Baltimore City is poised to adopt a new zoning code that is among the most ‘green building friendly’ land use ordinances in the country.
A green building friendly zoning ordinance is significant when so many local codes including land use ordinances across the country stand in the way of sustainability efforts.
Building green is the law in Baltimore City. And while the mandatory requirement for all to build green has been in effect since July 1, 2009, the City has just announced the regulations (that were, arguably, to have been effective July 1, 2009) were promulgated last week, effective September 16, 2010.
Make no mistake, Baltimore City is not
In 2009, Baltimore passed an amendment to its building code requiring public and private buildings above 10,000 gross square feet to "be equivalent to a LEED “Silver” level." Obviously, the goal was to get buildings in Baltimore to be more environmentally friendly. Fast forward a year, and a controversy is brewing over whether a proposed Big Box project, including a
Despite the promise of $200 million Smart Grid stimulus grant to BG&E in 2009 from the Department of Energy, according to BuildingGreen.com:
The Public Service Commission of Maryland rejected implementation of “smart grid” metering proposed by Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) in June 2010. The commission based the rejection on fears of rate increases and tiered pricing that would increase costs for consumers.
Other people have sued utilities in California and Texas over perceived issues