| "The results show an increase in sales and prices for the lots and houses in a conservation community, and lower costs for the developer and the local government." | |
| Jeannie Butler, Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources |
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Development and conservation don't have to be mutually exclusive. Georgia coastal resource managers have created a manual to help illustrate this point and provide guidance to developers and others on designing with the coastal landscape in mind.
The Green Growth Guidelines help local governments, developers, engineers and land planners, landscape architects, and natural resource managers compare the environmental, social, and economic benefits of using sustainable development strategies with conventional development approaches.
"It's intended as a one-stop shop that provides a hypothetical case study, best management practices, and innovative approaches," says Jill Andrews, acting operations program manager for the Georgia Coastal Program. Techniques such as site fingerprinting, low impact development practices, and alternative stormwater and bank stabilization techniques are detailed. The economic benefits of conservation development also are analyzed.
"The results show an increase in sales and prices for the lots and houses in a conservation community, and lower costs for the developer and the local government," says Jeannie Butler, coastal management nonpoint source coordinator for the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. "Benefits include the creation of great spaces for us to live and work, with clean water and abundant and diverse wildlife, plants, and habitats."
The Georgia Coastal Program used funding from the coastal nonpoint program to contract with the Coastal Georgia Regional Development Center and the environmental services firm EMC Engineering Services Inc. to draft the manual.
"It was written and designed by professionals in the field," notes Andrews. "They compiled a tremendous amount of information," including basic information about geographic information systems and the Global Positioning System, that "we wouldn't have thought to include."
"A lot of the information seems basic to resource managers, but that information is really important to provide so that anybody can pick it up and follow the activities step-by-step," Andrews says.
The 179-page manual is published in a three-ring binder so that chapters can be added. A new chapter is currently being written on the impacts and best management practices of recreational uses, and a real-life case study is being developed.
The guide focuses on the unique environmental needs of coastal Georgia, but Andrews points out that developers and landscape architects from the rest of the state also have been interested in the publication.
"We've had a problem keeping copies in house," she says. "They've been flying out the door."
A companion program, Coastal Green Subdivision, is under development. It will be a one-on-one educational and technical assistance program for engineers, local planners and developers, and others utilizing the Green Growth Guidelines.
"I personally am surprised by how well the Green Growth Guidelines have been received," Andrews says. "It's a great first step. We might tweak a few things, but ultimately, it's a terrific product."
She adds, "It would be a wonderful model for other states."
The Green Growth Guidelines are available on-line at http://crd.dnr.state.ga.us/content/displaycontent.asp?txtDocument=969. For additional information, you may contact Jeannie Butler at (912) 554-3494, or Jeannie_Butler@dnr.state.ga.us.
