Land Use and Built Environment Laws and Regulations
This tab includes laws, legislation, regulations, agency guidance, and executive orders relevant to land use and the built environment.
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2013
In 2013, the District Department of the Environment (now D. C. Department of Energy and Environment, or DOEE) released an amended Rule on Stormwater Management and Soil Erosion and Sediment Control to require that major development and redevelopment projects incorporate additional measures to retain stormwater and reduce runoff. The District offers compliance flexibility by allowing for some off-site retention, the ability for developers to pay an in-lieu fee, or the option to buy stormwater retention credits.
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September 27, 2012
Assembly Bill 296, the “Cool Pavements Research and Implementation Act,” was approved by California Governor Jerry Brown on September 27, 2012. AB 296 calls upon the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to develop a standard specification for sustainable or "cool" pavements that can be used to mitigate urban heat islands.
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September 29, 2010
This landmark smart growth bill, the New York State Smart Growth Public Infrastructure Policy Act (A8011-b/S5560-b), was signed into law on September 29, 2010 by Governor David Paterson. The law directs New York State agencies, authorities and public corporations to screen their infrastructure programs and investments to ensure that they are not funding unsustainable infrastructure. One of the most significant impacts of the Act is that all NYS funding agencies must now, formally, meet ten (10) Smart Growth goals.
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May 2010
In May 2010, Mayor Nutter of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania approved legislation requiring all new construction in the city to use highly reflective roofing materials that meet or exceed Energy Star cool roof standards. The Cool Roof Law is a first step toward Philadelphia's anticipated adoption of green building standards.
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2009
The City of Seattle, Washington’s stormwater regulations are implemented in order to improve stormwater management for new development in Seattle, including on-site stormwater management. Seattle’s Stormwater Code imposes retention requirements on residential properties. These requirements vary according to several factors, including the type of sewer system or water body to which the site discharges and the size of the land disturbance or impervious surface on that site. For example, if a parcel discharges into small lake basins and its total new-plus-replaced impervious surface is 2000 square feet or more, it must manage stormwater from a 25-year rainfall event (a storm that has a 4% chance of occurring in any given year).
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February 1, 2008
Boulder, Colorado’s municipal building code integrated Ordinance 7565 (Green Building and Green Points Program), which was adopted by Boulder City Council on Nov. 13, 2007 and went into effect on Feb. 1, 2008. The Boulder Green Points Building Program was the nation’s first mandatory residential green building program that requires a builder or homeowner to include a minimum amount of sustainable building components based on the size of the proposed structure.
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2007
Since 2007, New York City’s zoning code has required parking lots for community facilities to allow permeable pavements where appropriate. Parking lots with more than 18 spaces or more than 6,000 sq ft must capture stormwater through perimeter plantings and planting islands. The lot must be properly graded to drain runoff to those plantings. Both types of plantings must include trees of a certain diameter and spacing, and all vegetation must be from a list of pre-approved species. The objectives of these zoning requirements are to better manage stormwater on parking lots and reduce urban temperatures by providing shade.
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