EPA 231B09001 | October 2009 | http://www.epa.gov 

WaterQuality 

Scorecard 

Incorporating Green Infrastructure Practices at the Municipal, Neighborhood, and Site Scales 
Table of Contents
 

Executive Summary............................................................................... 1
 

Background............................................................................................. 1
 

The Water Quality Scorecard...................................................... 3
 

How to Use the Scorecard................................................................................. 3
 

A Note about the Point System.......................................................................... 5
 

Tips for Building Relationships Between Stormwater Managers, Land Use 

Planners, and Other Local Officials ................................................................. 5
 

Table 1: Water Quality Scorecard Quick Reference Guide............................... 7
 

Getting Started...................................................................................10
 

Section 1: Protect Natural Resources (Including 


Trees) and Open Space ......................................................................11
 

Resources ........................................................................................................21
 

Case Studies....................................................................................................21
 

Section 2: Promote Efficient, Compact Development 


Patterns and Infill ...........................................................................23
 

Resources ........................................................................................................28
 

Case Studies....................................................................................................28
 

Section 3: Design Complete, Smart Streets That 


Reduce Overall Imperviousness................................................29
 

Resources ........................................................................................................34
 

Case Studies....................................................................................................34
 

Section 4: Encourage Efficient Parking .............................36
 

Resources ........................................................................................................41
 

Case Studies....................................................................................................41
 

Section 5: Adopt Green Infrastructure Stormwater 


Management Provisions ................................................................43
 

Resources ........................................................................................................50
 

Case Studies....................................................................................................50
 

Acknowledgments.............................................................................52
 

I 
Mixed use developments, like main street in Cedar Falls, Iowa, allow for the co-locating 

of land uses, which decreases impervious surfaces and stormwater runoff problems. 

1 Executive Summary
 

Many communities across the United States face the challenge of balancing 

water quality protection with the desire to accommodate new growth and 

development. These cities and counties are finding that a review of local 

ordinances beyond just stormwater regulations is necessary to remove barriers 

and ensure coordination across all development codes for better stormwater 

management and watershed protection. Local policies, such as landscaping 

and parking requirements or street design criteria, should complement strong 

stormwater standards and make it easier for developers to meet multiple 

requirements simultaneously. 

EPA’s Water Quality Scorecard was developed to help local governments 

identify opportunities to remove barriers, and revise and create codes, 

ordinances, and incentives for better water quality protection. It guides 

municipal staff through a review of relevant local codes and ordinances, 

across multiple municipal departments and at the three scales within the 

jurisdiction of a local government (municipality, neighborhood, and site),1

 to 

ensure that these codes work together to protect water quality goals. The two 

main goals of this tool are to: (1) help communities protect water quality by 

identifying ways to reduce the amount of stormwater flows in a community 

and (2) educate stakeholders on the wide range of policies and regulations that 

have water quality implications. 

The scorecard is for municipalities of various sizes in rural, suburban, and 

urban settings, including those that have combined sewers, municipal separate 

storm sewers, and those with limited or no existing stormwater infrastructure. 

It can help municipal staff, stormwater managers, planners, and other 

stakeholders to understand better where a municipality’s2

 land development 

regulations and other ordinances may present barriers or opportunities to 

implementing a comprehensive water quality protection approach. The 

scorecard provides policy options, resources, and case studies to help 

communities develop a comprehensive water quality program. 

1 While the watershed scale is the best scale at which to look regionally at water quality 

protection strategies, it can be difficult to align policies, incentives, and regulations across 

political boundaries. For purposes of implementation, the largest scale the scorecard uses is 

the municipality. 

2 The term “municipality” as used by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) refers to local government at both the city and county levels. 

2 Background
 

Growth and development expand communities’ opportunities by bringing in 

new residents, businesses, and investments. Growth can give a community the 

resources to revitalize a downtown, refurbish a main street, build new schools, 

and develop vibrant places to live, work, shop, and play. The environmental 

impacts of development, however, can make it more difficult for communities 

to protect their natural resources. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the 

U.S. population will reach 400 million people by about 2040, which will add 

continued development pressure on local communities and the environment. 

Many communities are asking where and how they can accommodate this 

growth while maintaining and improving their water resources. 

Land development directly affects watershed functions. When development 

occurs in previously undeveloped areas, the resulting alterations to the land 

can dramatically change the transportation and storage of water. Residential 

and commercial development creates impervious surfaces and compacted 

soils that filter less water, which increases surface runoff and decreases 

groundwater infiltration. These changes can increase the volume and velocity 

of runoff, the frequency and severity of flooding, and peak storm flows. 

1 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many communities are already struggling with degraded water bodies and 

failing infrastructure. For example, EPA’s National Water Quality Inventory: 

1996 Report to Congress indicated that 36 percent of total river miles assessed 

were impaired.3 In EPA’s 2004 Report to Congress, that percentage increased 

to 44 percent.4 Further, a report by the National Academy of Sciences found 

urban stormwater is estimated to be the primary source of impairment for 13 

percent of assessed rivers, 18 percent of lakes, and 32 percent of estuaries— 

significant numbers given that urban areas cover only 3 percent of the land 

mass of the United States.5 

Urban runoff also affects existing wastewater and drinking water systems. 

EPA estimates that between 23,000 and 75,000 sanitary sewer overflows 

occur each year in the United States, releasing between 3 and 10 billion 

gallons of sewage annually.

6

 Many of these overflow problems stem from 

poor stormwater management. Many municipalities—both large and 

small—must address the impact of existing impervious areas, such as parking 

lots, buildings, and streets and roads, that have limited or no stormwater 

management while at the same time trying to find effective and appropriate 

solutions for new development. 

These water quality impairments exist, in part, because historically stormwater 

management—and indeed stormwater regulation—has focused primarily at 

the site level. The reasoning was sound: manage stormwater well at the site, 

and water bodies in the community will be protected. However, as the findings 

of EPA’s National Water Quality Inventory demonstrated, this strategy has not 

been effective for two main reasons. 

First, the site-level approach does not take into account the amount of offsite impervious surfaces. During the development boom from 1995-2005, 

rain-absorbing landscapes, such as forests, wetlands, and meadows, were 

transformed into large areas of houses, roads, office buildings, and retail 

centers. This development created vast areas of impervious cover, which 

3 U.S. EPA National Water Quality Inventory: 1996 Report to Congress: http://www.epa.

gov/305b/96report/index.html

4 U.S. EPA National Water Quality Inventory: 2004 Report to Congress: http://www.epa.

gov/owow/305b/2004report/

5 Urban Stormwater Management in the United States, National Research Council of the 

National Academy of Sciences, 2008: http://dels.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/stormwater_discharge_final.pdf

6 U.S. EPA National Water Quality Inventory: 2004 Report to Congress: http://www.epa.

gov/owow/305b/2004report/

generated significant increases in stormwater runoff. However, the amount 

of development in the watershed is not simply the sum of the sites within it. 

Rather, total impervious area in a watershed is the sum of sites developed plus 

the impervious surface of associated infrastructure supporting those sites, such 

as roads and parking lots. 

Second, federal stormwater regulations focus on reducing pollutants in the 

runoff—the sediments from roads, fertilizers from lawns, etc.—and not on 

the amount of stormwater coming from a site. Nevertheless, the increased 

volume of runoff coming into a municipality’s water bodies scours streams, 

dumps sediments, and pushes existing infrastructure past its capacity limits. 

Failure to consider the cumulative impact—this loss of natural land, increased 

imperviousness, and resulting stormwater runoff volumes— on regional 

water quality and watershed health has led communities to seek stormwater 

solutions that look beyond site-level approaches. 

Communities are recognizing the importance of managing water quality 

impacts of development at a variety of scales, including the municipal, the 

neighborhood, and site levels. A range of planning and development strategies 

at the municipal and neighborhood scales is necessary to address stormwater 

management comprehensively and systematically. At the same time that 

stormwater management is moving beyond the site level, it is also evolving 

beyond hardscaped, engineered solutions, such as basins and curb-and-gutter 

conveyance, to an approach that manages stormwater through natural processes. 

A green infrastructure approach provides a solution to thinking at all three 

scales as well as addresses the need to change the specific types of practices 

used on the site. Green infrastructure is a comprehensive approach to water 

quality protection defined by a range of natural and built systems that can 

occur at the regional, community, and site scales. At the larger regional 

or watershed scale, green infrastructure is the interconnected network 

of preserved or restored natural lands and waters that provide essential 

environmental functions. Large-scale green infrastructure may include habitat 

corridors and water resource protection. At the community and neighborhood 

scale, green infrastructure incorporates planning and design approaches such 

as compact, mixed-use development, parking reductions strategies and urban 

forestry that reduces impervious surfaces and creates walkable, attractive 

communities. At the site scale, green infrastructure mimics natural systems 

by absorbing stormwater back into the ground (infiltration), using trees and 

other natural vegetation to convert it to water vapor (evapotranspiration), and 

using rain barrels or cisterns to capture and reuse stormwater. These natural 

processes manage stormwater runoff in a way that maintains or restores the 

site’s natural hydrology. 

2 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the municipal scale, decisions about where and how our towns, cities, 

and regions grow are the first, and perhaps most important, development 

decisions related to water quality. Preserving and restoring natural landscape 

features (such as forests, floodplains, and wetlands) are critical components 

of green infrastructure. By choosing not to develop on and thereby protecting 

these ecologically sensitive areas, communities can improve water quality 

while providing wildlife habitat and opportunities for outdoor recreation. In 

addition, using land more efficiently reduces and better manages stormwater 

runoff by reducing total impervious areas. Perhaps the single most effective 

strategy for efficient land use is redevelopment of already degraded sites, such 

as abandoned shopping centers or underused parking lots, rather than paving 

greenfield sites. 

At the intermediate or neighborhood scale, green infrastructure includes 

planning and design approaches such as compact, mixed-use development, 

narrowing streets and roads, parking reduction strategies, and urban forestry 

that reduce impervious surfaces and better integrate the natural and the 

built environment. 

At the site scale, green infrastructure practices include rain gardens, porous 

pavements, green roofs, infiltration planters, trees and tree boxes, and rainwater 

harvesting for non-potable uses such as toilet flushing and landscape irrigation. 

Street retrofits can integrate green infrastructure, like this bioswale along Sandy 

Boulevard in Portland, Oregon, into standard roadway maintenance and upgrades. 

These processes represent a new approach to stormwater management that is 

not only sustainable and environmentally friendly, but cost-effective as well. 

Municipalities are realizing that green infrastructure can be a solution to the 

many and increasing water-related challenges facing municipalities, including 

flood control, combined sewer overflows, Clean Water Act requirements, and 

basic asset management of publicly owned treatment systems. Communities 

need new solutions and strategies to ensure that they can continue to grow 

while maintaining and improving their water resources. This Water Quality 

Scorecard seeks to provide the policy tools, resources, and case studies to both 

accommodate growth and protect water resources. 

3 The Water Quality Scorecard 

EPA worked with numerous water quality experts, local government staff, 

developers, urban designers, and others working on land use and water quality 

issues to develop this Water Quality Scorecard. The purpose of the scorecard 

is to address water quality protection across multiple scales (municipality, 

neighborhood, and site) and across multiple municipal departments. This 

scorecard can help municipal staff, stormwater managers, planners, and other 

stakeholders to understand better where a municipality’s land development 

regulations and other ordinances may present barriers or opportunities to 

implementing a comprehensive green infrastructure approach. The tool’s two 

main goals are to: (1) help communities protect water quality by identifying 

ways to reduce the amount of stormwater flows in a community and (2) 

educate stakeholders on the wide range of policies and regulations that have 

water quality implications. 

Communities throughout the U.S. are implementing stormwater regulations that 

require or encourage the use of green infrastructure for managing stormwater 

on site. These cities and counties are finding that, to better manage stormwater 

and protect watersheds, green infrastructure policies require a review of many 

other local ordinances to remove barriers and ensure coordination across 

all development codes. Local policies, such as landscaping and parking 

requirements or street design criteria, should complement strong stormwater 

standards and make it easier for developers to meet multiple requirements 

simultaneously. At the same time, if these policies support water quality goals, 

they can independently reduce and better manage stormwater runoff. 

3 
How to Use the Scorecard 

This scorecard is a locally controlled self-assessment and guide for better 

incorporating green infrastructure practices at the municipal, neighborhood, 

and site scales. While one department or agency could complete the tool, the 

effectiveness of this tool will increase if an interagency process is established 

to review all local codes and policies that might affect water quality. 

Completing the Water Quality Scorecard requires different documents, 

plans, codes, and guidance manuals. While the legal structure for stormwater 

management and land development regulation varies among municipalities, 

the following list contains the most common and relevant documents to 

complete this scorecard and describes how they can create impervious cover. 

•		 Zoning ordinances specify the type and intensity of land uses allowed 

on a given parcel. A zoning ordinance can dictate single-use low-density 

zoning, which spreads development throughout the watershed, creating 

considerable excess impervious surface. 

•		 Subdivision codes or ordinances specify development elements for a parcel: 

housing footprint minimums, distance from the house to the road, the width 

of the road, street configuration, open space requirements, and lot size—all 

of which can lead to excess impervious cover. 

•		 Street standards or road design guidelines dictate the width of the road, 

turning radius, street connectivity, and intersection design requirements. 

Often in new subdivisions, roads tend to be too wide, which creates excess 

impervious cover. 

•		 Parking requirements generally set the minimum, not the maximum, 

number of parking spaces required for retail and office parking. Setting 

minimums leads to parking lots designed for peak demand periods, such 

as the day after Thanksgiving, which can create acres of unused pavement 

during the rest of the year. 

•		 Setbacks define the distance between a building and the right-of-way or lot 

line and can spread development out by leading to longer driveways and 

larger lots. Establishing maximum setback lines for residential and retail 

development will bring buildings closer to the street, reducing impervious 

cover associated with long driveways, walkways, and parking lots. 

•		 Height limitations limit the number of floors in a building. Limiting height 

can spread development out if square footage is unmet by vertical density. 

•		 Open space or natural resource plans detail land parcels that are or will be 

set aside for recreation, habitat corridors, or preservation. These plans help 

communities prioritize their conservation, parks, and recreation goals. 

•		 Comprehensive plans may be required by state law, and many cities, towns, 

and counties prepare comprehensive plans to support zoning codes. Most 

comprehensive plans include elements addressing land use, open space, 

natural resource protection, transportation, economic development, and 

housing, all of which are important to watershed protection. Increasingly, 

local governments are defining existing green infrastructure and outlining 

opportunities to add new green infrastructure throughout the community. 

An initial step in using this tool is to convene appropriate staff to review 

various sections of the tool and coordinate to both identify opportunities 

for change and address the potential inconsistencies between policies. The 

approaches described in this scorecard may be under the control of a number 

of different local government agencies, including: 

•		 Parks and Recreation 

•		 Public Works 

•		 Planning 

•		 Environmental Protection 

•		 Utilities 

•		 Transportation 

The scorecard’s review of land use and development policies provides 

guidance for implementing a range of regulatory and non-regulatory 

approaches, including land use planning elements, land acquisition efforts, 

and capital investment policies that can help various municipal agencies 

integrate green infrastructure into their programs. Internal agency policies and 

practices, such as maintenance protocols or plan review processes, may be 

potential barriers as well. 

Each policy or approach is described in the context of its potential for 

providing water quality benefits, although most of the policies have many 

additional benefits for community livability, human health, air quality, energy 

use, wildlife habitat, and more. This tool does not provide model ordinance 

4 
language. It emphasizes best practices and helps municipalities understand the 

incremental steps for changing specific policies and internal agency practices. 

The scorecard divides the tools and policies into four categories: 

1. Adopt plans/Educate 

2. Remove barriers 

3. Adopt incentives 

4. Enact regulations 

These four categories provide greater structure to the compiled tools by 

organizing the policies or approaches as incremental changes and updates. 

These categories may help municipal staff prioritize which tools to work on 

based on local factors like resources, time, and political support. For example, 

an appropriate first step in the process of updating local regulations may be to 

remove a barrier rather than enacting a new regulation. Most policy options 

avoid specific performance guidance so that the tool is useful to a range of 

municipalities in different contexts. However, the case studies and resources 

provide locally appropriate performance measures where possible. 

To highlight the diverse nature of green infrastructure approaches, as well 

as the fact that oversight over these policies resides in various municipal 

agencies, the scorecard has five sections: 

1. Protect Natural Resources (Including Trees) and Open Space 

2. Promote Efficient, Compact Development Patterns and Infill 

3. Design Complete, Smart Streets that Reduce Overall Imperviousness 

4. Encourage Efficient Provision of Parking 

5. Adopt Green Infrastructure Stormwater Management Provisions 

The five sections organize green infrastructure approaches based on drivers 

of impervious cover at the municipal, neighborhood, and site scales. Yet all 

three scales may be in any single section. For example, the parking section 

will have questions that address the municipal, neighborhood and site level 

considerations. 

The scorecard describes alternative policy or ordinance information that, when 

implemented, would support a comprehensive green infrastructure approach, 

and will allow the municipality to determine where, in the broad spectrum of 

policy implementation, their policies fall. 

A Note about the Point System 

The tool includes a point system to make it easier to evaluate and improve 

local programs. The municipality can decide whether to use the point system 

at all. If the point system is used, municipalities can set locally appropriate 

thresholds and goals. 

Governments could choose to use the point system in many different ways, 

including: 

•		 State governments could require municipalities to complete the Water 

Quality Scorecard and establish measures for improvement over different 

permit cycles. For example, a municipality might have to improve its score 

by some number of points before the next permit cycle. 

•		 Local governments could determine a score based on existing programs 

and policies and then set goals from this baseline. Local targets may 

include incremental yearly improvements or achieving additional points 

in a particular section, such as “Encourage Efficient Parking Supply” or 

“Protect Natural Resources and Open Space.” 

•		 Stakeholders such as watershed groups or environmental organizations 

could complete the scorecard and then provide feedback and information 

assistance to the local government about sections within the scorecard that 

received few points and might be an area for improvement. 

•		 The total score or scores in certain sections could educate elected officials, 

decision makers, and others about the importance of these issues and the 

role of local policies in addressing them. 

•		 A lack of points in one section may alert a municipality that a certain area, 

such as parking, lacks local ordinances that support green infrastructure and 

may be ripe for improvement. 

•		 Variation in the number of points achieved across the five sections may 

help a municipality to better assess local sources of impervious cover and 

potential for the introduction of green infrastructure. 

Because the scorecard is intended for use by a range of community types and 

sizes in locations throughout the U.S., please note that no single municipality 

will be able to receive every point. Some questions and points may only be 

5 
A green roof located on the Friends Center in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

provides stormwater management capacity and adds aesthetic value to this dense 

urban environment. 

available to urban municipalities while others may only be available to those 

in a suburban or rural setting. 

Tips for Building Relationships Between Stormwater Managers, 

Land Use Planners, and Other Local Officials 

Effective stormwater management requires coordination and collaboration 

across many different municipal departments and processes. Below are 

some ideas for incorporating stormwater management in traditional planning 

processes and programs. 

•		 Include both land use planners and stormwater managers in pre-concept 

and/or pre-application meetings for potential development projects. 

•		 Use local government sites (e.g., schools, regional parks, office buildings, 

public works yards) as demonstration projects for innovative land use 

strategies and stormwater management. Form a team that includes land use 

planners, stormwater managers, parks and school officials, etc. to work out 

the details. 

•		 Include stormwater managers in the comprehensive plan process to 

incorporate overall watershed and stormwater goals. 

•		 Make sure that both land use planners and stormwater managers are 

involved in utility and transportation master planning. 

•		 Allow stormwater managers to be involved in economic development 

planning, especially for enterprise zones, Main Street projects, and other 

projects that involve infill and redevelopment. Encourage stormwater 

managers to develop efficient watershed-based solutions for these plans. 

•		 Develop cross training and joint activities that allow land use planners, 

stormwater managers, and transportation, utility, and capital projects 

planners to explore the improved integration of various land use and 

stormwater processes. 

•		 Hold staff trainings with speakers that are knowledgeable about smart 

growth and stormwater management. Alternately, encourage land use 

planners, stormwater managers, and other local officials to attend trainings 

on this topic as a team.

6 
Table 1: Water Quality Scorecard Quick Reference Guide 

Incorporating Green Infrastructure Practices at the Municipal, Neighborhood, and Site Scales (SUMMARy) 

Policy Question Goal 

Protect Natural Resources (Including Trees) and Open Space 

1A. Natural Resource Protection 

Are development policies, regulations, and incentives in place to protect natural resource 

areas and critical habitat? 

Protect natural resource areas (e.g., forests, prairies) and critical habitat (e.g., conservation 

corridors, buffer zones, wildlife preserves) from future development. 

Are no-development buffer zones and other protective tools in place around wetlands, riparian 

areas, and floodplains to improve/protect water quality? 

Protect critical areas such as wetlands, floodplains, lakes, rivers, and estuaries with a 

mandatory no-development buffer. 

Does the community have protection measures for source water protection areas through land 

use controls and stewardship activities? 

Protect source water areas from current or potential sources of contamination. 

1B. Open Space Protection 

Does the jurisdiction have adequate open space in both developed and greenfield areas of the 

community? 

Create open networks throughout a community that serve a dual function of providing 

recreational areas and assisting in management of stormwater runoff. 

1C. Tree Preservation 

Does the local government have a comprehensive public urban forestry program? Protect and maintain trees on public property and rights-of-way and plant additional trees to 

enhance the urban tree canopy. 

Has the community taken steps to protect trees on private property? Preserve trees on private property and require replacement when trees are removed or 

damaged during development. 

Do local codes encourage or require street trees as part of road and public right-of-way 

capital improvement projects? 

Leverage existing capital funds to plant more street trees and add multiple benefits to the 

public right-of-way. 

Promote Efficient, Compact Development Patterns and Infill 

2A. Infill and Redevelopment 

Are policy incentives in place to direct development to previously developed areas? Municipalities implement a range of policies and tools to direct development to specific areas. 

2B. Development in Areas with Existing Infrastructure 

Is the jurisdiction directing growth to areas with existing infrastructure, such as sewer, water, 

and roads? 

Adopt policies, incentives, and regulations to direct new development to areas that have 

infrastructure, such as water and sewer. 

2C. Mixed-Use Development 

Are mixed-use and transit-oriented developments allowed or encouraged? Revise codes and ordinances to allow for the “by right” building of mixed-use and transitoriented developments. 

7 
Incorporating Green Infrastructure Practices at the Municipal, Neighborhood, and Site Scales (SUMMARy) continued 

Policy Question Goal 

Design Complete, Smart Streets That Reduce Overall Imperviousness 

3A. Street Design 

Do local street design standards and engineering practices encourage streets to be no wider 

than is necessary to move traffic effectively? Do policies allow narrow neighborhood streets 

designed to slow traffic and create safer conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists? 

Appropriate street widths allow narrower lanes for certain street types, thereby reducing 

overall imperviousness. 

Are shared driveways, reduced driveway widths, two-track driveways, and rear garages and 

alleys encouraged for all single-family developments? 

Encourage alternative forms and decreased dimensions of residential driveways and parking 

areas. 

3B. Green Infrastructure Elements and Street Design 

Are major street projects required to integrate green infrastructure practices as a standard 

part of construction, maintenance, and improvement plans? 

Formally integrate green infrastructure into standard roadway construction and retrofit 

practice. 

Do regulations and policies promote use of pervious materials for all paving areas, including 

alleys, streets, sidewalks, crosswalks, driveways, and parking lots? 

Build and retrofit these surfaces with pervious materials to reduce stormwater runoff and its 

negative impacts. 

Encourage Efficient Provision of Parking 

4A. Reduced Parking Requirements 

Does your local government provide flexibility regarding alternative parking requirements (e.g., 

shared parking, off-site parking) and discourage over-parking of developments? Do parking 

requirements vary by zone to reflect places where more trips are on foot or by transit? 

Match parking requirements to the level of demand and allow flexible arrangements to meet 

parking standards. 

4B. Transportation Demand Management Alternatives 

Does the municipality allow developers to use alternative measures such as transportation 

demand management or in-lieu payments to reduce required parking? 

Provide flexibility to reduce parking in exchange for specific actions that reduce parking 

demands on site. 

4C. Minimizing Stormwater From Parking Lots 

Are there requirements for landscaping designed to minimize stormwater in parking lots? Require substantial landscaping to help reduce runoff. 

Adopt Green Infrastructure Stormwater Management Provisions 

5A. Green Infrastructure Practices 

Are green infrastructure practices encouraged as legal and preferred for managing 

stormwater runoff? 

Make all types of green infrastructure allowed and legal and remove all impediments to using 

green infrastructure (including for stormwater requirements), such as limits on infiltration in 

rights-of-way, permit challenges for green roofs, safety issues with permeable pavements, 

restrictions on the use of cisterns and rain barrels, and other such unnecessary barriers. 

Do stormwater management plan reviews take place early in the development review 

process? 

Incorporate stormwater plan comments and review into the early stages of development 

review/site plan review and approval, preferably at pre-application meetings with developers. 

8 
Incorporating Green Infrastructure Practices at the Municipal, Neighborhood, and Site Scales (SUMMARy) continued 

Policy Question Goal 

Do local building and plumbing codes allow harvested rainwater use for exterior uses such as 

irrigation and non-potable interior uses such as toilet flushing? 

Ensure that the municipality allows and encourages stormwater reuse for non-potable uses. 

Are provisions available to meet stormwater requirements in other ways, such as off-site 

management within the same sewershed or “payment in lieu” of programs, to the extent that 

on-site alternatives are not technically feasible? 

Allow off-site management of runoff while still holding developers responsible for meeting 

stormwater management goals. 

5B. Maintenance/Enforcement 

Does your stormwater ordinance include monitoring, tracking, and maintenance requirements 

for stormwater management practices? 

Incorporate monitoring, tracking, and maintenance requirements for stormwater management 

practices into your municipal stormwater ordinance. 

9 
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Getting Started
 

Below are suggested steps to help complete the Water Quality Scorecard:
 

Step 1. Review the scorecard to identify which agencies, departments, or personnel will be required to complete each section. 

Step 2. Convene appropriate staff to review various sections of the tool, and work together to ensure that updates and changes to codes, policies, and internal processes 

align well with other agency changes.
 

Step 3. Collect existing ordinances and policies that will be necessary references to complete the scorecard. 

Step 4. Coordinate between appropriate agencies or departments to complete the scorecard. 

Please indicate by your signature that you have reviewed the tool with all co-signees of this document (name, department, and date):
 

Step 5: Identify sections of the scorecard and/or specific policy questions that should be prioritized for immediate revision or update. 

Step 6: Identify short-, medium-, and long-term goals and strategies for revising local policies to better support green infrastructure. 

Getting Started 10 
 

1.A.1 Sensitive Natural Lands/Critical Area Protection 

QueSTION: Are development policies, regulations, and incentives in place to protect natural resource areas and critical habitat? 

GOal: Protect natural resource areas (e.g., forests, prairies) and critical habitat (e.g., conservation corridors, buffer zones, wildlife preserves) from future development. 

Why: Protection of significant tracts of critical lands and wildlife habitat will aid in protecting and improving water quality by increasing infiltration and groundwater recharge, preventing erosion and 

contamination of ground water and surface water resources, and protecting sources of drinking water. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Identify and map critical natural resource areas (e.g., steep slopes, wildlife 1 

habitat, forests, drinking water source areas). 

The local comprehensive plan contains a natural resource protection element 1 

with goals calling for preservation of identified critical natural resource areas. 

Identify key natural resource areas for protection in jurisdiction’s parks and 1 

open space plan. 

Assist landowners in identifying sensitive natural areas and laying out 1 

developments to avoid such areas. 

Local plans establish and enforce areas which are available for development 1 

and which lands are a priority for preservation. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Protection of sensitive natural areas and wildlife habitat qualifies for credit 1 

towards local open space dedication and set-aside requirements. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Provide financial support to or collaborate with land trusts to acquire critical 1 

natural areas. 

Establish a dedicated source of funding for open space acquisition and 2 

management (e.g., bond proceeds, sales tax). 

Adopt a transferable developments rights program to provide an incentive for 1 

landowners to preserve sensitive natural lands and wildlife habitat. 

 SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe

PaGe TOTal + caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe ______________ = ______________

Section 1: Protect Natural Resources (Including Trees) and Open Space 11

1.A Natural Resource Protection 

1 Protect Natural Resources (Including Trees) and Open Space 


 
 

 

 

 

Implementation Tools and Policies 

Pts. 

avail. 

Pts. 

Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

Land use regulations provide for the creation of cluster and conservation 

subdivision on the periphery of urban growth areas to encourage preservation 

of intact blocks of sensitive natural areas. 

1 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Adopt regulations to protect steep slope, hillsides, and other sensitive natural 

lands (e.g., by limiting development on slopes > 30% or requiring larger lot 

sizes in sensitive areas). 

2 

Adopt wildlife habitat protection regulations aimed at preserving large 

contiguous blocks of habitat areas. 

2 

Create agriculture/natural resource zoning districts (e.g., minimum lot size of 

80 acres and larger) to preserve agricultural areas and forests. 

2 

PaGe TOTal 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe 

+ ______________ 

 caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

= ______________ 

Section 1: Protect Natural Resources (Including Trees) and Open Space 12 
1.A.2a Protection Of Water Bodies/Aquifers 

QueSTION: Are no-development buffer zones and other protective tools in place around wetlands, riparian areas, and floodplains that improve/protect water quality? 

GOal: Protect critical areas such as wetlands, floodplains, lakes, rivers, and estuaries with a mandatory no-development buffer. 

Why: The use of these practices will reduce pollutant loads and hydrologic alterations to water bodies. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Identify and map critical water resource areas. 1 

The local comprehensive plan contains a water quality protection element 1 

with goals calling for protection of identified water bodies and other water 

resource areas such as wetlands. 

Identify key critical water resource areas for protection in jurisdiction’s parks 1 

and open space plan. 

Cooperate in developing regional approaches to watershed protection and 1 

stormwater management. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Wetlands and other water bodies and buffer areas qualify for credit against 1 

local open space dedication/set-aside regulations. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Protected water bodies and buffer areas qualify for twice the credit (or more) 1 

against open space requirements set by the municipality. 

Restoration of degraded riparian/wetland areas qualifies for additional open 1 

space credit within the local municipal system. 

Transfer of density from protected riparian areas/buffers to upland portions of 1 

development sites. 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Riparian and wetland buffer areas required by local land use regulations 1 to 

· Buffer is at least 50 feet (as measured from the top of bank) = 1 point 3 

· Buffer is at least 100 feet (as measured from the top of bank) = 2 points

· Buffer is greater than 100 feet (as measured from the top of bank) = 3 points

Critical water resource areas cannot be counted in calculating allowable 1 

density on a site (e.g., on a 200-acre site with 50 acres of wetlands, only 150 

acres can be used to calculate density under zone district regulations, and 

only those 150 acres may be developed). 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ 

Section 1: Protect Natural Resources (Including Trees) and Open Space 13
 

 

 

 

Implementation Tools and Policies 

Pts. 

avail. 

Pts. 

Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

Development in floodplains is prohibited or must demonstrate no adverse 

impacts upstream and downstream (See resources below for details on “no 

adverse impact” approach to floodplain management). 

2 

Stormwater quality and quantity performance standards exist for development 

sites (e.g., restrictions on sedimentation levels, pre/post development flows). 

1 

Local regulations require restoration of degraded riparian/wetland areas on a 

development site. 

1 

Compensation for damage to riparian/wetland areas must be on a minimum 

2:1 basis on- or off-site. 

1 

Performance standards exist and are well enforced for stormwater discharges 

to wetlands that protect the hydrologic regimes and limit pollutant loads. 

1 

PaGe TOTal 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe 

+ ______________ 

 caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

= ______________ 

Section 1: Protect Natural Resources (Including Trees) and Open Space 14 
1.A.2b Protection Of Water Bodies/Aquifers 

QueSTION: Does the community have protection measures for source water protection areas through land use controls and stewardship activities? 

GOal: Protect source water areas from current or potential sources of contamination. 

Why: These practices will help safeguard community health, reduce the risk of water supply contamination, and potentially reduce water treatment costs. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Local land use plans identify aquifer recharge/source water areas and 1 

recommend protective measures. 

Require that all stormwater inlets carry a notice regarding discharge to 1 

receiving waters. 

Map and publish wellhead and aquifer recharge areas to alert developers to 1 

potential restrictions. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Identification of drinking water source protection and aquifer recharge areas 1 

with a dedicated funding source in place to purchase and protect such areas. 

Protection of critical water source areas qualifies for additional credit towards 1 

local open space requirements. 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Adopt well-head protection regulations/zones to prevent incompatible 1 

development and uses. 

Adopt aquifer protection regulations/zones to prevent incompatible 2 

development and uses. 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ 

Section 1: Protect Natural Resources (Including Trees) and Open Space 15 
1.B Open Space Protection 

QueSTION: Does the jurisdiction have adequate open space in both developed and greenfield areas of the community? 1.B.1 

GOal: Create open space networks throughout a community that serve a dual function of providing recreational areas and assisting in the management of stormwater runoff. 

Why: In addition to providing open space throughout a community as an amenity, such a network can provide large areas that contribute little to stormwater loads and can provide large areas for the 

infiltration and purification of stormwater. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Adopt a community-wide open space and parks plan. 1 

The local comprehensive plan contains an open space/parks element that 1 

recognizes the role of open space in sustainable stormwater management. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Green infrastructure practices count towards local open space set aside 1 

requirements up to 50% of total. 

Allow and encourage retrofits of abandoned or underutilized public lands to 1 

serve as permanent or temporary open space and green infrastructure sites. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Additional open space credits are eligible for green stormwater management 1 

facilities improved/designed for public recreational purposes. 

Provide credit against open space impact fees for green roofs. 1 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Adopt neighborhood policies and ordinances that work to create 1 

neighborhood—not development site—open space amenities that are within 

1⁄4 to 1⁄2 mile walking distance from every residence. 

Adopt an open space impact fee to purchase passive open space that can 1 

assist in stormwater management. 

Adopt open space dedication and/or set aside requirements based on the 1 

demand generated by the development. As a baseline, use the average open 

space requirements adopted by the National Recreation and Park Assn. (e.g., 

10 acres of community and neighborhood parks for every 1,000 persons in a 

development or fraction thereof). 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ 

Section 1: Protect Natural Resources (Including Trees) and Open Space 16 
1.C Tree Protection 

QueSTION: Does the local government have a comprehensive public urban forestry program? 1.C.1 

GOal: Protect and maintain trees on public property and rights-of-way and plant additional trees to enhance the urban tree canopy. 

Why: Mature trees provide multiple community benefits, reduce overall stormwater runoff, and improve stormwater quality. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Survey and inventory existing trees on public lands and street rights-of-way. 1 

Document the characteristics and location of street trees and urban tree 

canopy to inform public tree planting, adoption, and maintenance programs. 

Select tree species based on known performance for managing stormwater 1 

runoff. Publish list and make widely available for homeowners/others that 

plant street trees. 

Conduct education and outreach about tree protection, proper maintenance, 1 

and replanting opportunities through printed materials, workshops, events, 

and signage. 

Adopt a policy to protect existing trees on local government development 1 

sites (e.g., municipal parking lots, municipal buildings). 

Maintain an active tree maintenance program for public trees, including pest 1 

control, pruning, watering, and similar measures. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Acknowledge trees as part of community infrastructure and develop a 1 

coordinated design for locating public utilities to provide enough space for 

mature tree canopy and root development. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Provide free or reduced-price trees to homeowners to be used as street trees. 1 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Require any public trees removed or damaged during construction associated 1 

with private development to be replaced on- or off-site with an equivalent 

amount of tree caliper (e.g., remove a 24-inch diameter tree/replace with 6 

four-inch diameter trees). 

Adopt construction protection rules for all public trees (e.g., fencing, no 1 

storage of hazardous materials, avoid cutting into root zones). 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ 

Section 1: Protect Natural Resources (Including Trees) and Open Space 17 
QueSTION: Has the community taken steps to protect trees on private property? 1.C.2 

GOal: Preserve trees on private property and require replacement when trees are removed or damaged during development. 

Why: Mature trees provide multiple environmental, economic, and community benefits, including improved water and air quality, reduced heat island effects, lowered energy costs, and improved 

community aesthetics. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Community plans specifically include tree preservation and replacement as 1 

community goals. 

Conduct educational sessions for builders and developers regarding 1 

appropriate tree protection techniques and/or publish a technical tree 

protection manual. 

Follow maintenance and inspection timelines and meet canopy goals and 1 

milestones by ensuring old trees survive, replacing dead or diseased trees, 

and planting new trees. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Set up maintenance and inspection agreements for private properties meeting 1 

stormwater requirements or receiving stormwater fee credit for trees. 

Set up long-term maintenance and inspection schedules for trees on public 1 

lands. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Support local non-profits that plant trees and provide educational services. 1 

Provide financial incentives for tree purchases and planting. 1 

A tree fund has been established to receive in-lieu payments when trees must 1 

be removed from a development site to accommodate permitted projects. 

Trees of a specified minimum size count towards a percentage of stormwater 1 

management requirements (e.g., partial credit given for each mature tree 

exceeding a specified height or canopy size). 

Trees over a specified minimum size (e.g., 3-inch caliper) protected during 1 to 

development are credited towards landscaping requirements. 2 

· meeting the established landscape requirement = 1 point

· exceeding the established landscape requirement = 2 points

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ 

Section 1: Protect Natural Resources (Including Trees) and Open Space 18 
 

 

 

 

Implementation Tools and Policies 

Pts. 

avail. 

Pts. 

Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Require permits before removing trees on proposed development or 

redevelopment sites. Provide fines and/or stop-work authority for permit 

violations. 

1 

Set minimum tree preservation standards for new development sites. 1 

Require site plans or stormwater plans to include tree preservation. 1 

Require/allow tree replacement off-site for infill sites. 1 

PaGe TOTal 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe 

+ ______________ 

 caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

= ______________ 

Section 1: Protect Natural Resources (Including Trees) and Open Space 19 
QueSTION: Are street trees encouraged or required as part of road and public right-of-way capital improvement projects? 1.C.3 

GOal: Leverage existing capital funds to plant more street trees and add multiple benefits to the public right-of-way. 

Why: Street trees can help manage and reduce stormwater runoff while providing multiple public and environmental benefits. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Local comprehensive and transportation plans support the planting of street 1 

trees by all private and public development projects. 

Capital improvement plans include tree planning as part of project budgets. 1 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Offer incentives, such as reduced setbacks or increased building densities, in 1 

exchange for additional tree preservation beyond ordinance requirements. 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

All private and public developments are required to plant street trees in 1 

accordance with size, spacing, and other local government requirements. 

New street designs and redesigns of existing streets take into account space 1 

for tree development and require necessary surface area and volume of soil 

dependent on type of tree species selected (this includes lateral root growth 

as well as direct downward growth to accommodate mature tree canopy and 

roots without adversely affecting other utilities). 

Street specifications require permeable paving for sidewalks and other 1 

surfaces to reduce stormwater runoff and allow street trees to benefit from 

the available water. 

  Total score for SeCTION 1: PROTeCT 

NATURAL ReSOURCeS (INCLUdING TReeS) 

ANd OPeN SPACe 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ (TOTal POINTS avaIlaBle: 82) 

This section has been reviewed and scored by ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Department name __________________________________________ Signee ____________________________________________________ 

Section 1: Protect Natural Resources (Including Trees) and Open Space 20 
 

 

Resources 

•		 Planner’s Guide to Wetland Buffers for Local Governments, Environmental 

Law Institute: http://www.elistore.org/reports_detail.asp?ID=11272

•		 Mertes, James D. and James R. Hall. Park, Recreation, Open Space and 

Greenway Guidelines. National Recreation and Park Association, 1996. 

•		 Center for Watershed Protection guidance on aquatic buffers: http://www.

cwp.org/Resource_Library/Restoration_and_Watershed_Stewardship/

perviousarea.htm

•		 “Protecting Stream and River Corridors: Creating Effective Local Riparian 

Buffer Ordinances,” Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University 

of Georgia: http://www.rivercenter.uga.edu/publications/pdf/riparian_

buffer_guidebook.pdf

•		 No Adverse Impact Floodplain Management, Association of State 

Floodplain Managers: http://www.floods.org/index.asp?menuID=349&firs

tlevelmenuID=187&siteID=1

•		 Riparian Toolbox: Model Regulations and Legal Issues, Long Island Sound 

Study: http://www.longislandsoundstudy.net/riparian/legal.htm

•		 Model Ordinances to Protect Local Resources: Aquatic Buffers, U.S. EPA: 

http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/ordinance/osm1.htm

•		 Duerksen, Christopher and Cara Snyder. Nature-Friendly Communities: 

Habitat Protection and Land Use Planning. Island Press, 2005. 

•		 City Trees: Sustainability Guidelines and Best Practices: http://www.

treetrust.org/pdf/community-forestry-city-trees-bonestroo.pdf

•		 Guide to Setting Urban Tree Canopy Goals, American Forests: http://www.

americanforests.org/resources/urbanforests/treedeficit.php

•		 Urban Forestry Manual, Center for Watershed Protection: http://www.cwp.

org/forestry/part3forestrymanual.pdf (pg. 69)) 

•		 Duerksen, Christopher and Suzanne Richman, “Tree Conservation 

Ordinances.” American Planning Association. 1993: Planning Advisory 

Service Report No. 446. 

•		 Duerksen, Christopher , Mowery, M. and McGlyn M. “Tree Preservation.” 

Zoning Practice. July 2006: American Planning Association, Volume 23 

Number 7. 

•		 “Trees for green streets: An illustrated guide,” Portland Metro: http://www.

metro-region.org/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=26337

•		 Tree Preservation Information Guide, Portland, Oregon: http://www.

sustainableportland.org/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=72545

•		 Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) Guide, U.S. EPA: http://

cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/swppp.cfm

•		 Center for Urban Forest Research, U.S. Forest Service: http://www.fs.fed.

us/psw/programs/cufr/

•		 Urban Forest Policy and Management, U.S. Forest Service: http://www.

fs.fed.us/psw/programs/cufr/research/studies.php?TopicID=1

•		 Plants for Stormwater Design Volume II, Great River Greening: http://

www.greatrivergreening.org/_downloads/PSD%20II%20Sample.PDF

Case Studies 

•		 Alachua County, Florida’s land conservation and acquisition program, 

Alachua County Forever, has conserved over 17,000 acres of 

environmentally sensitive land: http://www.alachuacounty.us/government/

depts/epd/land/filesforms.aspx

•		 Baltimore County, Maryland’s Master Plan 2010 designates land 

management areas that include agricultural preservation areas and resource 

preservation areas: http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/

planning/masterplanning/smartgrowth.html

•		 King County, Washington’s Greenprint Project is an open space and 

resource conservation strategy that focuses on land acquisition, restoration 

projects, regulatory changes and protection within the urban growth 

boundary: http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/greenprint/about.htm

•		 The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Green program 

revitalizes and maintains abandoned land and public spaces by 

partnering with government, businesses and the community: http://www.

pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/phlgreen/about.html

•		 Chicago, Illinois’s Open Space Impact Fee Ordinance charges a fee 

associated with residential development building permits and spends 

the funds on acquisition of neighborhood open space in the same area 

where development occurs: http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/

portalContentItemAction.do?blockName=Buildings%2FContent&deptM

ainCategoryOID=-536901233&entityName=Buildings&topChannelName

=Dept&contentOID=536988877&contenTypeName=COC_EDITORIAL

•		 Lenexa, Kansas’s Watershed Management Plan includes erosion 

and sediment control, stream buffers, subwatershed protection and 

Section 1: Protect Natural Resources (Including Trees) and Open Space 21 
improvement, and design standards for the city’s uniform development 

code: https://www.ci.lenexa.ks.us/Planning/compplan/Overview/

•		 The Maryland Cooperative Extension Service provides a fact sheet on 

how to design, plant and maintain a riparian forest buffer: http://www.

riparianbuffers.umd.edu/fact/FS725.html

•		 Vermont’s Department of Environmental Conservation offers grants to 

conservation organizations to purchase or receive donated river corridor 

easements on private property within priority stretches of river: http://www.

anr.state.vt.us/dec/waterq/rivers/docs/rv_RiverCorridorEasementGuide.

pdf

•		 The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation 

Service provides guidance on riparian buffers through the Ohio Lake Erie 

Buffer Program: http://www.oh.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/Lake_Erie_

Buffer/riparian.html

•		 Davidson, North Carolina requires a public park within a five minute walk 

of all housing units, providing multifunctional neighborhood open space: 

http://www.ci.davidson.nc.us/index.aspx?NID=576

•		 San Jose, California gives post-construction stormwater treatment credit for 

new and existing trees in close proximity to impervious areas: http://www.

sanjoseca.gov/planning/stormwater/Policy_6-29_Memo_Revisions.pdf

•		 Portland, Oregon gives a stormwater fee discount for trees over 15 feet tall: 

http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=43444&#types

•		 Portland, Oregon also gives a tree credit for meeting local stormwater 

requirements: http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.

cfm?id=93075

•		 Portland, Oregon Parks and Recreation and Bureau of Development 

Services regulate tree cutting on private property and public property: 

http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/index.cfm?c=39712

•		 New York City requires street tree planting for a range of developments and 

zoning increases: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/street_tree_planting/

index.shtml

•		 Charlottesville, North Carolina has set goals for achieving a 40% minimum 

urban tree canopy: http://www.charlottesville.org/Index.aspx?page=1745

(Chapter 8, pgs. 184-187) 

Section 1: Protect Natural Resources (Including Trees) and Open Space 22 
 

2.A Support Infill and Redevelopment 

QueSTION: Are policy incentives in place to direct development to previously developed areas? 2.A.1 

GOal: Municipalities implement a range of policies and tools to direct development to specific areas. 

Why: Municipalities can realize a significant reduction in regional runoff if they take advantage of underused properties, such as infill, brownfield, or greyfield sites. Redeveloping already degraded 

sites such as abandoned shopping centers or underutilized parking lots rather than paving greenfield sites for new development can dramatically reduce total impervious area while allowing 

communities to experience the benefits and opportunities associated with growth. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Local plans identify potential brownfield and greyfield sites, and support their 1 

redevelopment. 

Capital improvement plans include infrastructure improvements (water, sewer, 1 

road, sidewalk, etc. upgrades) for identified brownfield and greyfield sites. 

Educate lending and financial institutions about benefits and local priorities of 1 

directing development to existing areas. 

Conduct outreach to the community to ensure support for local forms and 1 

patterns of development. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Establish a brownfields program to remove uncertainty regarding cleanup and 1 

liability issues. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Provide incentives such as density bonuses and accelerated permitting for 1 

brownfield and greyfield sites. 

Adopt funding mechanisms for remediating/redeveloping brownfield and 1 

greyfield sites. 

Streamline permitting procedures to facilitate infill and brownfield 1 

redevelopment plan review. 

Establish tax increment financing (TIF) districts to encourage redevelopment. 1 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

In local codes, ordinances, and policies, the municipality differentiates 1 

between greenfield and infill development. 

 SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe

PaGe TOTal + caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe ______________ = ______________ 

Section 2: Promote efficient, compact development Patterns and Infill 23

2 Promote Efficient, Compact Development Patterns and Infill 
2.B Direct Development To Existing Infrastructure 

QueSTION: Does the municipality direct growth to areas with existing infrastructure, such as sewer, water, and roads? 2.B.1 

GOal: Adopt policies, incentives, and regulations to direct new development to areas that have infrastructure, such as water and sewer. 

However, in situations where development is in areas with no sewer infrastructure, permitting alternative treatment options that can allow for higher density development or clustering of houses 

will reduce the overall water quality impact. 

Why: Sewer and water authorities can play a major role in directing a region’s growth by determining when and where new infrastructure investment will occur. Well-drafted facility planning areas can 

direct growth by providing sewer service in areas least likely to impact water resources. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Local plans recommend/establish urban growth areas and urban growth 1 

boundaries. Development is encouraged within urban growth boundaries and 

discouraged outside of them. 

Analyze which areas within the jurisdiction are appropriate for higher density 2 

development based on existing infrastructure capacity, cost of providing new 

services, and access. 

Capital improvement plans for public infrastructure (roads, water, sewer, etc.) 2 

target funding inside urban growth boundary. 

Local sewer/water authority capital improvement plans follow development 1 

policies established in local comprehensive plans and target areas with 

existing development/infrastructure. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Development standards addressing landscaping, buffering, parking, and open 2 

space are tailored for infill areas to avoid creating unnecessary hurdles to 

development (e.g., imposing suburban parking requirements in high-density 

infill areas). 

Remove prohibitions on accessory dwelling units in infill areas to increase 2 

density of development. 

Off-site, regional water retention/detention encouraged/allowed to avoid 2 

costly on-site retention in densely developed infill areas and to provide benefit 

to priority retrofit sites, such as schools. 

Package plants and other wastewater treatment trains are encouraged for 1 

development in limited circumstance areas where growth is appropriate but 

sewers/treatment capacity does not exist. 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ 

Section 2: Promote efficient, compact development Patterns and Infill 24 
 

 

 

 

Implementation Tools and Policies 

Pts. 

avail. 

Pts. 

Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

Technical information and analysis on the effectiveness of various treatment 

systems are readily available to developers. Local governments have 

determined which systems work best for their soil conditions and topography 

and have made this information available to the development community. 

1 

Allow a wide variety of housing types and sizes within infill areas and reduced 

minimum lot sizes. 

1 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Increase development densities and allowable height in infill areas. 1 

Reduce impact fees for infill development based on less demand for new 

infrastructure. 

1 

Create development incentives for green roofs (e.g., increased floor area ratio 

[FAR] bonus, additional building height). 

1 

Include provision in stormwater management requirement that reduces 

on-site management requirements for projects that decrease total 

imperviousness on previously developed sites. 

1 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Zoning and land development regulations implement urban service areas/ 

urban growth boundary policies by restricting development in outlying areas. 

1 

Adopt adequate public facility and concurrency ordinances that require 

adequate public infrastructure to be available when development comes on 

line (e.g., water, sewer, roads). 

1 

Adopt large-lot/agricultural zoning (e.g., 1 unit/160 acres) on fringe of city to 

restrict inappropriate greenfield development. 

1 

Enact transitional compatibility standards to ensure that new denser 

infill development is compatible with existing neighborhoods/adjacent 

development. 

1 

PaGe TOTal 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe 

+ ______________ 

 caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

= ______________ 

Section 2: Promote efficient, compact development Patterns and Infill 25 
2.C Encourage Mixed-Use Developments 

QueSTION: Are mixed-use and transit-oriented developments allowed or encouraged? 2.C.1 

GOal: Revise codes and ordinances to allow for the “by right” building of mixed-use and transit-oriented developments. 

Why: Mixed-use developments allow for the co-locating of land uses, which decreases impervious surfaces associated with parking and decreases vehicle miles traveled—resulting in a reduction of 

hydrocarbons left on roadways and reduced air deposition. 

Transit-oriented development (TOD) produces water quality benefits by reducing: (1) land consumption due to smaller site footprints; (2) parking spaces and the impervious cover associated with 

them; and (3) average vehicle miles traveled, which, in turn, reduces deposition of air pollution into water bodies. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Comprehensive plans identify appropriate areas for higher-density mixed-use 1 

developments (e.g., at transit stops) and recommend policies to encourage 

their development. 

Local capital improvement plans and funding are targeted to areas 2 

appropriate for mixed-use development. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Zoning ordinances can create by-right mixed-use and transit-oriented 1 

development districts or overlays through amendments. 

Initiate map amendments to designate mixed-use and transit-oriented 1 

development areas, eliminating the need for developers to secure zoning 

amendments. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Parking requirements are reduced to reflect decreased automobile use. 1 

Credit given for adjacent on-street parking, which can count for local parking 1 

requirements. 

Shared parking and alternative parking arrangements encouraged. 1 

Mixed-use districts/areas feature increased densities and height. 1 

Accessory parking structures are not counted against maximum floor area 1 

ratio (FAR) on a site. 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ 

Section 2: Promote efficient, compact development Patterns and Infill 26 
 

 

 

 

 

Implementation Tools and Policies 

Pts. 

avail. 

Pts. 

Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Zoning code requires a minimum mix of uses and minimum density in 

designated mixed-use and transit-oriented development areas. 

1 

Auto-oriented uses and drive-throughs are restricted or prohibited in mixeduse and transit-oriented development areas. 

1 

PaGe TOTal 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe 

+ ______________ 

 Total score for SeCTION 2: PROMOTe 

effICIeNT, COMPACT deveLOPMeNT 

PATTeRNS ANd INfILL 

= ______________ (TOTal POINTS avaIlaBle: 45) 

This section has been reviewed and scored by ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Department name __________________________________________ Signee ____________________________________________________ 

Section 2: Promote efficient, compact development Patterns and Infill 27 
Resources 

•		 “Protecting Water Resources with Higher-Density Development,” U.S. EPA 

Development, Community and Environment Division: http://www.epa.gov/

dced/water_density.htm

•		 “Infill Development: Completing the Community Fabric,” Municipal 

Research and Services Center of Washington: http://www.mrsc.org/

Subjects/Planning/infilldev.aspx

•		 Smart Growth Priority Funding Areas Act of 1997, Maryland Department 

of Planning: http://www.mdp.state.md.us/fundingact.htm

•		 Metro Regional Government Urban Growth Boundary, Portland Metro: 

http://www.metro-region.org/index.cfm/go/by.web/id/277

•		 Smart Growth Toolkit, Smart Growth Leadership Institute: http://www.

smartgrowthtoolkit.net/main-content/the-smart-growth-implementationtools.html

•		 “Water and Growth: Toward a Stronger Connection Between Water 

Supply and Land Use in Southeastern Pennsylvania,” 10,000 Friends of 

Pennsylvania: http://10000friends.org/water-and-growth

•		 “Connecting Smart Growth and Brownfields Redevelopment,” Center for 

Environmental Policy and Management, University of Louisville: http://

cepm.louisville.edu/publications/PDF_docs/smart%20growth%20and%20

brownfields%20for%20website.pdf

•		 “Strategies for Successful Infill Development,” Northeast Midwest 

Institute: http://www.nemw.org/infillbook.htm

•		 “Smart Infill,” Greenbelt Alliance: http://www.greenbelt.org/resources/

reports/smartinfill/index.html

•		 Infill Incentives, Policy Link: http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/BUSINESS/

infilpgm.html

Case Studies 

•		 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is responsible for helping 

municipalities establish Sewer Service Area Planning to protect water 

quality and guide growth within public sewer systems: http://dnr.wi.gov/

org/water/wm/GLWSP/SSAPlan/

•		 Dane County, Wisconsin’s BUILD program offers incentives for infill 

development and removes barriers to redevelopment in order to preserve 

farmland and prevent greenfield development: http://www.countyofdane.

com/plandev/Community/build/about.asp

•		 U.S. EPA and Land-of-Sky Regional Council in Asheville, North Carolina 

developed a report outlining market, policy, and regulatory changes that can 

help overcome the barriers to infill and brownfield redevelopment: http://

www.epa.gov/dced/pdf/losrc_brownfields.pdf

•		 The Oregon Transportation and Growth Management Program prepared a 

Model Infill Ordinance to clarify legal and policy-related questions about 

local infill incentives: http://www.dca.state.ga.us/intra_nonpub/Toolkit/

ModelOrdinances/ModOrdInfl.pdf

•		 The City of Sacramento, California’s Infill Strategies includes a Water 

Development Fee Waiver, Reduced Entitlement Fees, and Sewer Facility 

Fee Reductions: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/planning/infill/

•		 Phoenix, Arizona’s Infill Housing Program provides incentives to 

encourage single-family housing on vacant and underutilized land and 

offers high density development standards: http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/

BUSINESS/infilpgm.html

•		 Portland, Oregon’s Infill Design website provides design strategies for 

integrating infill development into medium-density neighborhoods: http://

www.portlandonline.com/bps/index.cfm?c=34024

•		 Portland, Oregon’s Ecoroof Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Bonus allows 

developers to increase a building’s footprint or floor area by 

adding an ecoroof: http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.

cfm?a=236916&c=48725

•		 The Georgia Quality Growth Partnership’s Infill Development Program 

outlines a comprehensive infill strategy that includes incentives, 

improvements to public facilities, streamlined regulations, and guidelines 

for the design, density, and location of infill projects: http://www.

georgiaqualitygrowth.com/ToolDetail.asp?GetTool=32

•		 Santa Cruz, California’s Accessory Dwelling Unit Development Program 

encourages well-designed rental housing in the developed core of the City 

while being careful to discourage poorly-constructed illegal residential 

additions: http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/pl/hcd/ADU/adu.html

•		 Clark County, Washington’s Infill Development Incentives include a waiver 

of all stormwater requirements for infill projects that create less than 5,000 

square feet of new impervious surface: http://www.clark.wa.gov/commdev/

documents/devservices/handouts/46-infill.pdf

•		 San Diego, California offers expedited permitting for eligible affordable/ 

infill housing projects: http://www.sandiego.gov/development-services/

industry/pdf/infobulletin/ib538.pdf

Section 2: Promote efficient, compact development Patterns and Infill 28 
 

3.A Street Design 

QueSTION: Do local street design standards and engineering practices encourage streets to be no wider than necessary to move traffic effectively? 3.A.1 

Do street designs vary according to: 

· street type (arterial streets, collector streets, neighborhood streets) and 

· urban context (urban core, transit station area, suburban center, general suburban, rural)? 

Do policies allow narrow neighborhood streets designed to slow traffic and create safer conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists? 

GOal: Appropriate street widths allow narrower lanes for certain street types, thereby reducing overall imperviousness. 

Why: The width of travel lanes, parking lanes and sidewalks should be tailored to the urban setting. Where appropriate, narrowing travel lane width to 10-11 feet, rather than the standard 12-13 feet, 

can significantly reduce the total amount of impervious surfaces. Such streets can also substantially improve conditions for walking, biking, and using transit, which reduces automobile use and 

overall demand for parking spaces. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Comprehensive plan/transportation plan emphasizes alternative modes of 1 

transportation (walking, biking, and transit) to reduce vehicle miles traveled 

and width and prominence of roads/streets. 

Comprehensive/transportation plan calls for distributing traffic across several 1 

parallel streets, reducing the need for high capacity streets with wide rightsof-way. 

Comprehensive/transportation planning process brings emergency response 1 

and other local government departments (e.g., public works, utilities) to the 

table early in the process to discuss street design. 

Adopt formal bicycle/pedestrian master plan. 1 

Create “safe routes to school” programs or other pedestrian/bike safety initiatives. 1 

Make consistent improvements to walking/biking conditions or develop a 1 

formal bicycle/pedestrian master plan. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Comprehensive plan endorses context-sensitive street design with narrower 1 

streets in appropriate locations. 

Improve pedestrian crossing at intersections to encourage walking. 1 

Consolidate utilities in street right-of-way to improve sidewalk design and function. 1 

 SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe

PaGe TOTal + caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe ______________ = ______________

3 Design Complete, Smart Streets That Reduce Overall Imperviousness 

Section 3: design complete, Smart Streets That Reduce Overall Imperviousness 29
 

 

 

 

 

Implementation Tools and Policies 

Pts. 

avail. 

Pts. 

Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

Negotiate with state department of transportation or county transportation 

department to allow different design standards for regional roads passing 

through downtowns or other key areas. 

1 

Promote street standards for fire safety that include attributes of narrow 

streets (20 feet widths) while identifying factors relevant to local government 

departments involved with streets such as public works, engineering, and utilities. 

2 

Take formal control of state or county roads within city boundaries to ensure 

power over design and operations. 

2 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Developments that provide comprehensive pedestrian/bicycle circulation 

systems allowed reducing number of vehicle parking spaces. (See parking 

section below for greater detail.) 

1 

Developments with approved comprehensive mobility/transportation plans 

allowed building narrower, less costly streets and alleys. 

1 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Revamp local government technical street specifications to allow contextsensitive, innovative street design with narrower travel lanes, without curb 

and gutter, etc., in appropriate circumstances (See Institute of Transportation 

Engineers Recommended Practice document below). 

2 

Emergency response professionals and other local government departments 

involved with streets (e.g. public works, engineering, utilities) have endorsed 

or adopted design standards for narrower neighborhood streets. 

1 

Development review process involves emergency response early on to reach 

consensus on appropriate project street design and access. 

1 

Development review process requires submittal of project pedestrian/bicycle 

circulation plans with safe street routes and other pedestrian/bicycle-friendly 

features in addition to traffic circulation plans for larger developments. 

1 

Apply formal connectivity index7 or other measures to ensure adequate 

internal street and pedestrian/bicycle connections. 

2 

Zoning/subdivision regulations require minimum number of connections 

between new project and surrounding developments and neighborhoods. 

2 

PaGe TOTal 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe 

+ ______________ 

 caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

= ______________ 

7	 Connectivity index refers to the directness of links and the density of connections in path or road network. A well-connected road or path network has many short links, numerous intersections, and minimal dead-ends (cul-de-sacs). As connectivity increases, travel 

distances decrease and route options increase, allowing more direct travel between destinations, and creating a more Accessible and Resilient system. Source: Online Travel Demand Management Encyclopedia, http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm116.htm

Section 3: design complete, Smart Streets That Reduce Overall Imperviousness 30 
QueSTION: Are shared driveways, reduced driveway widths, two-track driveways, and rear garages and alleys encouraged for all single-family developments? 3.A.2 

GOal: Encourage alternative forms and decreased dimensions of residential driveways and parking areas. 

Why: Off-street parking and driveways contribute significantly to the impervious areas on a residential lot. Reducing such dimensions can minimize the amount of stormwater runoff from a site. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Allow developments that utilize shared driveways and rear-loaded garages to 1 

permit overnight parking in driveways and on-street. 

Development code prohibits homeowner covenants forbidding overnight 1 

parking in driveways, on-street overnight parking, and shared driveways. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Allow developments with narrow driveways and rear-loaded garages to 1 

reduce number of parking spaces for guests. 

Zoning/subdivision regulations require minimum number of connections 1 

between new project and surrounding developments and neighborhoods. 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Shared driveways are permitted or required for single-family residential 1 

developments. 

Minimum widths for single-family driveways reduced to 9 feet. 1 

Two-track driveways are allowed by technical street/subdivision 1 

specifications. 

Single-family residential developments encouraged/required to be designed 1 to 

with minimum percentage of alley-accessible, rear-loading garages. 2 

· Alleys/garages encouraged = 1 points

· Alleys/garages required = 2 points

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ 

Section 3: design complete, Smart Streets That Reduce Overall Imperviousness 31 
3.B Green Infrastructure Elements and Street Design 

QueSTION: Are major street projects required to integrate green infrastructure practices as a standard part of construction, maintenance, and improvement plans? 3.B.1 

GOal: Formally integrate green infrastructure into standard roadway construction and retrofit practice. 

Why: Consistent projects to improve or repair streets provide opportunities to include green infrastructure retrofits as part of larger project budget, design, and construction. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Comprehensive/transportation plans promote green infrastructure practices in 1 

street design. 

Street project cost estimates include green infrastructure designs and assess 1 

cost savings from reduced hard infrastructure. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Technical street specifications allow/require integration of green 1 

infrastructure elements into street project construction. 

Allow street-side swales to replace conventional curb and gutter for 1 

managing stormwater and for separating sidewalks from street traffic in 

appropriate circumstances. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Undertake consistent effort to secure state and federal funds (e.g., 1 

transportation enhancements) to pay for green infrastructure elements. 

Streets with green infrastructure count towards stormwater requirements. 1 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Adopt green infrastructure retrofit standards for major street projects. 1 

Adopt technical specifications and design templates for green infrastructure 1 

in private and public rights-of-way. 

All local road projects required to allocate a minimum amount of the total 1 

project cost to green infrastructure elements. 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ 

Section 3: design complete, Smart Streets That Reduce Overall Imperviousness 32 
3.B.2 QueSTION: Do regulations and policies promote use of pervious materials for all paving areas, including alleys, streets, sidewalks, crosswalks, driveways, and parking lots? 

GOal: Build and retrofit these surfaces with pervious materials to reduce stormwater runoff and its negative impacts. 

NOTe: While eliminating sidewalks or placing sidewalks on only one side of the road can reduce impervious cover, this strategy is typically most appropriate for rural areas. However, other 

effective strategies can achieve the same runoff reductions that will not limit residents’ options for recreation and transportation. 

Why: Streets, sidewalks, and other hard surfaces contribute a large portion to a municipality’s total imperviousness. Making these impervious surfaces more permeable protects water quality, reduces 

flooding, and can recharge groundwater. 

Implementation Tools and Policies 

Pts. 

avail. 

Pts. 

Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Sponsor/approve pilot programs to determine appropriate pervious materials 

for different paving areas (e.g., permeable concrete for sidewalks, permeable 

pavers for driveways), as well as process for installation and maintenance. 

1 

Pilot project results incorporated into standard practice for all new paved 

areas and retrofits of existing paved surfaces. 

1 

Adopt policy to replace impervious materials with pervious materials where 

practical. 

1 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Technical street specifications allow pervious paving materials in appropriate 

circumstances (e.g., not allowed over aquifer recharge areas). 

1 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Create formal program offering incentives (e.g., cost sharing, reduction in 

street widths/parking requirements, assistance with maintenance) to property 

owners who utilize pervious pavement elements. 

1 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Adopt requirement that some percentage of parking lots, alleys, or roads in a 

development utilize pervious materials. 

1 

Development approvals that allow/require use of pervious materials include 

requirements for continuing maintenance/cleaning of pervious surfaces. 

1 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe 

 Total score for SeCTION 3: deSIGN 

COMPLeTe, SMART STReeTS THAT RedUCe 

OveRALL IMPeRvIOUSNeSS 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ (TOTal POINTS avaIlaBle: 50) 

 

This section has been reviewed and scored by 	 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Department name __________________________________________ Signee ____________________________________________________ 

Section 3: design complete, Smart Streets That Reduce Overall Imperviousness 33 
Resources 	 Case Studies 

•		 Context Sensitive Solutions in Designing Major Urban Thoroughfares for 

Walkable Communities, Institute of Transportation Engineers: http://www.

ite.org/css/ (Ch. 6, pages. 65-87) 

•		 “Neighborhood Street Design Guidelines: An Oregon Guide for Reducing 

Street Widths,” Oregon Department of Transportation and Department of 

Land Conservation and Development: http://www.oregon.gov/LCD/docs/

publications/neighstreet.pdf

•		 University of California, Davis Sustainable Transportation Center 

Sustainable Streets Project: http://stc.ucdavis.edu/outreach/ssp.php

•		 New York High Performance Infrastructure Guidelines: http://www.

designtrust.org/pubs/05_HPIG.pdf

•		 Stormwater Guidelines for Green, Dense Redevelopment: Stormwater 

Quality Solutions for the City of Emeryville: http://www.ci.emeryville.

ca.us/planning/pdf/stormwater_guidelines.pdf

• “Sustainable Green Streets and Parking Lots Design Guidebook,” San 

Mateo County, California Water Pollution Prevention Program: http://www.

flowstobay.org/ms_sustainable_streets.php

•		 Green Streets: Innovative Solutions for Stormwater and Stream Crossings, 

Portland Metro: http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/

id=26335

•		 Green Highways Partnership between U.S. EPA, U.S. Federal Highway 

Administration and Maryland State Highway Administration: http://www.

greenhighways.org/

•		 Protecting Water Quality with Smart Growth Strategies and Natural 

Stormwater Management in Sussex County, Delaware: http://www.epa.

gov/smartgrowth/pdf/2009_0106_sussex_county.pdf

•		 Promoting Sustainable Transportation Through Site Design: An Institute of 

Transportation Engineers Proposed Recommended Practice: http://www.

cite7.org/Technical_Projects/Final%20Proposed%20Recommended%20

Practice%20RP-035.pdf

•		 Transportation is about Places, Project for Public Spaces: http://www.pps.

org/transportation/

•		 The Road Ecology Center at the University of California, Davis conducts 

research and develops policies to design transportation systems that 

minimize the impacts of roads on landscapes and communities: http://

roadecology.ucdavis.edu/

•		 Houston, Texas’s Urban Corridor Planning changes development 

regulations and infrastructure standards to support transit ridership and 

walkability in key corridors: http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/Urban/

urban_cor.html

•		 San Francisco, California’s Better Streets Plan created a common set of 

standards and guidelines for designing, building and maintaining more 

pedestrian friendly sidewalks, crosswalks, and roadways, including 

extensive greening: http://www.sfbetterstreets.org

•		 Portland, Oregon’s Green Streets Program includes design specifications 

for swales, planters and curb extensions, creative funding for projects that 

treat runoff from public rights-of-way, case studies, tours, and videos of 

public and private green street projects: http://www.portlandonline.com/

BES/index.cfm?c=44407

•		 Seattle, Washington’s Right-of-Way Improvements Manual outlines the 

requirements and permitting process for right-of-way improvements, as 

well as provides specific design criteria and model templates for submitting 

street design concepts: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/rowmanual/

•		 Florida Department of Transportation developed Model Regulations and 

Plan Amendments for Multimodal Transportation Districts, including 

regulation changes related to traffic calming, parking, sidewalks and 

pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and incentives for developments located 

in multimodal transportation districts: http://www.dot.state.fl.us/planning/

systems/sm/los/pdfs/MMTDregs.pdf

•		 New York Department of Transportation’s Sustainable Streets Strategic 

Plan includes an initiative to retrofit underused roads into public plazas, 

streamlining design review for capital projects, and goals to connect tree 

pits for better surface drainage, among other stormwater management 

improvements: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/about/stratplan.shtml

•		 Chicago, Illinois’s Green Alley Program retrofits existing alleys with 

permeable pavement for better stormwater management, localized flood 

mitigation, heat reduction, material recycling, and energy conservation: 

http://egov.cityofchicago.org/webportal/COCWebPortal/COC_

EDITORIAL/GreenAlleyHandbook.pdf

Section 3: design complete, Smart Streets That Reduce Overall Imperviousness 34 
•		 North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources offers 

guidance to developers on eliminating curbs and gutters, including siting 

and design considerations, maintenance concerns, effectiveness and cost 

considerations: http://www.p2pays.org/ref/41/40403.pdf

•		 New York City requires street trees for every 25 feet of street frontage of 

a zoning lot: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/street_tree_planting/tree_

adopted_cc_043008.pdf, page 8. 

•		 Seattle Public Utilities’ Natural Drainage System projects redesign 

residential streets to include vegetated drainage systems that use swales, 

wetlands, trees and other natural features to treat pollutants and minimize 

the speed and volume of road runoff: http://www.seattle.gov/util/About_

SPU/Drainage_&_Sewer_System/Natural_Drainage_Systems/

Section 3: design complete, Smart Streets That Reduce Overall Imperviousness 35 
 

4.A Reduced Parking Requirements 

QueSTION: Does your local government provide flexibility regarding alternative parking requirements (e.g., shared parking, off-site parking) and discourage over-parking of developments? 4.A.1 

Do parking requirements vary by zone to reflect places where more trips are on foot or by transit? 

GOal: Match parking requirements to the level of demand and allow flexible arrangements to meet parking standards. 

Why: Inflexible parking requirements that do not allow for alternative approaches, as well as standards that require too much parking for specific uses increase the amount of impervious surface in a 

development. Over-parking a development also encourages greater vehicle use and detracts from the overall pedestrian environment. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

The comprehensive plan recognizes the advantages to reduced parking 1 

requirements generally and specifically for mixed-use and transit-oriented 

developments. 

The comprehensive plan recommends alternative, flexible approaches to 1 

meeting parking demands (e.g., shared parking, counting on-street spaces 

towards site parking requirements). 

Comprehensive/bicycle plans recommend provision of bicycle parking 1 

spaces/storage lockers and concomitant reduction in vehicle parking space 

requirements. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Allow flexibility in meeting parking space requirements through shared 1 

parking, off-site parking, and similar approaches. 

Permit businesses with different peak demand periods to share their required 1 

parking spaces. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Permit reduction in vehicle parking spaces through the provision of a minimum 1 

number of bicycle parking spaces. 

Allow by-right reduction in required parking spaces (e.g., 25%) in mixed-use 1 

and transit-oriented developments and districts. 

Permit developers to undertake parking studies to establish that specific 1 

developments (e.g., senior housing, affordable housing) require fewer parking 

spaces than typical projects. 

 SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe

PaGe TOTal + ______________  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe = ______________

4 Encourage Efficient Parking 

Section 4: encourage efficient Parking 36
 
 

 

 

 

Implementation Tools and Policies 

Pts. 

avail. 

Pts. 

Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

Create parking districts to finance/construct centralized parking lots/ 

structures as shared parking facilities to reduce on-site parking. 

1 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Revise parking regulations to reduce minimums below standard ITE (Institute 

of Transportation Engineers) requirements based on analysis of local 

developments and actual parking demand/experience. 

2 

Charge developers for every space beyond parking minimums to offset 

environmental impacts. 

1 

Enact parking standards that allow credit for adjacent on-street parking. 1 

Create zones with reduced parking requirements (e.g., transit overlay districts, 

mixed-use activity centers, multi-modal districts). 

1 

Waive all parking minimums in downtown and other locations that are 

pedestrian-oriented and/or have good transit access. 

1 

Adopt parking standards that reduce requirements based on sliding scale tied 

to degree of walkability/transit access locations (20% reduction in areas well 

served by bus, 30% reduction in areas served by rail stations). 

1 

Require shared parking agreements where appropriate complementary uses 

exist. 

1 

Adopt maximum parking caps (e.g., 125% above minimum) for multi-family 

and commercial developments. 

2 

Reduce minimum parking space size based on analysis of average vehicle size 

in jurisdiction. 

1 

PaGe TOTal 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe 

+ ______________ 

 caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

= ______________ 

Section 4: encourage efficient Parking 37 
4.B Transportation Demand Management Alternatives 

QueSTION: Can developers use alternative measures such as transportation demand management or in-lieu payments to reduce required parking? 4.B.1 

GOal: Provide flexibility to reduce parking in exchange for specific actions that reduce parking demands on site. 

Why: Incentives such as transit passes, vanpool arrangements, flexible work schedules, market-priced facilities, and separate leasing for spaces in apartments and condominiums have quantifiable 

impacts on parking demand. Incorporating them into parking requirements creates the opportunity to meet demand with less impervious cover. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Comprehensive/transportation plans recognize transportation demand 1 

management as an approach to reducing vehicle miles traveled and parking 

requirements. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Rather than include parking spaces with an apartment lease, allow tenants to 1 

opt-out by treating parking as a separate optional lease agreement. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Allow businesses that offer employee transit passes, provide vans for 2 

employee commuting, allow flexible working arrangements, or charge market 

rates for parking to 1) provide fewer parking spaces or 2) pay less into a 

parking district fund for required parking spaces. 

Allow developers to make in-lieu fee payments for parking. Fees utilized by 1 

local government/parking authority to provide off-site parking lots/structures. 

Provide mechanisms for car sharing in transit-oriented development. Where 1 

done, area parking requirements are reduced. 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Create a parking district and allow/require businesses to support public 1 

garages rather than provide their own on-site parking. 

Require large developments to adopt transportation demand management 1 

techniques to lower vehicle use and parking demand. 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ 

Section 4: encourage efficient Parking 38
 
4.C Minimize Stormwater From Parking Lots 

QueSTION: Are there requirements for landscaping designed to minimize stormwater in parking lots? 4.C.1 

GOal: Require substantial landscaping to help reduce runoff. 

Why: Parking lots generate a large amount of impervious cover. Requiring landscaping reduces the environmental impact of parking and can provide additional community benefits by providing shade 

and, if appropriately placed, creating natural barriers between pedestrians and cars. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Comprehensive plan calls for landscaping in parking lots to help reduce 1 

stormwater runoff. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Allow alternative or innovative landscaping solutions that provide stormwater 1 

management functions to count towards perimeter or other landscaping 

requirements. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Parking lot landscaping and green roofs on parking structures credited 1 

towards meeting local stormwater management requirements. 

Give additional landscaping credit for preservation of large, mature trees 1 

within parking lots. 

Do not count parking structures with green roofs against the allowable floor 1 

area ratio of a site. 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Adopt parking lot landscape regulations that require provision of trees, 1 

minimum percent of parking lot interior area to be landscaped (e.g., 10%), and 

minimum sized landscaping areas (e.g., minimum of 25 square feet for island 

planting areas). 

In parking lot landscaping regulations, specify the types and sizes of shrubs 1 

and trees most appropriate for controlling/reducing stormwater runoff. 

Adopt standards requiring a minimum area of the parking lot to drain into 1 

landscaped areas. 

Require the management of runoff from parking lots through green 1 

infrastructure practices, including trees, vegetated islands, swales, rain 

gardens, or other approaches. 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ 

Section 4: encourage efficient Parking 39
 
 

 

 

 

 

Implementation Tools and Policies 

Pts. 

avail. 

Pts. 

Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

Enact specific alternative landscaping and parking regulations to support infill 

development (parking requirements, parking lot landscaping options that focus 

on perimeter landscaping to encourage smaller lots, etc.). 

2 

Require parking structures to incorporate green roofs to reduce stormwater 

runoff. 

1 

Reduce drive aisle widths in parking lots to decrease the amount of pervious 

surface. For multi-family developments, drive aisles can be shared. In 

commercial developments, typical drive aisles can be reduced 5–10%. 

1 

PaGe TOTal 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe 

+ ______________ 

 Total score for SeCTION 4: eNCOURAGe 

effICIeNT PARkING 

= ______________ (TOTal POINTS avaIlaBle: 41) 

This section has been reviewed and scored by ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Department name __________________________________________ Signee ____________________________________________________ 

Section 4: encourage efficient Parking 40 
Resources 

•		 “Parking Spaces/Community Places: Finding the Balance through 

Smart Growth Solutions” (pg. 14, 18-19, 21), U.S. EPA Development, 

Community and Environment Division: http://www.epa.gov/piedpage/pdf/

EPAParkingSpaces06.pdf

•		 “Shared Parking, Second Edition,” Urban Land Institute: www.uli.org/

bookstore/

•		 “Developing Parking Policies to Support Smart Growth in Local 

Jurisdictions: Best Practices,” Metropolitan Transportation Commission: 

http://www.mtc.ca.gov/planning/smart_growth/parking_study/April07/

bestpractice_042307.pdf

•		 “Driving Urban Environments: Smart Growth Parking Best Practices,” 

Maryland Governor’s Office of Smart Growth: http://www.smartgrowth.

state.md.us/pdf/Final%20Parking%20Paper.pdf

•		 “Design Principles for Parking Lots,” Tennessee Valley Authority 

Economic Development: http://www.tvaed.com/sustainable/parking.htm

•		 Efficient Parking Strategies, Centralina Council of Governments and 

Catawba Regional Council of Governments: http://www.epa.gov/region4/

airqualitytoolkit/9_CaseStudies/SEQL%20-%20Efficient%20Parking%20

Strategies.pdf

•		 “Parking Management: Strategies, Evaluation and Planning,” Victoria 

Transport Policy Institute: http://www.vtpi.org/park_man.pdf

•		 “Smart Growth Alternatives to Minimum Parking Requirements,” 

Proceedings from the 2nd Urban Street Symposium, July 28-30, 2003: 

http://transtoolkit.mapc.org/Parking/Referenced_pdfs/Forinash_
 

SmartGrowthParkingAlternatives.pdf
 

•		 “Flexible Parking Standards,” Georgia Quality Growth Partnership: http://

www.dca.state.ga.us/toolkit/ToolDetail.asp?GetTool=17

•		 “Multifunctional Landscaping: Putting Your Parking Lot Design 

Requirements to Work for Water Quality,” University of Illinois Extension: 

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/lcr/LGIEN2002-0017.html

•		 “Low-Impact Parking Lot Design Reduces Runoff and Pollutant Loads,” 

Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 2001: http://cedb.

asce.org/cgi/WWWdisplay.cgi?0101775

•		 “Managing Stormwater for Urban Sustainability Using Trees and 

Structural Soils,” Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: 

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/urbanforestry/stormwater/Resources/
 

TreesAndStructuralSoilsManual.pdf
 

Case Studies 

•		 San Mateo County, California’s “Sustainable Green Streets and Parking 

Lots Design Guidebook” provides policy guidance and design and 

construction details, including site layout strategies, green infrastructure 

design guidelines and case studies for both streets and parking lots: http://

www.flowstobay.org/ms_sustainable_streets.php

•		 Minneapolis, Minnesota’s zoning code includes regulations to support 

pedestrian-oriented off-street parking, including parking maximums, shared 

parking allowances, pedestrian-overlay districts with reduced parking 

requirements, replacing off-street parking spaces with bicycle racks, and 

more: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/lrtrezoning/tod-haiwatha-09.asp

•		 Boston Metropolitan Area Planning Council gives detailed guidance for 

reducing parking demand and developing parking requirements based 

on local factors such as access to transit, expected demographics, auto 

ownership rates and access to destinations and transit service: http://

transtoolkit.mapc.org/Parking/Strategies/flexiblerequirements.htm

•		 San Diego, California’s Community Parking District Program helps older 

commercial districts collect revenue and implement parking plans to 

construct public parking facilities, make public transit enhancements, and 

maximize off-street parking inventory: http://www.sandiego.gov/economicdevelopment/business-assistance/small-business/pmd.shtml

•		 Placer County, California enacted an In-Lieu Parking Fee that allows 

developments within specific parking districts to pay a fee in lieu of 

complying with off-street parking standards. The collected fees are then 

used to construct new public parking spaces within the same parking 

district: http://www.placer.ca.gov/Departments/Works/TahPkngStudy/

DraftParkingFeeOrdinance.aspx

•		 Minnesota’s Urban Small Sites Best Management Practice Manual provides 

drawings, design guidelines and plant lists for impervious surface reduction 

in parking lot design: http://km.fao.org/uploads/media/Impervious_

surface_reduction_parking_lot_desing.pdf

•		 The retrofit of Our Lady Gate of Heaven Parish parking lot in Chicago, 

Illinois included a large swale that absorbs 100,000 gallons of runoff 

per year, reducing flooding in the parking lot and in nearby streets and 

properties. This U.S. EPA-funded project continues to be monitored for 

Section 4: encourage efficient Parking 41 
performance data: http://www.cnt.org/natural-resources/demonstrationprojects/olgh-case-study

•		 The Florida Aquarium Parking Lot and Queuing Garden in Tampa, Florida 

maximizes existing site vegetation for stormwater management and 

provides education to Aquarium visitors. This website includes construction 

cost information, lessons learned, monitoring results and maintenance 

protocols: http://www.sustainablesites.org/cases/show.php?id=16

•		 Several parking lot demonstration sites in Blacksburg, VA, Ithaca, NY 

and Davis, CA provide details about newly constructed parking lots and 

retrofitted lots that include trees, structural soils and pervious pavements for 

managing stormwater: http://www.cnr.vt.edu/urbanforestry/stormwater/

DemonstrationSites.html

Section 4: encourage efficient Parking 42 
 

5.A Green Infrastructure Practices 

QueSTION: Are green infrastructure practices encouraged as legal and preferred for managing stormwater runoff? 5.A.1 

GOal: Make all types of green infrastructure allowed and legal and remove all impediments to using green infrastructure (including for stormwater requirements), such as limits on infiltration in rights-ofway, permit challenges for green roofs, safety issues with permeable pavements, restrictions on the use of cisterns and rain barrels, and other such unnecessary barriers. 

Why: Green infrastructure approaches are more effective and cost efficient than conventional stormwater management practices in many instances, and provide other substantial community benefits. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Inform the public, through education and outreach programs, that green 1 

infrastructure practices can manage stormwater runoff on their property. 

Create a green infrastructure workshop or training program for internal and 1 

external reviewers to ensure that the stakeholders who use this tool will have 

the ability to understand and use it effectively. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Development and other codes encourage and allow property owners to adopt 1 

home-based green infrastructure practices, such as rain gardens, rain barrels, 

and other rainwater harvesting practices. 

Review and change, where necessary, building codes or other local 1 

regulations to ensure that all local government departments/agencies 

have coordinated with one another to ensure that green infrastructure 

implementation is legal, e.g. remove restrictions on downspout disconnection. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Credit green infrastructure practices towards required controls for stormwater 1 

runoff. 

Establish a “Green Tape” expedited review program for applications that 1 

include green infrastructure practices. 

Reduce stormwater utility rates based on the use of green infrastructure 1 

practices. 

 SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe

PaGe TOTal + ______________  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe = ______________

5 Adopt Green Infrastructure Stormwater Management Provisions 

Section 5: adopt Green Infrastructure Stormwater management Provisions 43
 
 

 

 

 

Implementation Tools and Policies 

Pts. 

avail. 

Pts. 

Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Zoning and subdivision regulations specifically permit green infrastructure 

facilities, including but not limited to: (1 point for each technique to a 

maximum of 4 points) 

· Green roofs; 

· Infiltration approaches, such as rain gardens, curb extensions, planter

gardens, permeable and porous pavements, and other designs where the 

intent is to capture and manage stormwater using soils and plants; 

· Water harvesting devices, such as rain barrels and cisterns; and 

· Downspout disconnection. 

1 to 

4 

Developers are required to meet stormwater requirements using green 1 to 

infrastructure practices where site conditions allow. Developers must 

provide documentation for sites that do not allow on-site infiltration, reuse, 

or evapotranspiration to meet locally determined performance stormwater 

management standards. 

2 

PaGe TOTal 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe 

+ ______________ 

 caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

= ______________ 

Section 5: adopt Green Infrastructure Stormwater management Provisions 44 
QueSTION: Do stormwater management plan reviews take place early in the development review process? 5.A.2 

GOal: Incorporate stormwater plan comments and review into the early stages of development review/site plan review and approval, preferably at pre-application meetings with developers. 

Why: Pre-site plan review is an effective tool for discussing with developers alternative approaches for meeting stormwater requirements. This will incorporate green infrastructure techniques into new 

projects at early design stages, well before construction begins. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Encourage/require a pre-site plan meeting with developers to discuss 1 to 

stormwater management and green infrastructure approaches. 2 

· Voluntary = 1 point 

· Mandatory = 2 points

Include landscape architects in design and review of stormwater management 1 

plans. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Provide accelerated review of projects where developer attended a pre- 1 

application meeting. 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Preliminary stormwater plan review occurs contemporaneously with 1 

preliminary site plan review and before any development approvals. 

Development applications must include preliminary/conceptual stormwater 1 

management plans that incorporate green infrastructure elements and 

describe how stormwater management standards will be met. 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ 

Section 5: adopt Green Infrastructure Stormwater management Provisions 45 
QueSTION: Do local building and plumbing codes allow harvested rainwater for exterior uses, such as irrigation, and non-potable interior uses, such as toilet flushing? 5.A.3 

GOal: Ensure that the municipality allows and encourages stormwater reuse for non-potable uses. 

Why: Stormwater reuse is important for dense, urban areas with limited spaces for vegetated green infrastructure practices. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Local government provides information brochures/manual for homeowners 1 

describing acceptable rainwater harvesting techniques. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Local development, building, and plumbing codes updated to allow reuse of 1 

stormwater for non-potable purposes. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Reduce stormwater management facility requirements for developments 1 

employing comprehensive rainwater harvesting. 

Reduce stormwater utility rates based on the use of harvest and reuse 1 

techniques. 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Require developments to adopt rainwater harvesting techniques as elements 1 

of stormwater management plans. 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ 

Section 5: adopt Green Infrastructure Stormwater management Provisions 46 
QueSTION: Are provisions available to meet stormwater requirements in other ways, such as off-site management within the same sewershed or “payment in lieu” of programs, to the extent that on-site 5.A.4 

alternatives are not technically feasible? 

GOal: Allow off-site management of runoff while still holding developers responsible for meeting stormwater management goals. 

Why: In some cases, it is impracticable or infeasible to treat all or even some of the stormwater runoff on site. In such instances, alternative means should be provided through contribution to off-site 

mitigation projects or off-site stormwater management facilities (preferably green infrastructure facilities). 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

For infill and redevelopment areas, off-site green stormwater management 2 

plans should be developed in cooperation between local government and 

landowners/developers. Allowing off-site management of stormwater runoff 

requires sewershed designation within the local government to ensure that 

true mitigation is possible and realize the equal stormwater management and 

water quality benefits through off-site management. 

Retrofit projects that will utilize green infrastructure stormwater management 1 

techniques should be identified and prioritized within the sewershed. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Amend stormwater management regulations and development codes as 1 

necessary to allow off-site stormwater management, especially for infill and 

redevelopment areas. 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Establish system that allows/requires payment-in-lieu fees for off-site 1 

stormwater management facilities. Fees should be set sufficiently high as to 

cover the true cost of off-site management. Consider limitations on amount of 

off-site management allowed (more for infill areas, less for greenfield sites). 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ 

Section 5: adopt Green Infrastructure Stormwater management Provisions 47 
5.B Maintenance/Enforcement 

QueSTION: Does your stormwater ordinance include monitoring, tracking, and maintenance requirements for stormwater management practices? 5.B.1 

GOal: Incorporate monitoring, tracking, and maintenance requirements for stormwater management practices into your municipal stormwater ordinance. 

Why: These measures will help ensure that the successful tracking and monitoring of green infrastructure practices remain in proper working condition to provide the performance required by the 

stormwater ordinance. 

Pts. Pts. 

Implementation Tools and Policies avail. Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

adOPT PlaNS/educaTe: 

Develop a system to monitor and track stormwater management practices 1 

deployed at greenfield and redevelopment sites. Tracking of management 

practices should begin during the plan review and approval process with 

a database or geographic information system (GIS). The database should 

include both public and private projects. 

Provide model checklist for maintenance protocols for ease of inspection, 1 

tracking, and enforcement. 

Sponsor demonstration projects for green infrastructure management best 1 

practices. 

RemOve BaRRIeRS: 

Ensure that proper local agencies have authority to enforce maintenance 1 

requirements. 

adOPT INceNTIveS: 

Create self-inspection maintenance certification program that allows 1 

developers/landowners to train/retain private inspectors to certify compliance 

with stormwater management plans and long-term maintenance. 

eNacT ReGulaTIONS: 

Require long-term maintenance agreements that allow for public inspections 1 

of the management practices and account for transfer of responsibility in 

leases and/or deed transfers. 

Conduct inspections every 3 to 5 years, prioritizing properties that pose the 1 

highest risk to water quality, inspecting at least 20% of approved facilities 

annually. 

Develop a plan approval and post-construction verification process to ensure 1 

compliance with stormwater standards, including enforceable procedures for 

bringing noncompliant projects into compliance. 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe  caRRy ThIS SuBTOTal TO NexT PaGe 

PaGe TOTal + ______________ = ______________ 

Section 5: adopt Green Infrastructure Stormwater management Provisions 48 
 

 

 

 

 

Implementation Tools and Policies 

Pts. 

avail. 

Pts. 

Rec. or N/a Notes and local References 

Inspections of construction sites occur at for at least 25% of permitted 

projects to ensure proper installation of approved practices. 

1 

Require conservation/green infrastructure bond/escrow in zoning/subdivision 

ordinances to ensure installation/maintenance of green infrastructure storm 

water management facilities. 

1 

PaGe TOTal 

SuBTOTal fROm PRevIOuS PaGe 

+ ______________ 

 Total score for SeCTION 5: GReeN 

INfRASTRUCTURe STORMWATeR 

MANAGeMeNT PROvISIONS 

= ______________ (TOTal POINTS avaIlaBle: 39) 

This section has been reviewed and scored by ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Department name __________________________________________ Signee ____________________________________________________ 

Section 5: adopt Green Infrastructure Stormwater management Provisions 49 
Resources	 Case Studies 

•		 Green Infrastructure Municipal Handbook, U.S. EPA Green Infrastructure 

website: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/greeninfrastructure/munichandbook.

cfm

•		 A Catalyst for Community Land Use Change , National NEMO Network 

2008 Progress Report with local regulations for water quality protection: 

http://nemonet.uconn.edu/about_network/publications/2008_report.htm

•		 Public Entity Environmental Management System Resource Center: http://

peercenter.net/

•		 Environmental Management System, U.S. EPA: http://epa.gov/ems/

•		 “The Economics of Low-Impact Development: A Literature Review,” 

EcoNorthwest: http://www.econw.com/reports/ECONorthwest_LowImpact-Development-Economics-Literature-Review.pdf

•		 “Reducing Stormwater Costs through Low Impact Development (LID) 

Strategies and Practices,” U.S. EPA Office of Water: http://www.epa.gov/

owow/nps/lid/costs07/

•		 New York City’s PlaNYC for Water: http://www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030/

html/plan/water.shtml

•		 Puget Sound Partnership Low Impact Development Local Regulation 

Assistance Project: http://www.psparchives.com/our_work/stormwater/lid/

lid_regs.htm

•		 Massachusetts Low Impact Development Toolkit: http://www.mapc.org/

regional_planning/LID/PDFs/LID%20Local%20Codes%20Checklist.pdf

•		 Plan Review checklist and flow chart, Office of Watersheds, Philadelphia 

Water Department: http://www.phillyriverinfo.org/WICLibrary/

DevelopmentProcess_Final.pdf

•		 General Factors that Influence the Selection of Stormwater Management 

Facilities, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services: http://www.

portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=129055

•		 Operations and Maintenance of Treatment Best Management Practices, 

Santa Clara Valley Urban Pollution Prevention Program: http://www.

scvurppp-w2k.com/om_workproduct_links.htm

•		 Stormwater Center Maintenance Agreements Guidance and Case Studies: 

http://www.stormwatercenter.net/Manual_Builder/Maintenance_

Manual/4Maintenance_Agreements/Maintenance%20Agreements%20

Introduction.htm

•		 Alachua County, Florida’s stormwater regulation requires that developers 

reduce impervious surfaces via vertical construction and alternative 

parking surfaces and use site contours and minimize disturbance to existing 

natural features: http://growth-management.alachua.fl.us/compplanning/

amended_docs/ORDstormCPA-06-01final.pdf

•		 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s stormwater regulation requires that projects 

infiltrate/manage the first 1” of rainfall from all directly connected 

impervious surfaces and exempts redevelopment projects from flood 

control and channel protection requirements: http://www.phillyriverinfo.

org/Programs/SubprogramMain.aspx?Id=Regulations

•		 Portland, Oregon’s stormwater requirement uses a mandatory hierarchy that 

requires on-site infiltration with surface vegetation above all other practices 

http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=35122 (Chapter 1, page 

1-18) 

•		 Emeryville, California’s stormwater guidelines for dense green 

redevelopment provide guidance on using green infrastructure in high 

density, infill sites: http://ca-emeryville.civicplus.com/DocumentView.

asp?DID=144

•		 Portland, Oregon’s Ecoroof Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Bonus allows 

developers to increase a building’s footprint or floor area for projects 

that include an ecoroof: http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.

cfm?a=236916&c=48725

•		 Chicago Department of Construction and Permits has a Green Permit 

Program that offers expedited permits and waived permit review fees 

for projects that meet a series of green building requirements, including 

exceptional water management and green roof criteria: http://egov.

cityofchicago.org/webportal/COCWebPortal/COC_EDITORIAL/

GreenPermitBrochure1.pdf

•		 Tucson, Arizona’s Water Harvesting Guidance Manual describes how 

the City’s code requirements for water harvesting help to meet several 

other local codes, such as for landscaping, floodplain and erosion hazard 

management, and stormwater management: http://dot.tucsonaz.gov/

stormwater/education/waterharvest.php (page 26) 

•		 San Francisco, California’s Public Utilities, Department of Building 

Inspection and Department of Public Health partnered to allow the use of 

rainwater for irrigation and toilet flushing without requiring treatment to 

potable standards: http://sfwater.org/mto_main.cfm/MC_ID/14/MSC_

ID/361/MTO_ID/559

Section 5: adopt Green Infrastructure Stormwater management Provisions 50 
•		 Seattle, Washington’s Green Factor is an amended landscape requirement 

that property owners meet via a scoring system that encourages green 

features such as large plants, permeable pavement, green roofs, vegetated 

walls and tree preservation: http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/permits/

greenfactor/Overview/

•		 San Jose, California’s stormwater regulation requires that projects with 

10,000 square feet or more of impervious surface area use landscape-based 

treatment and trees to meet quantity and quality standards: http://www.

sanjoseca.gov/planning/stormwater/Policy_6-29_Memo_Revisions.pdf

•		 Santa Monica, California’s stormwater code requires that new development 

projects maximize permeable areas, maximize runoff to permeable areas, 

reuse stormwater, and reduce parking lot pollution: http://www.smgov.

net/uploadedFiles/Departments/OSE/Categories/Urban_Runoff/UR_

Brochure.pdf

•		 Chicago, Illinois’s stormwater regulation requires that new developments 

manage 0.5” runoff from all impervious surfaces or reduce imperviousness 

by 15%: http://egov.cityofchicago.org/webportal/COCWebPortal/COC_

EDITORIAL/StormwaterManagementOrdinance1206.pdf

•		 Lenexa, Kansas’s stormwater regulation requires new developments to 

manage 1.37” for water quality using a natural system treatment train 

approach and also charges a fee for water quantity management which 

pays for watershed-scale public projects managed by the City: http://www.

ci.lenexa.ks.us/LenexaCode/viewXRef.asp?Index=2927

•		 Fauquier County, Virginia’s stormwater maintenance agreements 

state that if maintenance is neglected the County has the authority to 

perform the work and recover costs from the property owner: http://

www.fauquiercounty.gov/documents/departments/commdev/pdf/

SWMOrdinance.pdf (pages 12-13) 

•		 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s Stormwater Management Guidance 

Manual provides maintenance guidelines and schedules for a range of 

green infrastructure practices, from green roofs to pervious pavements 

and subsurface infiltration: http://www.phillyriverinfo.org/Programs/

SubprogramMain.aspx?Id=StormwaterManual

Section 5: adopt Green Infrastructure Stormwater management Provisions 51 
Acknowledgments
 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Development, Community and Environment Division (EPA’s Smart Growth Program) prepared this scorecard in cooperation 

with the Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds. 

PrinciPal authorS: 

Abby Hall and Lynn Richards 

contributorS and reviewerS: 

U.S. EPA Development, Community and Environment Division

• Matthew Dalbey 

• Lynn Desautels 

• Kevin Nelson 

• Megan Susman 

• John Thomas 

• Clark Wilson 

U.S. EPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds

• Rebecca Dils 

• Robert Goo 

• Lisa Hair 

• Dov Weitman 

U.S. EPA Office of Wastewater Management

• Jennifer Molloy 

U.S. EPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water

• Sylvia Malm 

U.S. EPA Regions

•		 Paula Estornell 

•		 Gregory Voigt 

External Reviewers

•		 Glen Abrams , Philadelphia Water Department 

•		 Michael Beezhold, Watershed Manager, Lenexa, Kansas 

•		 Michael Berkshire, Chicago Department of Planning and Development 

•		 Stephen Hofstetter, Environmental Protection Department, Alachua County, 

Florida 

•		 Jessica Cogan Millman, Executive Director, National Association of Local 

Government Environmental Professionals 

•		 Chris Duerksen, Clarion Associates 

•		 Frank Gray, Director of Community and Economic Development, Salt Lake 

City, Utah 

•		 Greg McPherson, USDA Forest Service 

•		 Lisa Nisenson, Nisenson Consulting 

•		 Jeffrey Seltzer, District of Columbia Department of Transportation 

•		 Nancy Stoner, Natural Resources Defense Council Clean Water Program 

acknowledgments 52 

Office of Research and Development (8101R) 

1301 Constitution Ave. NW 

Room 1408 

Washington, DC 20004 

EPA 231B09001 

October 2009 

http://www.epa.gov