- 55. Halted construction fills N.C. waterways with silt BY PAGE IVEY - The Associated Press Photograph: Chuck Burton AP May 5, 2010 News and Observer
- 56. November 19, 2010 San Diego – South Orange County Restrictions on Lawn Run-off Restrictions on Car wash Run- off http://www.danapointtimes.com/view/full_story/10385460/article-Keep-Your-Water--New-Regional-Water-Quality-Control-Board-Water-Quality-Regulations-?
- 57. Toxic, Carcinogenic Pollutant in Common Surface sealer December 6, 2010 40 Lakes in residential and Commercial Areas PAH IN the H20 • Coal-tar-based sealants contribute 50% • Vehicles account for 25% • Coal combustion 20% Science of The Total Environment Volume 409, Issue 2, 15 December 2010, Pages 334-344 http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/12/05/845591/pavement-sealant-identified-as.html#storylink=misearch
- 58. KITSAP SEED Project (Sustainable Energy Economic Development) http://mithun.com/projects/project_detail/kitsap_seed/
- 59. “Potential to Modify Clearing, Grading, and Landscaping Practices Project (2001) Value placed on landscapes that are “Natural,” “Attract Wildlife” “Provide Privacy and screen noise,” Minimal Lawn Dissatisfied group bought homes over 250,000 without/preferred landscaping Dissatisfied group most likely to have planted shrubs, trees, native plants after moving into new house. http://www.greenbeltconsulting.com/ctp/pdf/PotentialToModify.pdf
- 60. Our Floating Future? • Research by NC State University and Bill Hunt • Being Tested in City of Durham – Hillendale Golf Course and Museum of Life and Science • Originated in Montana (2000) • Costs: $30/sq ft "When all the plants have grown up, you don't actually see any of the green plastic. • Benefit: “natural” It's just a lush green environment on top of removal of Phosphorus and the pond, so in theory there's a habitat for Nitrogen using fish, frogs, wildlife as well." Ryan Winston wetland/bog plants News and Observer – 4/14/2010
- 61. Barriers to Implementing LID Across the Region Need to look at Decentralized solution for a Decentralized problem Our ordinances hold us back “Everybody knows….” Maintaining it after it is built
- 62. Conclusion We have a new resource We can ‘sing from the same songbook.’ We can customize our solutions to meet the requirements of our communities and our region. We can have a Win-Win-Win for the consumer, the developer, and the community. If we ‘only’ apply to new construction, existing conditions will ‘only’ not get worse.
- 64. http://www.ecospecifier.org/ http://www.pharosproject.net/ http://www.bluewildernessgroup.com/ http://www.bre.co.uk/index.jsp
- 65. Jon Barsanti Jr. jbarsanti@alumni.unc.edu 919.943.1915 Presentation available at http://www.slideshare.net/JonBarsantiJr