LONG BRANCH — The City Council is expected to consider a series of “green” ordinances, including measures that would shape policy regarding solar and wind energy.
Zoning Officer Michele Bernich, who is also a member of the city’s Environmental Commission, said during the council’s April 22 workshop meeting that she is working on drafts of ordinances for solar-energy systems, small wind-energy systems and a green-development checklist as part of the city’s Sustainable Jersey certification.
“What these are doing is actually forwarding our action items from the 2011 bronze certification that we got from Sustainable Jersey,” she said. “We started looking at solar and wind then and we’ve gotten points for that, and this is just taking that another step.”
The city used a $25,000 matching grant from Wal-Mart in 2010 to fund the research needed for the ordinances, according to Bernich. The draft ordinances, as well as a 2012 ordinance on stream-corridor protection, were all funded through the grant, Bernich said.
The green-development checklist would encourage developers to use more environmentally friendly materials in new construction, she said.
“The green checklist would be in addition to the development-plan checklist for the site plans that go to both of the [planning and zoning] boards,” Bernich said. “Right now, it is just ideas for developers to think about in their design and start putting in more green-building site-plan enhancements.”
However, she said it is possible to expand the ordinances and offer incentives for developers who use green initiatives.
“In the future, what we want to do is take this one step further and give them incentives so that they can get some extra density bonuses,” Bernich said.
Sustainable Jersey is a state certification program for municipalities that want to sustain their quality of life, according to the website www.sustainablejersey.com.
The program identifies concrete actions that municipalities can implement to become certified, provides how-to guidance and tools, and provides access to grants and funding opportunities.
“If they put in some energy-efficient lighting or if they put in some pervious surfaces in their parking lots, [or] if they add bikeways and walkways, then we can give them an extra unit or a little addition in the [permitted] height,” she said.
The city is scheduled to become recertified by Sustainable Jersey in June, according to Bernich.
Mayor Adam Schneider said the majority of municipalities in the state are certified by Sustainable Jersey, but Long Branch may be ahead of most.
“Judging by what I saw down in Atlantic City, we are a little ahead of the curve,” he said.
Long Branch is one of several certified towns in Monmouth County. Others include Eatontown, Middletown, Monmouth Beach and Ocean Township.
During the April 22 meeting, the council passed a “Sustainable Land Use Pledge” ordinance, which indicates that the city plans to continue green initiatives that were put in place in recent years.
“It is basically what we’ve been doing all these years. It is just more of a formal document stating the city wants to be a sustainable community,” Bernich said.