The Virginia Municipal League’s Green Government Challenge is a friendly competition designed to encourage implementation of environmental policies and practical actions to reduce carbon emissions generated by local government and the community.
The challenge has 11 categories and 30 action items. Earning between 100-124 points out of a possible 200 earns certification as a Green Government. Scores of 125 points or higher earn silver, gold and platinum levels of certification. This year’s competition ended Sept. 10.
The city of Richmond first participated and became certified in 2009, won the silver in 2010, and the gold in 2011. This year, the city has been certified platinum. Joe Lerch (left), director of Environmental Policy for the Virginia Municipal League, presented the certification to Council President Kathy Graziano and Mayor Dwight C. Jones at the Dec. 10 City Council meeting.
Richmond City Council approved an ordinance that streamlines the permit review process for solar and vegetative roofs at its Nov. 26 meeting. The paper was co-sponsored by Mayor Dwight C. Jones and Councilmen Chris Hilbert and Charles Samuels.
The purpose of the ordinance is to encourage the use of green roofs by processing building permit applications within 10 business days and associated plumbing, electrical and mechanical permit applications within five business days.
The ordinance is 2012-201-199.
Solar and vegetative roofs result in less electricity used in the building. Vegetative roofs absorb rainfall and decrease the amount of run-off from the building, which supports stormwater management efforts.
The Richmond Tree Steward organization educates and trains people who wish to volunteer to work with the city's trees.
During 2012, the Richmond Tree Stewards accomplished:
Completion of a tree inventory for Battery Park and presentation of the information to the Friends of Battery Park for future planning.
Stop sign pruning in the Fan District, ensuring each stop sign was visible to drivers.
Watering approximately 200 newly planted trees in Byrd Park, Forest Hill Park, and Gillies Creek Park from May through September. Each tree was watered every two weeks unless there was at least an inch of rain during the previous week. Watering young trees is critical to their survival and good health.
Developmental pruning of young street trees. This pruning technique is necessary in order for some urban trees to develop a stronger and safer branching structure.
A planting project in Chimborozo Park that put approximately 200 trees in the ground. This project was lead by two tree stewards, supported by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. It was accomplished with the assistance of other volunteer groups.
As of mid-October 2012, approximately 2,250 volunteer hours have been recorded for the year.
The first city facility constructed as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building, a state-of-the-art firehouse, was recently opened at 2211 Semmes Avenue. Firehouse 17 is also the first new fire station in Richmond in 18 years and replaces the firehouse on Bainbridge Street that was built in 1917 for horse-drawn equipment.
The project included a $3.5 million federal grant and $1.4 million of city funding.
"As part of our RVAgreen sustainability program, we are committed to ensuring that any new city building totaling more than 10,000 square feet will be built to at least a LEED Silver certification standard," said Mayor Dwight C. Jones during the grand opening ceremony for the fire station. "We are committed to green buildings because they are cost effective, they operate as healthy places to work, and they are environmentally responsible."
The city's minimum requirement for the fire station was a LEED Silver certification, but Firehouse 17 was submitted for a LEED Gold certification. It incorporates many "green" features, including a heat pump that detects where in the building people are and allocates heat or air conditioning to those locations, extensive use of natural light, infrared heat that directs itself to people in the vehicle bay, and horizontal bay doors that can open and close in six seconds, letting vehicles in but keeping the cold air out. The toilets are even smart. With a touch of a button, you can allocate just the water you need to flush.
Fire Station 17 on Semmes Avenue is state-of-the-art
Motion detector outer lights come on only when needed with these high-efficiency, LED, shoebox style sight lights for the parking lots.
Large glass doors and windows let in natural light and warmth.
State-of-the-art high efficiency energy recovery heat pumps control heating and air conditioning, directing it to parts of the building that are occupied.
High efficiency compact fluorescent lights in the hallways save energy, use less wattage and last longer.
Sky lights and window panes near the ceiling let natural light in even to the interior of the building.
Exterior office walls are primarily windows for the solar heat and natural light.
Skylights illuminate inner rooms.
Hallway walls are glass, so the light from exterior windows reaches into interior hallways.
Motion detectors know when areas of the building are occupied and need heat or air conditioning.
Thermostats control the heating and air conditioning on a time schedule as well as an occupancy schedule.
Even the toilets are smart! You can press the green button and flush with a minimum of water, or press the brown button and flush with more water.
The garage bay has infrared heat that detects movement in the bay and directs the heat toward the person.
As a practical matter, the Chimborazo rain garden has little more than symbolic value. A few square yards of vegetative buffer on a school yard will do little in a city of 60 square miles to curb the problem of urban storm water runoff, stream erosion and pollution in the James River. But it's a start. And it's a visible example of taxpayer dollars at work. The project was funded, with state assistance, by the Richmond Stormwater Utility.
