The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has chosen Concord, NH, and the KeepSpace Program in Rhode Island as two of eight recipients nationwide to receive targeted technical assistance on growth and development issues. EPA, among other concerns, is aware of the challenges faced by local governments in addressing infrastructure constraints, protecting water quality, setting development standards, and creating options for housing and transportation. Each of these projects will receive approximately $65K in consulting services in addition to direct assistance from EPA staff.
The Concord project is designed to support the city in its efforts to sustainably redevelop historic properties in its downtown core. Concord is considered to have the most diverse downtown in the New Hampshire, with approximately sixty buildings that date back to the 1800s or early 1900s - buildings that house nearly 200 retail and restaurant businesses as well as over thirty law offices and dozens of nonprofit organizations and government agencies. EPA notes that the same quality that makes the downtown a wonderful place to work or visit is also one of its most significant challenges, since the need for regular maintenance is exacerbated in buildings that are over 100 years old.
Concord has sought assistance from EPA to identify ways in which they can support redevelopment of historic properties that comply with new energy-efficient and green building standards, while still conforming to state historic preservation codes. Currently, the perception of local developers and investors that it is too costly and time-intensive to comply with both sets of standards is preventing the redevelopment of these buildings, and this perception is hindering achievement of larger community-wide goals for smart growth and sustainable development. This technical assistance effort is designed to offer concrete solutions to Concord's challenges, as well as guidance for a national audience on the ways in which they can create a regulatory framework that supports the sustainable, green redevelopment of historic buildings.
To assist Rhode Island communities with their challenges, the EPA team will work with Rhode Island Housing, the coordinating body for the KeepSpace Advisory Committee, which consists of several of the state’s government agencies and statewide nonprofits engaged in smart growth implementation. The purpose of the technical assistance is to identify programs, policies, and funding streams that can be aligned across state agencies to support more sustainable communities and develop metrics to assess the effectiveness of this coordination. This work is intended to mirror the cross-agency coordination at the Federal level under the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.
The national Smart Growth Implementation Assistance projects from EPA's Office of Sustainable Communities will focus on key topics central to the Partnership's work: cross-departmental coordination of sustainability policies, cities undergoing economic transition, infrastructure financing, historic preservation as part of downtown revitalization, and incorporating climate change adaptation as part of long-term plans.
All of these projects are being coordinated through the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, which began in June 2009, when U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson came together to announce that they would work together to coordinate federal actions on housing, transportation, and environmental protection. This interagency collaboration is designed to get better results for communities and use taxpayer money more efficiently. Coordinating federal investments in infrastructure, facilities, and services is designed to meet multiple economic, environmental, and community objectives with each dollar spent.
For more information:
EPA: Smart Growth Implementation Assistance
HUD-DOT-EPA Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities
Partnership for Sustainable Communities Progress Report
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