Taylor 28 Surpasses LEED Target, Brings Home a Silver! - News - Mithun:
The Taylor 28 project originally targeted basic LEED® certification—receipt of Silver certification is a significant achievement, given the project’s schedule and budget constraints. Reaching Silver level results from the exceptional effort the team made to find creative and pragmatic solutions that fit the unique circumstances of the site and building. The project also closely reflects the mission that drives the developer, BRE Properties; to provide highly desirable communities in which residents and commercial tenants can live and work, and to support a thriving green lifestyle within a dense urban framework.
Stemming from site constraints created by the Denny Way corridor and the absence of a Neighborhood Planning Area guideline, a critical goal for the project was to assess opportunities for reconnecting this unclaimed community and enhancing the public realm. The project turns what would be a typical sidewalk zone into a vibrant pedestrian open space system. This new open space system defines this neighborhood as a destination; reconnecting it to Belltown, Uptown, the Seattle Center and South Lake Union.
Green infrastructure components, considered integral to the streetscape design, achieve sustainability across the spectrum of social, ecological and economic success. Strategies to rebalance the neighborhood’s ecological footprint include rainwater infiltration, urban heat island reduction, improved air quality, carbon reduction, urban tree canopy restoration and fostering urban habitat.
Showing posts with label stormwater management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stormwater management. Show all posts
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
New measures would formalize development rules, give greater prioirity to urban tree canopy goals; Worcester County, MD
Worcester measures would formalize development rules delmarvanow.com The Daily Times:
OCEAN CITY -- Worcester County officials are looking at changing two local laws to mirror what the state already has on the books.
The Worcester County Commissioners are expected to consider two bills at their meeting Tuesday, one on forest conservation and the other on stormwater management. The public would have an opportunity to comment before a final vote.Language for the forest conservation rules comes from laws passed in the 2008 and 2009 Maryland Legislative sessions. The measures reduce the amount of forest clearing that can be done, give high priority to urban tree canopy goals, increase fees and establish technological standards for reporting. The rules took effect statewide in October, and the Worcester County Department of Development Review and Permitting has been enforcing them.
OCEAN CITY -- Worcester County officials are looking at changing two local laws to mirror what the state already has on the books.
The Worcester County Commissioners are expected to consider two bills at their meeting Tuesday, one on forest conservation and the other on stormwater management. The public would have an opportunity to comment before a final vote.Language for the forest conservation rules comes from laws passed in the 2008 and 2009 Maryland Legislative sessions. The measures reduce the amount of forest clearing that can be done, give high priority to urban tree canopy goals, increase fees and establish technological standards for reporting. The rules took effect statewide in October, and the Worcester County Department of Development Review and Permitting has been enforcing them.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
City has lost ~ 1,000 acres of UTC from 1985 - 2006 - effect on stormwater described; Bellevue, WA
Its the Rainy Season - Stormwater is Running Downhill:
While this January is turning out to be one of the warmest (if not the warmest) on record, with daily lows exceeding typical lows on most days, it is still the rainy season. While most of us recognize that winter rains and snowpack lead to summer drinking water and stream flows, in recent years, scientists and regulators have grown far more interested in the effects of that rain in cities, and in particular the stormwater runoff that storms generate. That runoff is regulated by the clean-water act, and while Bellevue and other Western Washington built most of their stormwater infrastructure with an emphasis on moving water from roads and neighborhoods into local streams to prevent flooding, that efficient movement of water has some unintended consequences, especially when compounded by some of the negative effects of urbanization.
While this January is turning out to be one of the warmest (if not the warmest) on record, with daily lows exceeding typical lows on most days, it is still the rainy season. While most of us recognize that winter rains and snowpack lead to summer drinking water and stream flows, in recent years, scientists and regulators have grown far more interested in the effects of that rain in cities, and in particular the stormwater runoff that storms generate. That runoff is regulated by the clean-water act, and while Bellevue and other Western Washington built most of their stormwater infrastructure with an emphasis on moving water from roads and neighborhoods into local streams to prevent flooding, that efficient movement of water has some unintended consequences, especially when compounded by some of the negative effects of urbanization.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Montgomery County RainScapes program offers rebates of up to $600 for Urban Tree Canopy as stormwater and energy reduction practice on residential and commercial properties; Montgomery County, MD
Montgomery County Rainscapes program
The mission of the RainScapes Program is to promote sustainable stormwater management practices throughout Montgomery County that support the County's water quality and runoff reduction requirements for its NPDES MS 4 Permit
Why are only certain watersheds eligible for the Urban Tree Rebate?
The watersheds named in the Urban Tree Rebate are those which have lost a significant portion of their Urban Tree Canopy. This rebate is to encourage tree planting in those areas and tree placement on the property should be done to provide shading of impervious surfaces and Heating/ cooling units.
The mission of the RainScapes Program is to promote sustainable stormwater management practices throughout Montgomery County that support the County's water quality and runoff reduction requirements for its NPDES MS 4 Permit
Why are only certain watersheds eligible for the Urban Tree Rebate?
The watersheds named in the Urban Tree Rebate are those which have lost a significant portion of their Urban Tree Canopy. This rebate is to encourage tree planting in those areas and tree placement on the property should be done to provide shading of impervious surfaces and Heating/ cooling units.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Managing Rainwater for Urban Sustainability Using Trees and Structural Soils manual issued
Managing Rainwater for Urban Sustainability Using Trees and Structural Soils « Rainwater Management « WaterBucket.ca:
Urban Trees Enhance Water Infiltration
A group of researchers from Virginia Tech, Cornell, and University of California at Davis have been investigating innovative ways to maximize the potential of trees to address rainwater/stormwater in a series of studies supported by the U.S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Grants Program.
Virginia Tech scientists used two container experiments to establish that urban tree roots have the potential to penetrate compacted subsoils and increase infiltration rates in reservoirs being used to store rainwater/stormwater. In one study, roots of both black oak and red maple trees penetrated clay loam soil compacted to 1.6 g cm-3, increasing infiltration rates by an average of 153%.
Structural soil reservoirs may provide new opportunities for meeting engineering, environmental, and greenspace management needs in urban areas. Further research is needed on the effects of tree roots and detention time on water quality in structural soils. Monitoring continues at four demonstration sites around the United States and updated information is posted as it becomes available.
Urban Trees Enhance Water Infiltration
A group of researchers from Virginia Tech, Cornell, and University of California at Davis have been investigating innovative ways to maximize the potential of trees to address rainwater/stormwater in a series of studies supported by the U.S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Grants Program.
Virginia Tech scientists used two container experiments to establish that urban tree roots have the potential to penetrate compacted subsoils and increase infiltration rates in reservoirs being used to store rainwater/stormwater. In one study, roots of both black oak and red maple trees penetrated clay loam soil compacted to 1.6 g cm-3, increasing infiltration rates by an average of 153%.
Structural soil reservoirs may provide new opportunities for meeting engineering, environmental, and greenspace management needs in urban areas. Further research is needed on the effects of tree roots and detention time on water quality in structural soils. Monitoring continues at four demonstration sites around the United States and updated information is posted as it becomes available.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Planning and Zoning officials call for update of subdivision rules to address UTC plan and stormwater regulations; Cumberland, MD
Cumberland Times-News - City officials to discuss wind energy system ordinance:
The second report will cover the commission’s recommendation of approval for the comprehensive update of the city’s Subdivision Regulation Amendment to provide for a comprehensive update of current subdivision regulations in response to the 2004 Comprehensive Plan amendments, proposed Urban Tree Canopy Plan and new stormwater management regulations.
Repp said no real changes occurred after the public hearings held at the commission’s meetings.
The second report will cover the commission’s recommendation of approval for the comprehensive update of the city’s Subdivision Regulation Amendment to provide for a comprehensive update of current subdivision regulations in response to the 2004 Comprehensive Plan amendments, proposed Urban Tree Canopy Plan and new stormwater management regulations.
Repp said no real changes occurred after the public hearings held at the commission’s meetings.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
EPA approves use of trees as part of stormwater strategy in CSO; Louisville, KY
MSD to buy thousands of trees | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
Louisville is about to get a lot greener. The Metropolitan Sewer District will spend $500,000 through next June and plans another $1 million in the following two years to plant as many as 10,000 trees.“After the double whammy of the windstorm and ice storm, our community saw terrible damage to our tree canopy,” said Kerri Richardson, spokeswoman for Mayor Jerry Abramson. “The scale of this project is staggering — thousands upon thousands of new trees—– and it couldn't arrive at a better time. This is a project that will return benefits for decades".
Sewers and trees may seem like an odd combination, but MSD views the effort as one way to help prevent rain from flooding the system and sending sewage overflowing into Beargrass Creek and the Ohio River.
A settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires MSD to reduce sewage overflows, and MSD has proposed an $850 million plan to tackle the problem by 2024 — including money for the trees.
Louisville is about to get a lot greener. The Metropolitan Sewer District will spend $500,000 through next June and plans another $1 million in the following two years to plant as many as 10,000 trees.“After the double whammy of the windstorm and ice storm, our community saw terrible damage to our tree canopy,” said Kerri Richardson, spokeswoman for Mayor Jerry Abramson. “The scale of this project is staggering — thousands upon thousands of new trees—– and it couldn't arrive at a better time. This is a project that will return benefits for decades".
Sewers and trees may seem like an odd combination, but MSD views the effort as one way to help prevent rain from flooding the system and sending sewage overflowing into Beargrass Creek and the Ohio River.
A settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires MSD to reduce sewage overflows, and MSD has proposed an $850 million plan to tackle the problem by 2024 — including money for the trees.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Little blue collar Edmonston keeps up with Portland and Seattle with comprehensive Green Streets project; Edmonston, MD
Prince George's Town Aims to Pave a 'Greener' Path - washingtonpost.com
By Lisa Rein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 23, 2009
For decades, the town of Edmonston in Prince George's County has been an industrial back lot for a toxic and stinking waterway. In the suburb split in half by the Anacostia River, freight trains rumble along Route 1, factories churn out auto parts and Greyhound repairs its buses. Stormwater rolls down warehouse roofs and swells the river, flooding already threadbare homes.
Now the hamlet of 1,500 near the District line, with numerous foreclosures and many residents out of work, is trying to remake itself by joining an environmental movement more often embraced by wealthier communities.
In a few weeks, workers will start ripping up Edmonston's main road and replacing it with an environmentally friendly street of rain gardens, porous brick and a drought-resistant tree canopy designed to shade the concrete, filter rainwater before it flows into the river and put people to work.
When the work is done, Decatur Street will naturally treat more than 90 percent of the pollution from the 40 inches of rainwater that sweeps into the Anacostia each year. 'We're a town that's been beaten up by floods,' said Adam C. Ortiz, Edmonston's mayor and the firepower behind the project. 'We have to make things happen for us instead of making things happen to us.'
By Lisa Rein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 23, 2009
For decades, the town of Edmonston in Prince George's County has been an industrial back lot for a toxic and stinking waterway. In the suburb split in half by the Anacostia River, freight trains rumble along Route 1, factories churn out auto parts and Greyhound repairs its buses. Stormwater rolls down warehouse roofs and swells the river, flooding already threadbare homes.
Now the hamlet of 1,500 near the District line, with numerous foreclosures and many residents out of work, is trying to remake itself by joining an environmental movement more often embraced by wealthier communities.
In a few weeks, workers will start ripping up Edmonston's main road and replacing it with an environmentally friendly street of rain gardens, porous brick and a drought-resistant tree canopy designed to shade the concrete, filter rainwater before it flows into the river and put people to work.
When the work is done, Decatur Street will naturally treat more than 90 percent of the pollution from the 40 inches of rainwater that sweeps into the Anacostia each year. 'We're a town that's been beaten up by floods,' said Adam C. Ortiz, Edmonston's mayor and the firepower behind the project. 'We have to make things happen for us instead of making things happen to us.'
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