PRESCOTT (Oct. 2, 2007)–– Members of the Yavapai County Planning and Zoning Commission’s Sustainable Planning Committee will present new ideas for how to make the county planning process friendly to sustainable development at a joint meeting with the County Board of Supervisors to be held at 9 a.m. Oct. 31 in Prescott.

The presentation is a first step toward greening the county’s planning ordinances and procedures. It comes as a result of initial meetings and presentations by the committee, formed by the commission in late July to look at incorporating sustainability models and green building into the planning process.

Encouraging Sustainable Design
“County staff feel a need to get something started now by bringing this to the joint session, with the intention that we will continue with a much more comprehensive effort,” said local architect Matthew Ackerman, committee chairman and a principal with Prescott-based Catalyst Architecture who has a background in urban planning and sustainable design. “I’d really like to see some of the planning principles we’re talking about become the norm, rather than the exception.”

Suggestions being presented deal primarily with county design standards guiding Residential  Conservation Subdivisions, developments whose design provides a higher degree of common open space while maintaining current zoning densities.

The approach has been enthusiastically adopted by planning commissions around the country as a way to protect farmland and natural resources while fulfilling current zoning requirements.

In addition to establishing guidelines, the new standards will provide density-increase incentives for developers who meet or surpass them.

“Right now, these ideas aren’t intended as requirements for all new planning in the county,” Ackerman said. “They’re aimed at streamlining what’s been a cumbersome, time-consuming and expensive process. The way it works now can actually scare people away from doing creative, sustainable developments.”

The committee, which is made up of county planning staff, officials and private individuals with an interest in planning and development, has met twice to discuss two of eight topics targeted for examination in the coming months.

Water & Development Issues
In August, Ackerman and Landscape Architect Barnabas Kane, principal with Prescott-based T. Barnabas Kane & Assoc., presented water management strategies from erosion control to rainwater harvesting.  In September, Ackerman held a presentation looking at smart growth, with a focus on mixed-use, higher-density, pedestrian-friendly development.

Sustainable topics slated for future presentations include economic stability, transportation, waste management, open space, local food production, and renewable energy.

Ackerman hopes the final guidelines will include a checklist of ways developers can gain density bonuses through sustainable land use, transportation, open space and smart water use, he said.

Criteria being considered now include exceeding contiguous open space requirements, maximizing open space access house-by-house, sensitivity to wildlife corridors, drought-tolerant landscaping, use of water-saving technology and rainwater harvesting, setting land aside for trails and designing streets to be friendly to pedestrians, bikes and horses.

The suggestions are just a beginning of what the county and other area planning groups can do to address growth proactively, Ackerman said.

“Mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented planning models are more sustainable than what we’re doing now, which really just yields sprawl,” Ackerman said. “The fact that county staff and officials recognize the importance of sustainable planning and are seeking this kind of assistance is very encouraging.”

The committee was designed to serve as an ongoing resource for researching sustainability issues and strategies, then developing recommendations.

The commission also created a Green Building Committee to serve the same function, but with an emphasis on the sustainable design and technology of buildings.

Both committees were formed following a July panel discussion on green code concepts presented jointly by Ackerman, Prescott Architect Michael Frerking and Elizabeth Lassuy, a designer at Ackerman’s firm whose background includes greening the planning process of public entities including the City of Tempe. 



Presentations made to the County:

Sustainable_Water  [1.6 megs]
Sustainable_Development  [2.8 megs]

SmartGrowth Resource:

Duany Plater-Zyberk’s SmartCode

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Catalyst Architecture is an award-winning sustainable design firm located in Prescott, Ariz. Specializing in public/tribal, commercial and custom-residential work, firm principals Jeffrey L. Zucker, AIA and Matthew B. Ackerman, AIA emphasize earth-conscious design and are accredited by the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Together, they are one of the Southwest’s most experienced sustainable design teams.