Seminar Touts Low-Impact Development to Builders, County Officials

By Richard Conn, Ocala Star-Banner, Fla.

Apr. 11–OCALA — For years, Larry Coffman has been trying to get builders, architects, homeowners and government officials across the country to eschew the traditional method of managing stormwater. The old way, he believes, simply isn’t protecting the quality of lakes, rivers and streams.

“This is all about quality of life and we want to protect it,” Coffman said.

Coffman, president of Maryland-based Environmental Services Group, recently made his case to a gathering of local builders, planners and government officials at Central Florida Community College. The seminar, sponsored by the Marion County Clean Water Program, touted the benefits of building with minimal impact on the environment.

The concept, called low-impact development, aims to reduce pollution and maintain the hydrologic conditions that existed on a piece of property before development began.

Coffman is a pioneer in the field. In 1990, while serving as associate director for programs and planning for the Department of Environmental Resources for Prince George County, Maryland, Coffman came up with the concept of rain gardens.

The landscaped depressions feature trees, shrubs and other native plants that serve as bioretention areas. They collect runoff from roofs, driveways and parking lots and filter it back into the soil instead of sending the water, possibly polluted by impervious surfaces, offsite into traditional curb and gutter systems and then into nearby waterways.

In other words, the rain gardens keep the water where it falls.

But low-impact development isn’t just about rain gardens. Coffman touted the use on all building sites of rain barrels, which collect and harvest rainwater. That water could be used during droughts. He also promoted porous pavement, a type of asphalt that filters pollutants and reduces runoff by allowing moisture to pass through it.

Low-impact development homes were built several years ago by the University of Florida in the 88-home Madera subdivision in Gainesville. But Coffman said there aren’t many sites across the country that abide by all low-impact tenets.

“Sure, there are bits and pieces of them,” he said. “Nowhere in the country is everyone doing everything you can think of” low-impact development.

But Coffman believes the winds of change are blowing. He said the concept is a “no-brainer for most people,” and builders and government bodies are increasingly receptive.

“I think in a relatively short time, maybe a year or two, we’re going to see a big change,” Coffman said.

Marion County Commission Chairman Stan McClain, who is also a local home builder, was impressed with the presentation.

“That was one of the most informative seminars I’ve been to in a long time,” he said.

McClain believes that builders and homeowners may not be necessarily tied to the traditional curb and gutter methods of handling stormwater and could be sold on more environmentally sensitive methods that could be more cost effective.

“I could see where we could work some of those things in,” McClain said.

In general, Coffman said, low-impact development is cheaper because it reduces infrastructure and the need for future maintenance. He presented as an example a Wisconsin homebuilder who he said saved $780,000 by using rain gardens instead of using conventional methods to manage stormwater.

“That’s one of the attractive things about low-impact development is that it’s also low on cost,” Coffman said. “It’s a lower cost to construct. It’s a lower cost to maintain, and it also reduces that tax burden in the future because of the reduction of that infrastructure.”

Alex Kane, vice president of development for Heritage Green, a builder of low-impact developments in Florida and Australia, told the crowd that he implemented environmentally friendly features to protect future generations, which will include his 6-year-old daughter.

“And you know, when you turn around and look at a 6-year-old girl and say, ‘In 30 years I will have given you something,” that’s what development should be about,” he said.

—–

To see more of the Ocala Star-Bannner — including its homes, jobs, cars and other classified listings — or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.starbanner.com.

Copyright (c) 2007, Ocala Star-Banner, Fla.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.