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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.5 Sustainable Neighborhood DevOF DU��2 82 STAFF REPORT CITY CLERK DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL File # ❑S1©o❑-Mrg O`�LIFOR��� DATE: December 21, 2010 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: Joni Pattillo, City Manager SUBJEC Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategy Prepared By: Kristi Bascom, Principal Planner EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The City of Dublin has taken an active role in promoting sustainability in the public realm. On the private side, initiatives such as the Green Building Ordinance are resulting in the construction of more sustainable buildings. However, Staff believes that the City could benefit from developing a "Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategy," which would enable and promote sustainable site design and planning for the streets, homes, workplaces, and businesses we build in our neighborhoods. This Staff Report contains an overview of why the City Council should consider developing a Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategy. FINANCIAL IMPACT: None at this time. RECOMMENDATION: Staff is requesting that the City Council provide feedback an directi n on developing a Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategy. Submitted By: R viewe By: Community Development Director Assistan Manager Page 1 of 5 ITEM NO. '3 -5 DESCRIPTION: Background Sustainability, green design, and improving public health are some of the key topics being discussed by cities and developers today. Our land use, street, and neighborhood design patterns create a particular physical reality and compel behaviors that have a significant effect on the environmental performance of any given place. When a neighborhood has a robust network of internal streets and good connections to surrounding neighborhoods and communities, pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers can move efficiently and safely. Vehicles are driven less, air quality improves, human health improves, and the overall sustainability of a community improves too. Over the past several years, the City of Dublin has made several commitments to move the community toward a more sustainable future. The City's Ten Year Strategic Plan consists of a mission, vision, and various statements and strategies to achieve implementation of the Plan. The Ten Year Strategic Plan for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 lists the community's values in a variety of areas, and one of the three "Values in Guiding Development" is to "Support pedestrian- friendly development, transit-oriented development, green building, and environmental responsiveness." The City of Dublin has taken a number of.concrete actions to support this value, which is described below. In 2004, the City Council adopted a Green Building Practices Ordinance that requires public buildings of a certain value to follow a"whole-systems" approach to the design, construction, and operation. This Ordinance requires that all new civic buildings that cost over $3 million be built to achieve silver certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. The aim of enacting this Ordinance was to demonstrate civic leadership in applying green building practices to the construction of buildings and structures that helps mitigate the environmental, economic, and social impacts of construction, demolition, and renovation. The Shannon Community Center, which was completed in February 2009, includes numerous energy efficient and water conserving measures. The Shannon Community Center is awaiting LEED certification. In 2009, the City Council adopted the Green Building Ordinance, which aims to improve public health and welfare by encouraging green building measures in the design, construction, and maintenance of both public and private buildings. This Ordinance requires residential projects over 20 units in size to reach 50 points on the GreenPoint rating system. In November 2010, the City adopted the California Green Building Code, which requires further enhancements in the design and construction of buildings and sustainable construction practices. In February 2010, the City Council appointed residents to the Green Initiatives Task Force. The purpose of the Task Force was to provide recommendations on environmental initiatives that the City Council could consider for future implementation. In June 2010, the City Council adopted several recommendations of the City's Green Initiatives Task Force. The City Council also authorized the creation of a Green Strategic Plan document. This document will provide guidance to Staff about which environmental activities should be given priority over the next five years. The Task Force provided recommendations on energy and water conservation, air quality, solid waste and recycling, green building, and transportation and land use. In addition to the above actions, the City has also developed several policy documents that support sustainable development, including the Community Design and Sustainability Element Page 2 of 5 of the General Plan, which contains policies intended to enhance the livability of Dublin through high-quality design. The City's Bikeways Master Plan aims to continue the development of successful bicycle,and pedestrian corridors, provide improved access to parks and open space areas, and provide and promote a convenient and safe bicycle infrastructure to reduce trips by motor vehicles. Most recently, the City Council adopted Dublin's Climate Action Plan, which sets forth the City's plan to reduce its Greenhouse Gas Emissions 20% below a business-as- usual scenario by 2020. Many of the ~City initiatives already underway are promoting sustainability in the public realm. On the private side, initiatives such as the Green Building Ordinance are resulting in the construction of more sustainable buildings. However, planning for sustainability should also include looking at the physical layout of the development sites to see what sustainability measures can be included in the site design. Staff is requesting that the City Council provide feedback and direction on developing a"Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategy" to enable and promote designs where the streets, homes, workplaces, and businesses built in our neighborhoods contribute positively to residents' quality of life and the community as a whole. ANALYSIS: Promoting sustainable neighborhood design . Recent research by the Kaiser Foundation shows that people's environments - where they live and work, how they travel around, what they eat and where and when they are physically active - have a major impact on their health and well-being. The design of neighborhoods can vastly impact public health, which is a chronic sustainability issue. The sustainable benefits of a neighborhood increase when it offers proximity to transit, schools, and parks, and when residents and workers can travel safely by foot or bicycle to jobs, services, and amenities. This can create a neighborhood with a high quality of life and healthy inhabitants. Additionally, green buildings can reduce energy and water use, and green infrastructure such as landscaping and best practices designed to reduce stormwater runoff can protect natural resources. All of these features combine to create a sustainable neighborhood. Well-located and well-designed sustainable neighborhood development can play an integral role in improving quality of life. In addition to the City policies noted above, state legislation such as Assembly Bill 32 (mandating greenhouse gas reduction measures) and Senate Bill 375 (requiring the examination of sustainable practices throughout a region) will require local consideration of issues such as reducing vehicle miles travelled and improving air quality. Other state efforts that.will impact local planning efforts are new air quality/greenhouse gas emissions thresholds that will affect land use planning and site design. These state regulations, when combined with the enforcement of the City's existing policies, could eventually lead to the creation of more environmentally sustainable neighborhoods over time. However, the City could go further by creating specific standards to compel sustainable site design to occur. By setting expectations, standards, and a means by which to assess sustainable site design, the City can take a more active approach. Creating sustainability standards will compel early cooperation and involvement between the City and the property owner/developer in the site planning process. Identifying sustainable standards outlines the City's expectations and also demonstrates a commitment to sustainable neighborhoods that could open up opportunities for future grant funding to implement plans as well as the potential for local, regional, or national recognition. Page 3 of 5 A Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategy could be a policy document that outlines the desired components of a sustainable neighborhood such as connected street pattern and land use plan, green infrastructure and buildings, and open space preservation and utilization. A Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategy could also include a set of performance standards designed to measure the sustainability of a planned neighborhood, much like the City currently uses the GreenPoint Rated Checklist for measuring the environmental efficiency of new residential buildings. An example would be LEED-ND, as described below. Developing Sustainable Neighborhood Design Standards: The LEED-ND approach One of the predominant rating systems to measure the sustainability level of . new neighborhoods is the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND). In the late 1990s, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) developed a system for measuring green building metrics, which led to the first LEED building rating system. The LEED systems have evolved, and today there are LEED rating systems for new construction, existing buildings, retail, schools, homes, and healthcare facilities. Unlike the other LEED rating systems that focus primarily on green building practices, the LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED- ND) rating system places emphasis on site design and construction elements that bring buildings and infrastructure together. Like the other LEED rating systems, -LEED-ND certifications are awarded according to how many points are earned. Projects can be certified for one of four levels: LEED certified, silver, gold, or platinum. A brief fact sheet describing LEED-ND is included with this Staff Report as Attachment 1. Projects that qualify for LEED-ND certification are compact, walkable, vibrant mixed-use neighborhoods with good connections to nearby communities and neighborhoods. These are the types of neighborhoods that the City Council has expressed interest in developing, so preparing a Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategy could help better the City's ability to achieve them. Options to consider Staff is seeking feedback and direction from the City Council on whether policy alternatives should be drafted for the City Council's consideration that further develops this concept of sustainable neighborhoods. Staff requests that the City Council provide direction on which of the following options to pursue: 1. Direct Staff to return to the City Council with a report on Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategy policy alternatives to consider. Staff will propose several alternatives to consider and will seek direction at that time on which policy alternative(s) should be developed into a policy recommendation. The report will outline the following: • How a Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategy policy could work; • How LEED-ND standards, or other sustainable neighborhood concepts, could be integrated into a policy; • How the policy could be implemented; • Recommendations on which types of development could be subject to compliance with a future policy; and • Recommendations for public outreach to review the concepts being considered. Page 4 of 5 2. Direct Staff to continue to utilize existing policy documents, processes, and state mandates to compel green initiatives at the neighborhood level. No new policy direction at this time. NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH: A public notice is not required to seek direction from the City Council on whether or not to prepare sustainable neighborhood policy alternatives. Future reports would address public outreach on policy alternatives being considered. ATTACHMENTS: 1. LEED for Neighborhood Development Fact Sheet Page5of5 1 1 ~ FACT SHEET LEED° for Neighborhood Development LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) integrates the principles of smart growth, New Urbanism and green building into the first national rating system for neighborhood design and was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in partnership with the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) and the Natural Resources Defense Counci~ (NRDC). Significance of LEED for Neighborhood Development certification LEED for Neighborhood Development recognizes development projects that successfully protect and enhance the overall health, natural environment and quality of life in our communities. The rating system encourages smart growth and New Urbanist best practices by promoting the location and design of neighborhoods that reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and creating developments where jobs and services are accessible by foot or public transit. -t also promotes an array of green building and green infrastructure practices, particularly more efficient energy and water use-especially important in urban areas where infrastructure is often overtaxed. Project types LEED for Neighborhood Development is designed to certify exemplary development projects that perform well in terms of smart growth, urbanism, and green buiiding. Projects may constitute whole neighborhoods, portions of neighborhoods, or multiple neighborhoods. Projects are often mixed-use, though small single-use projects that complement existing neighborhood uses may also use the rating system. Local jurisdictions should not use LEED-ND as a replacement for comprehensive planning, however, many local jurisdictions may find that LEED for Neighborhood Development is a meaningful tool to help promote sustainable land development if incentivized or used as a guideline when revising local codes and regulations. Credit Categories The following credit categories are included in the rating system: • Smart Location and Linkage encourages communities to consider location, transportation alternatives, and preservation of sensitive lands while also discouraging sprawl. • Neighborhood Pattern and Design emphasizes vibrant, equitable communities that are healthy, walkable, and mixed-use. • Green Infrastructure and Buildings promotes the design and construction of buildings and infrastructure that reduce energy and water use, while promoting more sustainable use of materials, reuse of existing and historic structures, and other sustainable best practices. • Innovation and Design Process recognizes exemplary and innovative perFormance reaching beyond the existing credits in the rating system, as well as the value of including an accredited professional on the design team. • Regional Priority encourages projects to focus on earning credits of significance to the projecYs local environment. U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL 27Q1 L SE f2W, Suite SOQ, Wasflingtan, OC 20037 ~ Phane 202 82~-7d22 ~ USGBC.org ~-t~~~• 5 l ~..~z~ ~ a~ ATTACHMENT 1