Drafting a Green Ordinance: Case Study

• Overview

High energy costs and increased public support for sustainable initiatives are driving local governments to respond affirmatively with the adoption of green codes - local ordinances that mandate and incentivize more efficient forms of development. Unfortunately, there are few good models to follow and little operating experience to judge what works and what will not. There is an obvious need for real world, practical, and proven approaches to reaching achievable and sustainable local controls.

This OnDemand Webinar will equip local planners and elected and appointed officials with the necessary tools to conceptualize, draft, enact, and self-critique a green land use code. We start with the basics about what such a code is expected to do. Then, we move to the principles of planning and drafting, with a focus on operational examples. The faculty will point out those provisions that have been shown to be effective and what participants should avoid. The concluding section drives hard into the end product, the enactment, and the critical follow up and recalibration of the code.

Authors

Graham Billingsley, FAICP, Billingsley Consultants
Judy Dorsey, P.E., LEED® AP, CEM, Brendle Group
Joanne E. Garnett, FAICP, Orion Planning Group
Dwight H. Merriam, FAICP, Robinson & Cole, LLP
Gregory S. Sampson, LEED® AP ND, Robinson & Cole LLP
Timothy C. Twardowski, Robinson & Cole LLP

Agenda

Green Code Basics

• Emergence of Green Codes

• Principles of Typical Codes

• A Workable Template

Drafting the Green Code

• Fitting It to the Community

• Need for Planning

• Keeping It Simple

Adoption and What Follows

• Achieving Consensus

• Negotiating Changes

• Enactment, Follow Up, and Recalibrating