Sustainable Land Development Today - January 2009 - (Page 5)

SLDT YOUR VOICE Do you see any advantage with the land development industry adopting sustainable practices? Yes, but there are not as many benefits No. Mostly land development is the re- Yes. It appears to be attracting interest as people in the industry think, but there are some. Greg Lukasik, Kalispell, MT sult of people spending money either in the residential or commercial areas. With so many people out of work, who is spending any money? Robert Sand, Galloway, Ohio from all affected parties. This may lead to more benefits which will enable developers to finance more sustainable designed projects. I believe that the general public is in favor of many projects that exhibit green design and thus the public support will be for projects that otherwise may have never got off the ground with conventional practices. Bill Pittsley, Tampa, FL Yes. To implement a triple bottom line we need to use integrated design to develop truly (Lifecycle) sustainable infrastructure and communities. We need to think much farther outside the box than what people think of as sustainable today. Instead of trying to make our community infrastructure sustainable and then forcing it down to the neighborhood and individual unit levels, we need to make individual units as sustainable as possible and then build the neighborhood and community infrastructure to support them. Ron Maine, P.E., LEED®AP Parksville, British Columbia, Canada Yes. Those that do not adapt to building livable communities that are energy efficient will have a hard time making a comeback as the housing inventories finally readjust to healthy levels. Merle Ash, Arlington, Washington Yes. No. From my perspective, sustainable land development is not the problem and, therefore, can not become the solution to the housing market. Rick McCoy, P.E., Minneola, Florida I believe a consistent and fair regional and national sustainable policy is significant in creating universally accepted methods to address global climate change and may also spur new business endeavors and development opportunities. Anonymous Yes. Developers need to: push more Green Development ideas; Remove fewer trees; Lessen impervious surfaces; use Best Management Practices wherever possible; Protect water resources; better manage wastewater disposal; and, Be good stewards of the land. Anthony Scarpa, Warren, New Jersey No. No. Everybody will have their own opinions of standards. It must be market driven. Earl Gibso, Birmingham, Alabama Cannot implement green initiatives when the economy bad. Need to get economy and housing going and then phase in green policies. Olin “Dee” Hunter, Jr., P.E Yes Yes. The best thing we can do is convince the regulatory agencies and municipalities to prioritize Sustainable projects within the communities. Candace Mitchell, Columbia, South Carolina Yes. I think the “value” has been effectively sold to the public, and they will recognize and seek the value of sustainability factors within their purchase decision-making process Timothy A. Larkin, Bossier City, Louisiana is for the long-term; however, I think short-term they will have a negative effect on development. Especially, over the next few years, when it is going to be financially difficult to develop, another layer of bureaucracy and cost will further depress new development. Jerry Hayley, Conroe, Texas www.SLDTonline.com 5 http://www.SLDTonline.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Land Development Today - January 2009

Sustainable Land Development Today - January 2009 Contents Our Voice Your Voice The BottomLine SLDI in Focus Calendar Industry Rebound Will Require Balanced Approach What Happened to Fannie and Freddie? Added Value in Entitlements Industry Spotlights Technology Wastewater Innovation Classifieds Advertiser Index Editorial Board SLDT Resources Last Word

Sustainable Land Development Today - January 2009

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