Georgetown, Del., Dec. 16, 2008: Sussex County is striving to make new development greener.

County Council, at its Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008, meeting, approved a new policy to encourage environmentally sensitive development and building practices within Sussex County. Specifically, the County’s voluntary ‘Super Green’ program would recognize and possibly reward with expedited County review those developers who incorporate various environmentally friendly aspects into their projects. Those that meet the primary and secondary level would be recognized as ‘Green’.

Projects of 20 units or more in subdivisions, conditional use and residential planned community applications would receive points – totaling a final score – for meeting certain criteria. Among those would be the inclusion of larger buffers than required, preserving additional open space, reusing historical buildings onsite, dedicating land for schools and other public facilities, using solar technology for street lighting, and building a percentage of homes meeting energy efficiency and material requirements set by two national organizations.

The County program complements a proposed State of Delaware ‘Super Green’ program currently under development. A key difference, though, is the addition of the two less-stringent layers of recognition for builders who incorporate ‘Super Green’ practices in their projects.

“The County believes its program will allow more projects to qualify for some level of recognition,” County Administrator David Baker said. “Not every project is going to measure up to the high bar being considered at the State level. But by offering some recognition and incentives at a less-stringent level, we believe we can encourage more environmentally friendly building throughout the county.”

The County’s ‘Super Green’ program will take effect July 1, 2009, but will be utilized as a pilot program in the interim.

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