Main Street Now Magazine

Green Revolution in

Franklin, Tennessee

14

Shop Talk Sustainable Downtown Development in

Gerorgetown, Texas

20

Main Street Green Summit

18 24

INCORPORATING SUSTAINABILITYInto Downtown Master Plans and Codes

By Nick Kalogeresis, AICP

MAINSTREETNOWThe Journal of The National Trust Main Street Center | MAY/JUNE 2011

2 MAINSTREETNOW May / June 2011 May / June 2011 MAINSTREETNOW

Findings from the Main Street GREEN survey showed participants the enormous challenge that lies ahead. For example, the survey revealed that most local programs (81 percent) do not promote their communities as sustainable and just 28 percent offer assistance to make businesses more sustainable. Barriers cited by survey respondents included insufficient funding and organizational capacity, other high-priority issues, and a need for compelling data that makes a financial argument for convincing business and building owners to go green.

The Main Street GREEN project made three things abundantly clear:1. SustainabilityonMainStreetismorethanjustbuildings.We must

combine elements that include increasing the cost efficiency of busi-ness practices and building systems, strengthening local economies, establishing progressive development policies, and building “com-plete streets,” to name just a few.

2. Greenpracticesneedtoprovetheir“returnoninvestment.” Espe-cially in this economy, city officials, building owners, and entre-preneurs need clear evidence that being green can improve their bottom line today.

3. Localsustainabilityinnovationsbringloftyideasdowntoearth.While few Main Street communities can boast a comprehensive sustainability program yet, the survey revealed the tremendous creativity and unique grassroots success stories of local programs, leaders, and entrepreneurs who are leading by example. These pio-neers in the field are converting ivory tower concepts into practical, economical solutions everyone can understand and use.

This issue of Main Street NOW is brimming with great, practical, and inspiring case studies that make all three of these points. Passionate entrepreneurs behind the Monument Cafe in Georgetown, Texas, for example, have launched a small business empire based on an ambitious commitment to the highest standards in green business practices, and they have been richly rewarded on their bottom line as a result. (page 24).

The entire city of Franklin Tennessee, on the other hand, has launched a local green revolution, through one of the most comprehensive community-wide sustainability programs we’ve seen. (page 14). This is just the tip of the iceberg. Throughout this issue, you will find a growing universe of successful strategies to make our Main Streets more prosper-ous by making our historic buildings and local businesses models for living local and going green.

If there is a theme that runs throughout this special “Green” issue of Main Street NOW, it is one of practicality. While talk of sustainable building technologies and infrastructure can leave many of us lost in the clouds of mystifying systems and jargon, the real-life case studies of Main Street sustainability success outlined in these pages will give you — the reader — tangible actions you can pursue today. And, if you are like me, you will literally be blown away by the amazing stories and progress happening in historic downtowns around the country.

Our Main Streets make a unique claim within the growing “sustainable communities” movement. Through our ongoing revitalization of historic downtown buildings and districts, we help make the point that where we build can have as much impact as how we build. Simply put, while build-ing technologies such as geo-thermal systems and green roofs can lower energy use, (a key focus for LEED certifications, for example), the “loca-tion efficiency” of traditional Main Streets can lower our carbon footprint just as much — perhaps more — through the cost savings realized from dense, walkable developments with high access to transportation, services, and community “amenities.”

But location efficiency is simply not enough. After 30 years of fighting sprawl and reinvesting almost $50 billion in America’s established commu-nities and existing infrastructure, the time has come for the National Main Street Network to delve deeper into creating sustainable communities.

To help achieve this goal, the National Trust Main Street Center hosted the Main Street Green Summit in February of this year, building on a landmark survey of more than 20 percent of our Main Street Network communities who are demonstrating early efforts and innovations in sustainability. Hosted at our headquarters in Washington, D.C., the summit convened 30 national leaders in the sustainability field. They included representatives from the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities (USDA, EPA, and HUD), the US Green Building Council, Smart Growth America, NeighborWorks America, the Business Alliance of Local Living Economies, the National Complete Streets Coalition, LISC, and the Virginia Tech Metropolitan Research Institute, as well as state and local revitalization and preservation professionals.

Challenged by National Trust President Stephanie Meeks to dramati-cally expand our reach across the United States, this group explored ways to strengthen the National Trust’s sustainability agenda through our established Main Street program and network. Summit participants focused on the changes in national policy, messaging, benchmarks, assis-tance, and action that are needed to position Main Street as a key player in community sustainability.

By Doug Loescher, Director, NTMSC

MAIN STREET GREEN: BRINGING LOfTY IdEAS dOWN TO EARTh

dIRECTOR’Scolumn

MAINSTREETNOW May / June 2011 3May / June 2011 MAINSTREETNOW

MAINSTREETNOWMain Street Now is published 6 times a year as a benefit of membership in the national main Street network, an organizational membership program of the national Trust main Street center, national Trust for Historic Preservation, 1785 massachusetts Avenue, n.W., Washington, Dc 20036.TEL: 202.588.6219E-MAIL: [email protected] SITE: www.mainstreet.orgSocial mediaTWITTER: natlmainStreetFACEBook: www.facebook.com/nationalmainStreetcenterAnnual dues are $250.©2011 national Trust for Historic Preservation

EditorialStaffLinda S. GlissonAssistant Director for Information ResourcesNational Trust Main Street Center

Andrea L. DonoProgram Manager for Research & TrainingNational Trust Main Street Center

DESIGN, Main Street NowFrank. Strategic Marketing.

national Trust forHistoric Preservation:Stephanie MeeksPresident

Valecia CrisafulliSenior Director of Partnerships Preservation Division

Doug LoescherDirectorNational Trust Main Street Center

Lauren AdkinsAssistant Director, Field ServicesNational Trust Main Street Center

Tomás M. Ramirez, MTANetwork Services CoordinatorNational Trust Main Street Center

The national Trust for HistoricPreservation is the only national, private organization chartered by congress to encourage public participation in the preservation of sites, buildings, and objects significant in American history. The national Trust main Street center provides technical assistance in downtown and neighbor-hood commercial district revitalization to communities throughout the nation.

TABLE of CONTENTS

May/June 2011

Incorporating Sustainability into downtown Master Plans & Codes | 4 If our Main Streets are

to achieve true, long-lasting sustainability, we must look at the bigger picture of how our communities grow and develop, beyond the rehab and reuse of individual buildings.

The Green Revolution in franklin, Tennessee | 14 The Main Street program has partnered with the city to make this Tennessee town a model for sustainable living through land-use plans, a Live Green partnership

for businesses, and the use of green technology.

Main Street Green Summit | 18 To assess challenges and explore ways to make sustainability an achievable priority for communities, the National Trust Main Street Center hosted a Green Summit. Find out what the experts concluded.

ShopTalk: Considering Going Green? Start Small — But Start! | 20 Find out why going green can be easy and

profitable for small businesses.

Sustainable downtown development in Georgetown, Texas | 24 What do you get when you combine savvy entrepreneurship with an understanding of local food systems and green building technology? In Georgetown, Texas, you get not only sustainable development but also a popular dining establishment that’s becoming a regional destination.

Network Notes | 30 Our Green Edition of Network Notes rounds up green projects, large

and small, from Main Street towns around the nation.

My Main Street/Back cover This month we showcase the Cane River waterway, which runs through the downtown historic district in

Natchitoches, Louisiana.

By Teresa Lynch

May / June 2011 MAINSTREETNOW 4 MAINSTREETNOW May / June 2011

“ Let us ask the land where are the best sites. Let usestablish criteria for many different types of excellence responding to a wide range of choice.” — Ian McHarg

5May / June 2011 MAINSTREETNOW

IncorporatingSustainabilityInto Downtown Master Plans & Codes

that promote livability and sustainability without further damaging the planet. In some ways, Design with Nature, written long before today’s smart growth and sustainability movements, is the first community sustainability guide.

In historic preservation circles, sustain-ability is everywhere. People are positioning preservation and the reuse of historic buildings as essential parts of the equation for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and slowing the prospects and impacts of climate change. They focus on sustainable design for historic buildings — how we can retrofit them with energy-efficiency in mind. Several years ago, there were few websites on greening and retrofitting historic buildings; today there are so many it’s hard to know where to start.

Certainly, because existing buildings account for almost 40 percent of carbon emissions in the United States, greening historic buildings in our Main Street districts should be an essential activity in reducing emissions and promoting sustain-ability. However, if we are to achieve true,

long-lasting sustainability for our traditional commercial districts, we must also look at the bigger picture of how our communities grow and develop, beyond individual buildings.

Ian McHarg’s thoughts and beliefs on planning are just as relevant today as they were when he first wrote Design with Nature. If Main Street communities want to be truly sustainable, then we need to have the right “rules” and “criteria” — planning and development policies and regulations that promote downtown’s long-term viability, reduce sprawl and vehicular miles traveled (VMT), and protect the environment.

When it comes to sprawl, no matter how many people drive hybrid cars or install green roofs, our nation can’t possibly reverse climate change if we continue driving to the town’s edge to see a movie or shop for groceries. Nationally, the transportation sector is responsible for approximately 30 to 40 percent of carbon emissions and of these emissions, about 75 to 80 percent come from vehicular travel. Over the decades, vehicular miles traveled have increased dramatically as we’ve constructed

More than 30 years ago, pioneering

landscape architect and urban

planner Ian mcHarg wrote Design with Nature, a seminal work on how to

break down a community into its appropriate

uses and balance the needs of the local

environment with modern development

and growth. His quote tells us where new growth should occur and that new develop-ment should be compatible with the local setting, climate, and environment. He also understood that effective criteria, as repre-sented in plans and codes, were needed to properly balance growth and protect the environment that sustains us.

Although McHarg’s thoughts on protecting the environment were similar to other environmentalists before him, he was among the first of his generation to link good land-use planning with long-term community sustainability. His planning and design principles influenced a generation of planners, architects, and landscape architects who designed places, revitalized downtowns and traditional neighborhoods, protected environments, and created plans

Downtown master plans and zoning codes can protect the environment and historic

resources, discourage sprawl, and encourage creation and retention of

green space in our communities.

By Nick Kalogeresis, AICP

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For now, let’s focus on existing planning tools and development policies, including community and downtown master plans and zoning codes.

downtown PlansA downtown master plan is one of the most important sustainability documents a Main Street community can have as it reaffirms the downtown’s role as the economic, cul-tural, and social center of the community. Downtown master plans have long been developed and adopted by Main Street pro-grams and municipalities to guide decision making for public improvements, private investments, and changes to existing zoning codes and regulatory mechanisms.

These plans often have specific elements related to streetscape improvements, open space and parks, historic preservation, land-use and development opportunities, transpor-tation and parking, and governmental and cultural facilities. Downtown master plans can also address sustainability concerns such as the reuse of historic buildings and existing infrastructure, the mixture of commercial and residential land uses to encourage pedestrian activity and less reliance on autos, and the guidance of development and reuse of vacant parcels and land inside, rather than outside, the downtown area.

In recent years, however, more and more communities are updating existing downtown plans, or creating new ones, to integrate sustainability policies and recom-mendations into their planning strategies. Here are some of the policies and plan elements that serve to “green” downtown master plans:

Location and available infrastructure. Downtown districts already possess the necessary infrastructure to accom-modate current and future economic growth. Unlike greenfield development that requires new infrastructure, the downtown’s infrastructure, from sewer lines to streets, already exists and may only need upgrading. Reusing upper floors in downtown buildings and encouraging new infill development allows downtown workers and residents to walk to stores, restaurants, and other destinations, thereby reducing car trips and VMT. A downtown master plan must emphasize the sustainability benefits of its central location (known as locationalefficiency) and existing infrastructure.

Walkability. No matter how beneficial the downtown’s location may be to potential investors and developers, if the district is not walkable, especially to sur-rounding neighborhoods, no substantial sustainability benefits will be realized. In the absence of walkability, VMT will increase as people continue to rely on their cars to get downtown or elsewhere. Here are a couple of ways to increase a commercial district’s walkability:

• Reduce the number of parking lots; • Close any gaps along the street

wall that discourage pedestrian activity;

• Require new buildings to have street-facing entrances in front,

more roads, which has made it easier for us to live further from where we work and shop. VMTs are projected to increase as communities continue to adopt develop-ment policies that encourage sprawl rather than concentrating investment in our tradi-tional commercial districts.

A community’s comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance structures its land-use pattern, walkability, transportation, and the demand upon its environment and natural systems. If your plans and zoning codes do not support concentrated economic activity in the Main Street district, walkability between downtown and its adjacent neigh-borhoods, and the preservation of historic buildings, then it’s time to revise them.

“Greening” Your Plans and Codes In many respects, downtown plans, development regulations, and zoning codes have always been concerned with sustain-ability. Plan elements and policies can protect the environment, encourage green space, discourage sprawl, protect historic resources, and promote the downtown’s economic viability. But even though a com-munity’s planning policies may support sustainability goals, its zoning codes and other ordinances often create roadblocks or lack the necessary “teeth” to enforce the planning goals.

Obstacles come in many forms. For example, plans that don’t concentrate commercial development in the existing district can open the door for sprawling strip center development elsewhere in the community. Roadblocks to energy efficiency, as another example, can be found in zoning and building codes that restrict the use of solar panels and geothermal energy systems. Finally, design guidelines may need to be updated to include standards for energy-efficiency improvements to historic buildings. In these cases, auditing, revising, and updating current plans and codes may be sufficient to promote sustainability.

Another option is for Main Street communities to adopt more comprehensive, far-reaching sustainability plans and codes that address a variety of issues, such as energy-efficient and renewable energy sources, transportation, water quality, stormwater management, light pollution, wildlife, and indoor environmental quality.

Our communities cannot be truly sustainable if we continue driving to the outskirts of

town to see a movie, grab a bite to eat, or shop for groceries.

© Arby Reed


Communities with mass transit can use their downtown master plans to encourage future growth near these facilities so downtown workers and residents can easily commute without driving.

these systems as well as encourage future growth near the facility so that downtown workers and residents can access a regional transportation network. For example, Denton, Texas, a Great American Main Street Award® winner, recently adopted a downtown master plan with a transit-oriented development component to comple-

ment plans for a downtown rail station linked to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit System. Access to mass transit can help lower automobile carbon emissions and per capita VMT.

density. Placing people and develop-ment on less land is the only true way to reduce sprawl and preserve the natural environment. Density is perhaps the key ingredient in making

downtowns walkable and mass transit more viable. Despite the economic recession, communities are creating downtown plans that accommodate future development and “restorative” infill on vacant or underutilized land. Even in small and rural Main Street towns, additional density can be accom-modated by reusing upper floors for housing, adapting vacant buildings for new uses, and developing parking lots (with supporting lower parking require-ments).

historic preservation. It is interesting that many downtown master plans still do not discuss historic preservation as a key sustainability component. Too often, the focus has been on ensuring that new development meets LEED or other green building standards. However, planners are beginning to recognize the sustainable and embodied energy aspects of rehabilitating and preserving historic buildings. They are incorporating preservation policy recommendations into downtown master plans, not just identifying where the most important historic buildings are located. Planning policies may include a new or strengthened preservation ordinance that restricts the demolition of historic resources or new design guidelines that recommend green and sustainable design improvements.

and make sure that street façades are lined with windows, awnings, signs, planters, and other signs of activity;

• Employ traffic-calming techniques by making sidewalks wide enough so pedestrians feel safe, and reducing speed limits (which also decreases automobile carbon emissions); and

• Adopt “complete street” concepts, like adding bicycle lanes, to make downtown streets accessible for all users.

Transit. Not all Main Street communities need mass transit facilities, but an increasing number are adding rail or bus services to their long-term sus-tainability efforts. Communities that already have transit facilities can use their downtown master plans to improve

“ A downtown master plan is the most important sustainability document a Main Street community can have as it reaffirms the downtown’s role as the economic, cultural, and social center of the community.”


Sustainable streetscapes. More and more communities are exploring the installation of sustainable streetscapes and other public improvements that incorporate pervious pavers, more durable street paving materials, LED streetlights, rain gardens, and stormwa-ter management systems that capture rain for watering downtown trees and flowers. Communities in colder climates are considering geothermal-powered, low-voltage radiant heating systems in downtown sidewalks to aid in melting snow and ice. Sustainable streetscape systems may be more expensive to design and install than ones without such features but the costs of maintaining streets, streetlights, downtown trees, and planter beds may be lower in the long term. A downtown master plan can identify the relative benefits and costs of sustainable design features as compared with streetscape improvement schemes that do not incorporate them.

Brownfields. Perhaps the clearest example of un-sustainable development is the brownfield, where industrial contamination prevents land from being developed into a new use. If a Main Street community is to encourage a diversity of uses and concentration of development, brownfield sites should be identified in the master plan, along with a set of actions to address the long-term remediation and reuse of these sites.

Pollution and waste management. Years ago, waste and pollution were issues rarely addressed in downtown master plans. Today, planning strategies need to explore how downtown busi-nesses, institutions, and residents can collaborate to eliminate pollution and reduce waste. Downtown planning strategies may explore enhancing municipal or county responsibilities for pollution reduction and waste management, developing new programs or resources to assist downtown busi-nesses in reducing waste, or establishing other public/private partnerships that facilitate specific waste reduction efforts. Main Street programs can take on specific roles in a waste reduction/pollution prevention strategy, includ-ing developing educational programs, launching recycling initiatives, or creating a “green business” program to recognize businesses that incorporate green and sustainability practices in their operations.

Energy Efficiency. Downtown business-es spend a lot of money on energy us-age. That money flows out of the com-munity to the regional utility, which does not support economic growth downtown. Downtown plans need to need to include energy-efficiency strate-gies that can help business owners re-duce their energy usage, increase sales, and keep dollars in the local commu-nity to support additional business and job growth. Several energy-efficiency strategies that can be added to a master plan include rebates and incentive programs for building retrofits and new energy-generating equipment, or cooperative agreements with area utilities on a new downtown energy pricing scheme. A more far-reaching planning strategy might recommend development of a new district-wide energy system in which property and business owners access and share lower energy costs. West Union, Iowa, as an example, is planning a downtown geo-thermal system to lower energy costs for all property owners and businesses.

Sustainable streetscape improvements such as pervious pavers (above left), LED streetlights, and rain gardens, and energy efficient building alterations, such as green roofs (left), are cropping up in more and more communities.

Sustainable design features include operable awnings, which reduce the heat that enters the building and thereby help lower energy costs.


business owners on a variety of design issues, including proper techniques for rehabilitating and restoring facades and storefronts. Essentially, design guidelines set the standards for design improvements to existing buildings and design plans for future buildings. In most Main Street communities, design guidelines are developed as a stand-alone document used primarily by the Main Street design committee and/or the historic preservation commission, especially if a lo-cal historic preservation ordinance requires mandatory design review.

Sometimes, design guidelines are created as part of a master planning process. If our master plans adopt new policies and strategies that encourage energy-efficient alterations to downtown buildings and businesses, then design guidelines will be a vital mechanism in educating downtown stakeholders on ways to make appropriate energy-efficient improvements. Current de-sign guidelines will need to be revised or com-pletely rewritten, depending on local needs, circumstances, and available resources.

Revising design guidelines is relatively straightforward and can be done in two ways. New information about energy-efficient

improvements can be integrated into the sections on building material maintenance and façade and storefront rehabilitation. Alternatively, a separate energy efficiency chapter could be developed and inserted within the existing design guidelines This approach may be more feasible because a separate chapter may be easier to develop, write, and insert within an existing design guidelines publication. Additionally, users of the design guidelines may find it easier to find energy efficiency information when it’s put in a separate chapter.

When revising or creating design guidelines, Main Street programs may want to consider the following energy efficiency and sustainable design topics:

Inherent sustainable design features. Design guidelines should list the sus-tainable design features already inherent in historic commercial buildings, such as operable awnings that can reduce heat gain into the building or the embodied energy in existing building materials. Property owners can lower their energy bills simply by maintaining their buildings’ historic elements.

Economic resiliency and organic growth. Promoting economic diversity in traditional commercial districts is perhaps the most important sustainability principle that should be included in a master plan. Diverse economic uses, from retail and office to entertainment, ensure that downtowns can be more resilient in the face of market downturns and fluctuations. Allowing different uses also ensures that a downtown grows and develops organically over time, adapting to market conditions when they change. In this environment, historic buildings are reused to support new businesses and fledging economic growth. New buildings are only added when a downtown reaches its full occupancy and when additional growth necessitates it. An organic approach avoids the “big fix” projects or multi-parcel developments that require large areas of a commercial district to be demolished and cleared.

design GuidelinesDesign guidelines are familiar to us in the Main Street field — they are an important planning tool in educating building and

(See “Greening Main Street Buildings” by Kennedy Smith in the April 2009 edition of Main Street News, for additional information on sustainable design and energy-efficiency improvements for historic commercial buildings.)

A downtown master plan should identify any brownfield sites, areas with industrial contamination, and include a set of actions to clean up and reuse these areas.

© Linda S. Glisson


committees and historic preservation commissions should understand that guidelines for interior building improvements will be voluntary, while exterior improvements can be regulated if there is a mandatory design review process.

Zoning OrdinancesZoning codes and ordinances are one of the primary means through which to implement a master plan, particularly planning policies and strategies related to energy efficiency, land use, transportation, stormwater man-agement, and historic preservation. A mas-ter plan can specifically recommend ways of revising the zoning code to guide and regulate private-sector sustainability initia-tives or remove obstacles or unintended barriers that prevent the implementation of downtown sustainability goals. Unintended barriers may include excessive parking regulations that discourage adaptive-use projects and upper-floor conversions, or the restriction of residential uses that could oc-cupy vacant or abandoned historic indus-trial buildings.

Absent a master plan, a Main Street com-munity may elect just to audit the zoning code to see if it encourages sustainability initiatives or hinders them. Ultimately it is up to the municipality and the Main Street program to determine how fast and how far to move toward a zoning code that incorporates sustainability measures. This section identifies key sustainability features that could be introduced into a downtown district zoning code.

Building envelope improvements. As a first step in planning energy-efficiency improvements, property owners should check to see if air is leaking out from where the roof, walls, windows, and doors meet. Offer specific guidelines on cost-effective improvements such as weather-stripping historic windows and installing insulation and new roofing materials.

Green roofs and energy-generating equipment. Stipulate that solar collec-tors, wind turbines, and green roofs be placed behind roof parapet walls or at the rear of the façade where they cannot be seen at street level. Recommend that property owners consult professional engineers to determine if the building and existing roof have the structural capacity to hold a green roof.

When incorporating sustainable design and energy-efficiency guidelines, be aware that green technologies are changing all the time and that the guidelines can quickly become outdated. The guidelines should be general enough so that users can under-stand available methods for energy-efficient improvements and their relative costs and benefits. The Illustrated Guidelines on Sustainability for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings, recently released by the National Park Service, provides useful information on greening historic buildings and can serve as a starting point and reference in updating design guidelines. Main Street design

Energy Solar collectors. Revise the zoning

ordinance to allow solar collectors and panels as an “as-of-right” modification to a building’s exterior. Zoning can prescribe where collectors can be installed on a building — at the building’s rear elevation or as part of an accessory structure like a garage. In some communities, height limits in zoning codes may prevent the installation of solar panels or collectors. Addressing solar access in the zoning code will assure owners that their solar collector investment is protected from future development that may block the sun from the collectors or panels. This means that building height limits may have to be adjusted in the zoning code.

Wind turbines. Include recommendations for wind turbines (if they can feasibly be installed on a historic building) in the zoning code.

Land Use Mixed use. Allow a variety of uses to

diversify downtown’s economic base and encourage the reuse of historic commercial buildings and their upper floors. In many Main Street communities, downtown zoning codes still prohibit upper-floor residential use or require too much parking for upper-floor residential conversions. Downtown

Zoning ordinances should allow a variety of uses downtown to diversify the district’s commercial base and encourage the reuse of upper floors in historic buildings.

© Michele Thompson


Light pollution. Encourage efficient light systems by regulating light spillover from buildings and private parking lot lighting. Consider “dark sky” ordinances to minimize light pollution and ensure the night-time sky is visible at ground level.

Other Planning ToolsComprehensive sustainability plans and sustainable development codes have come to the forefront as new tools that can address sustainability throughout the entire community. Main Street programs often turn to the downtown master plan to address sustainability issues, but a comprehensive sustainability plan looks at the entire community, including other areas where development can affect the commercial district.

Community Sustainability and Sustainable development CodesCommunity sustainability plans and master plans are similar: both have an integrated set of policies and implementation steps. However, community sustainability plans integrate a range of sustainability issues and actions within more traditional comprehensive plan elements that focus on transportation, open space, economic development, land use, culture and arts, municipal facilities, and infrastructure.

Parking requirements. Reduce parking requirements and allow shared parking facilities to encourage less impervious surfaces.

Permeable pavement. Encourage the use of pervious paver systems in parking lots and alleys to increase stormwater infiltration. Create standards for long-term maintenance to ensure that these systems continue to operate as intended.

Building Reuse Parking and loading requirements.

Revise the number of parking spaces, in both on- and off-street facilities, to satisfy parking requirements for building reuse and upper-story residential and office conversions.

Reuse variances. Eliminate the zoning variances that are required for building reuse wherever feasible. (A variance is an exception from the rules on the books.)

Waste Reduction and Light Pollution Recycling and composting. Mandate

areas within the district for on-site sorting of recyclables and small-scale, on-site composting programs to reduce the amount of organic materials and waste sent to landfills.

Like the reuse of historic commercial buildings, encouraging new infill development downtown allows workers and residents to walk to stores, restaurants, and other destinations and reaffirms the district as the economic center of the community.

parking requirements should be lowered or eliminated where fea-sible. Mixed uses are a critical factor in encouraging economic diversity.

Accessory dwelling units. Allow acces-sory dwelling units (ADUs) in adjacent residential neighborhoods as a way to increase density in areas surrounding the commercial district. Again, increased density serves to support the downtown economy and facilitate pedestrian movement between the downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods.

Transportation Walkability and access. Require new

developments to provide sidewalks and other pedestrian and bicycle- related amenities.

Idling restrictions. Add zoning restric-tions to reduce car idling in school zones, near train stations, and loading docks as a way to lower harmful carbon emissions.

Stormwater Management Rainwater harvesting. Regulate the

placement and installation of rain barrels to ensure that they aren’t placed on sidewalks where they might impede pedestrians. Although these items are often associated with residential neigh-borhoods, they could be allowed as accessory uses in downtown districts.

© Michele Thompson

© Nick kalogeresis


Community sustainability planning policies can include encouraging more compact, inter-connected residential and commercial development; new transportation modes such as bicycle lanes; the protection of environmen-tally sensitive areas; reduction of pollution and hazardous wastes; and the increased use of alternative, renewable energy systems in municipal facilities, new housing, and commercial developments. A community sus-tainability plan can be a separate stand-alone document or it can be incorporated into an existing comprehensive plan.

Sustainable development codes, much like a zoning ordinance, support the goals and strategies recommended in the community sustainability plan by mandating standards or offering incentives, such as requiring on-site bicycle storage facilities in lieu of parking spaces. Such codes may address a wide variety of sustainable issues from land use and transportation to energy efficiency and water quality. Like sustainability plans,

sustainability codes can be created separately or as part of other codes and ordinances.

Why do community sustainability plans and development codes matter to Main Street programs? The process for creating such tools provides an opportunity for down-town stakeholders and Main Street leaders to advocate for downtown revitalization as a key action in achieving community sustainabil-ity. It can also help city officials, residents, and other stakeholders understand where development should take place and how new development in or near the community can affect downtown’s economic viability. Fur-thermore, sustainability plans can identify additional initiatives that can build on the Main Street program’s revitalization efforts by strengthening older neighborhoods, developing new land-use patterns that lower VMT, providing new transportation options, and reaffirming historic preservation as an important strategy in generating economic development and maintaining community character.

“Sustainability plans can build on the Main Street program’s revitalization efforts by strengthening older neighborhoods and reaffirming historic pres-ervation as an important strategy in generating economic de-velopment and maintaining community character.”


Like sustainability plans, historic preservation plans are effective tools in promoting preservation as a key sustainability activity for communities.

Preservation PlanInterestingly enough, perhaps one of the most overlooked community planning and sustainability tools is the historic preservation plan, which has been used by hundreds of communities across the nation. Historic preservation plans have many purposes, including the identification of significant historic resources and districts and the establishment of policies and ordinances that protect against unwanted demolition. Historic preservation plans may also determine the need for new design guidelines and incentives to encourage building rehabilitation or revisions in existing planning policies and zoning codes to prevent them from impeding preservation and building reuse.

Such plans may also recommend a series of educational initiatives to inform citizens about their heritage and its value

to the community. Main Street leaders and community preservation advocates alike may find preservation plans helpful when addressing downtown preservation issues and promoting historic preservation as a key element to downtown and community sustainability. A historic preservation plan can be created and adopted as a stand-alone document or as a separate chapter in a downtown master plan or community comprehensive plan.

Sustaining the futureMcHarg once said that the most important issue confronting mankind in the 21st century is the condition of the global environment. We must “green the earth, restore the earth, and heal the earth,” he said. Combining the effort of greening our historic buildings and developing planning and development policies and tools can help our communities

achieve long-term sustainability and reduce the prospects of dramatic climate change. Certainly, coupling these initiatives with our ongoing work in revitalizing our tradi-tional commercial districts should make us optimistic that we’ll reach our community sustainability goals and save the planet.

nicholas P. Kalogeresis, AIcP, is the vice president of the lakota Group and currently manages the firm’s historic preservation planning portfolio. Before joining lakota in August 2008, nick was a Program officer with the national Trust main Street center for 10 years.

Daniel Grove, vice president of the lakota Group, also contributed to this article.


for each section of the city. The zoning ordinance supports the Land Use Plan by providing a legal framework for development and the practical application of the plan’s principles. It requires open space in accordance with the Land Use Plan and mandates tree conservation, stormwater mitigation, and connectivity for all new development—less conspicuous green measures but essential components to any sustainable community nonetheless.

There is also a Franklin Greenway and Open Space Master Plan that specifically guides park and trail development. Andrew Orr, sustainability coordinator for the City of Franklin, explains that the open space plan is designed to create a well-connected network of bike lanes, sidewalks, and trails that safely link people to parks, schools, and other destinations. The city uses the plan to make sure developers integrate their properties within the proposed trailway system when appropriate. Historic District Design Guidelines in turn protect the existing fabric (and heritage) of Downtown Franklin.

Charting a New VisionTo bring the public into the process, Assistant City Administrator Vernon Gerth and Dr. Moore organized a series of public meetings in 2008.

“The will of the community drove a consensus-based process that included public meetings and workshops. These sessions provided feedback on how to improve our community,” says Orr. “The outpouring of support and interest in the topic culminated in the formation of several committees. After receiving input from the citizens of Franklin, city and community leaders charted a new vision for Franklin.”

First, the city held workshops on sustain-ability to help draft a Sustainability Action Plan. The first meetings were so well-attended that the city adopted a new participatory format. After the second convening, 250 volunteers formed nine committees to develop the goals for the action plan. Once the action plan was drawn up, some of the committees disbanded, while others continued to meet and provide further advice. The

B Y D U S T I N S h A N E

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r. Ken Moore felt something stirring in Franklin, Tennessee. Around him were the seeds of a green movement, and as an alderman in 2008, he decided to

help make Franklin a model for sustainable living. Today, he is the mayor, and Franklin is among the most sustainable cities in Tennessee.

Main Street was the first group with whom the City of Franklin partnered when the green movement started. Nancy Williams, coordi-nator of the Downtown Franklin Association/Heritage Foundation, recounts some of the successes of the past few years. “Curbside recycling is now a citywide institution,” says Williams. “The downtown movie theater reopened as a LEED-certified historic build-ing, and the downtown Starbucks now has rooftop solar panels that generate electricity.”

The guiding document for the city’s efforts has been the Franklin Land Use Plan, which features sustainability themes throughout. There is no master city plan per se, but the Land Use Plan sets the vision for the community and gives detailed prescriptions


and Basics” focuses on simple tasks such as printing double-sided documents (5 points); signing up for the “Green Tips” e-mail alerts (5 points); asking whether customers need a bag (5 points); and offering a small discount to customers who walk or ride a bike (10 points).

While the other categories in the ratings system are broken down by topic area, all achieve the idea of raising awareness. The Green Cuisine category, for example, gives 15 points for “The 100 Mile Diet — Sell-ing food, drinks, or goods produced within a 100-mile radius of Franklin.” While this may only be possible seasonally, making it a goal whenever possible supports local businesses and boosts the local economy, as well as limiting the waste and inefficiency associated with transporting goods over long distances.

There are dozens of suggestions in the other areas, too. “Waste Reduction” action items include composting and using biode-gradable materials for carryout containers. Business owners interested in conserving water can do things as simple as no longer using bottled water to installing a green roof or rain barrel to collect rainwater runoff. Similarly, there is a range of activities for conserving energy — from switching to LED lighting to getting an energy audit to seeking LEED certification. For other green actions, the program offers flexibility to business owners who want to submit alternative measures for consideration.

“The city highlights one business as the ‘Green Partner of the Month’ on its website, social media sites, and in the press,” says Orr. He goes on to describe

the positive response to this program by highlighting two awards the city received: “Excellence in Green Leadership” from the Tennessee Municipal League and “Excellence in Municipal Government” from the Tennessee City Management Association.

The program was developed by a group of citizens participating in the 2009-2010 Leadership Franklin program and served as their community project. Funded by business, individual, and alumni contributions, the Leadership Franklin program is a non-profit community leadership organization that trains leaders to improve the quality of life in Franklin and Williamson County. The Sustainability Commission, the Public Education Committee, and city staff also provided guidance and support for the Green Partner of the Month program.

Green TechnologyMany sustainability-related projects are al-ready under way in Franklin — either being done by private property owners, the city, or organizations serving the downtown.

“The historic district design guidelines allow for solar installations so long as they do not detract from the area’s visual historic qualities,” says Orr. The Tennessee Valley Authority provides financial incentives for business owners to install solar panels through the Generation Partners Program. The city is also looking into ways to further promote the adoption of solar technology.

Speaking of solar power, Waste Manage-ment, a national corporation, has assisted in providing Franklin with solar-powered “smart” trash cans. These units developed by Big Belly recycle on one side and compact

Main Street program actively participated in these meetings.

The Sustainability Action Plan was approved in 2009 and is currently being updated. In the fall of 2009, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen established a permanent Sustainability Commission made up of nine volunteers to oversee the implementation of the action plan.

“The commission serves not only as a resource, but as a vehicle for continued implementation of the plan,” says Orr. It meets monthly and will ensure that the city remains dedicated to sustainability.

Businesses Living GreenWilliams is happy to tell about another roaring success for sustainability: the Live Green partnership. The Live Green Partners Program recognizes businesses that are taking steps to green their operations. Business owners can choose among a wide variety of activities to cultivate a culture of sustain-ability in their business practices. A ratings system awards points for their actions. They can display a certificate signed by the mayor and a Live Green decal to show their participation. The city reports that more than 150 businesses have signed up so far (almost all of the Downtown Franklin Association’s members have signed up). Business owners receive a sticker to place in their front windows that indicates their level of achievement.

The steps businesses can take vary in their degree of difficulty. Business owners can use the city’s website to see what they can and should be doing to be more green. For the low-hanging fruit, the “Awareness

Franklin’s Live Green Partners Program recognizes businesses that are taking steps to green their operations. More than 150 business owners have signed up so far.


trash on the other (because the trash is compacted, it can be picked up less frequently, saving energy that would be used in picking up waste from traditional trash cans more often). A solar panel on the top of each unit provides power to the compactor. An internal computer chip notifies Waste Management when the unit is full.

Waste Management has also partnered with The Heritage Foundation to “green” one of the organization’s flagship events, Pumpkinfest, which attracts 50,000 people every year. Mary Pearce, executive director of the Heritage Foundation, says her orga-nization approached Waste Management with the idea.

“Waste Management has been a great partner in all of our efforts in Franklin,” says Pearce. Activities encouraging attendees to participate in the city’s curbside Blue Bag Recycling program take center stage at Pumpkinfest, along with the “Waste Management Elvis,” who sings to children about the importance of recycling. Waste Management also works with the Heritage Foundation to make sure the waste generated by the event is recycled.

Another effort organized by the nonprofit Transportation Management Association Group (The TMA Group) is the local clean air partnership which seeks to reduce air pollution through a series of informative lunch-and-learn workshops. The TMA Group, which manages the public trans-portation network for the Franklin Transit Authority, has installed solar-powered

transit shelters at their pickup and drop-off sites around town. They participated in the development of the Sustainability Action Plan and work with Williamson County to organize van pools, send air quality alert notices, and hold meetings to educate the business community about ways to become more sustainable.

Franklin is also part of the Electric Vehicle Project (EV Project), the largest deployment of electric vehicles and charge infrastructure in history. A joint Chevrolet-Nissan-ECOtality project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the EV Project is bringing car-charging technology and a charging-pattern study to six states and the District of Columbia. The results of the project will help in planning a future nationwide grid of charging stations. In Franklin, charging stations for electric cars will be installed downtown later this year.

Other accomplishments inspired by Franklin’s green movement include a citywide curbside recycling program; a water resources

To provide a more in-depth look at the goals the citizen-driven committees established and the types of proj-ects they advised the city to implement, here are a few highlights from the Sustainable Community Action Plan, some of which have been completed.• WasteReductionCommittee: Strives for a 10 percent

reduction of waste transferred to landfills annually (with eventually a 75 percent reduction by 2030). The commit-tee is also developing an outreach program that encour-ages people to use recycled wood products and compost.

• WaterandStormwaterCommittee:With a focus on water conservation and water quality, the main goals of this committee include reducing potable water usage by 25 percent during May through October and 10 percent during November through April by the year 2014. The committee is also working to establish priority sewer sheds for inflow and infiltration removal by 2014.

• UrbanNatureCommittee: Establishes guidelines for more sustainable building practices and is working to create a “local Greenway/Open Space Master Plan for the City and the entire Urban Growth Boundary.”

• UrbanDesignCommittee: Promotes mixed-use, high-

density, bikeable development in accordance with the greenway master plan.

• PublicEducationCommittee: Focuses on public outreach and teaching people ways to incorporate sustainability into their everyday lives through online information, a weekly green tips e-mail, and lectures. The committee also teaches businesses and contrac-tors how to green their work through a Green Partner program, which includes certification for businesses that embrace sustainability.

• AlternativeFuelandEnergyCommittee:Goals include having 5 percent of registered vehicles in Franklin use alternative energy sources by 2012 and 10 percent of citywide electricity “generated by clean and renewable means by 2014.”

•TransportationCommittee:Plans to provide more spaces for bicycle parking and assist regional authorities in developing more bus connections with Nashville.

•EnergyCommittee:Goals include reducing “total citywide energy usage 20 percent per capita by 2014,” increasing energy audits, and reducing total green-house gas emissions.

• EnvironmentalHealthCommittee:Goals include reducing carbon-based pollution and eliminating “volatile organic compounds” that are being used within the city limits.

Setting GoalS: Citizen-driven SuStainability CommitteeS

The Heritage Foundation has “greened” one of its major events, Pumpkinfest, by adding a Blue Bag Recycling program and a “Waste Management Elvis,” who sings to kids about the importance of recycling.


Investment within the Downtown Franklin Historic District helps maintain a rela-tive balance between greenfield and infill development and helps ensure Franklin’s long-term economic viability.”

As far as new buildings are concerned, a municipal resolution was signed in support of LEED standards. An offshoot of this is the new $36 million, 97,000-square-foot police headquarters, completed in 2010 and slated to achieve a LEED Gold rating.

According to Brad Wilson, project and facilities manager for the City of Franklin, the most notable green innovation is the building’s roof. The largest green roof east of the Mississippi, it features indigenous plants and its own irrigation system. The station also uses well water and captures runoff from its parking deck in a 45,000 gallon cistern that provides water for the restroom facilities and irrigation for on-site rain gardens.

All adhesives and caulking material used in the building’s construction were low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) rated, and the paint used inside the building was LEED certified. The interior lights dim au-tomatically when outdoor sunlight increases. Finally, the building runs on a geothermal heating and cooling system. These and other green innovations represented between $750,000 to $1.5 million of the total cost of the project.

Green futureOther goals and projects under way read

like a green wishlist. Franklin has just received a grant from the Tennessee Main Street Program to build bike racks throughout the downtown. The city’s Department of Planning and Sustainability is working to re-design underutilized space in front of the historic post office as well as the adjacent archives building. A Starbucks and a frozen yogurt confectionary anchor the Five Points intersection, but the nearby outdoor gathering space is antiquated and minimally effective. The city would like to make this a key gathering spot and has already held one public meeting to discuss the project and make plans to complete the design by the end of the summer.

With regard to funding, says Orr, “we believe good ideas and hard work can lead to successful outcomes with minimal monetary investment. These efforts have resulted in very minimal costs, all paid for by the City of Franklin. Capital investments, on the other hand, like the blue bag residential recycling program that was implemented in July 2010, must show a favorable economic return on investment.”

As far as challenges go, Williams admits to a lack of options for recycling glass. “In the Southeast, there’s not much of a market for recycled glass. We are looking for ways to deal with that. We are working with a consulting firm right now, though, to help make our downtown Franklin events greener, and that includes glass recycling.”

Orr says the main goal of the city’s sustainability work is to foster a change in culture. Many downtown businesses recycle, conserve energy, and buy and sell locally produced goods, but “we need to continue to inform the public about the benefits of sustainability both economically and environmentally for the betterment of future generations. We are doing this currently through our website, social media sites, and press releases. There are several initiatives being considered but implementation sometimes takes longer than we would like.”

But how close is Franklin to being the most sustainable city in Tennessee? Orr says the city is making “great strides.” Things like recycling, creating pedestrian-friendly streets and neighborhoods, constructing high-performance buildings, protecting water resources, supporting renewable energy, and preserving historic sites are all happen-ing in this quaint yet bustling city.

Dustin Shane served as an intern with the national Trust main Street center. He is a senior at Tennessee State university where he is majoring in urban Planning. His interests include architecture, historic preservation, and landscape design.

plan; energy-efficient lighting for sports activities at Jim Warren Park; and bike bollards in downtown. One of the most successful projects, says Williams, was the establishment of a cardboard recycling center in the commercial district. She cites the city government as being the major player in all this work, with her organization also being at the forefront of efforts.

Green BuildingsThe aforementioned silver-level LEED-certified downtown movie theater was a major effort for the Main Street program. The treasured community resource, which opened in 1937, closed its doors in 2007. The building was severely dilapidated, says Pearce, but the community felt the loss deeply and many people expressed their dismay in the local press. The Heritage Foundation decided a downtown attraction that routinely brought a thousand visitors downtown every week was worth saving. The foundation bought the property, restored it to its former grandeur, and equipped it with an array of green modifications, such as high-efficiency heating and air, low-voltage bulbs, and a white roof. The theater reopened on June 3, 2011.

“The greenest building is the one that is already built. Adaptive reuse of build-ings and preservation are often the best kinds of [green] development.” says Orr. “Historic preservation not only contributes to Franklin’s sense of identity and vibrancy, but it also lessens the environmental impact.


findings from the survey. We learned that most local programs (81 percent) do not promote their communities as sustainable; barriers they cited include insufficient funding and organizational capacity, other high-priority issues, and a need for more information and resources. Only 28 percent offer assistance to create more sustainable businesses; 6 percent have a sustainability plan for their downtown; and 11 percent have integrated sustainability elements into their master plans. Survey respondents cited a feeling of guilt that they haven’t made sustainability a bigger priority while also expressing frustration that they have no proof of a tangible return on investment (ROI) that can be used to persuade building and business owners to go green.

We also painted a picture about what green Main Streets look like today through a series of case studies. The Center is seeing more standalone, single projects, such as rain gardens or reusable bag giveaways, than the type of holistic sustainable community development that Franklin, Tennessee, is working toward (see page 14).

Federal representatives acknowledged the power of Main Street communities to meet livability principles. They believe that the compact urban footprint of downtown (“locational efficiency”) is a game changer and that there is value in embedding that characteristic into grant and loan systems.

Other speakers, too, shared their perspec-tives on opportunities for Main Street. We have archived these seven-minute presenta-

As Doug Loescher discussed in his Director’s Column, the time has come for Main Street programs to delve deeper into creating sustainable communities. To help the National Trust Main Street Center strategically approach this need, we first surveyed local and statewide Main Street programs in November 2010 to assess their sustainability challenges and needs and then hosted a facilitated dialog with national partners in February 2011 to explore ways to make sustainability a readily achievable priority for communities.

The Main Street Center tapped a wide variety of expertise from food systems to local livable economies thanks to participation from representatives of EPA, USDA, HUD, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), state and local revitalization/preservation programs, the US Green Building Council (USGBC), the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), NeighborWorks, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), the Eastern Market Corporation, and CLUE Group. These thought leaders enthusiastically rose to the challenge and spent a day and a half in dynamic discussions that ended with a desire to work together in a meaningful way.

On the first day of the summit, the Main Street Center shared some important

By Andrea Dono

Representatives from USDA, EPA, and HUD discussed the work of the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities at the Main Street Green Summit.

Main Street

GREEN SUMMIT

© Linda Glisson


to meet their goals — an element miss-ing from larger national programs. Lastly, Mike Jackson of the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office explained that the idea of reusing buildings is inherently green but that old buildings need to be greener. We can do that with retrofits, he said, stressing that we can’t build our way to sustainability, we need to conserve our way there.

Most of the summit revolved around interactive dialog and small working groups. Participants’ ideas of green Main Streets began with reenergizing the town center; creating livable places for mixed ages, incomes, and ethnicities; and support-ing small businesses. A few trends came up, which included the need for more regional thinking, improving transportation efficiency, applying planning and zoning to green community development, collaborating with federal offices, establishing better connections among mayors, and rallying behind a shared interest in policy change.

The reality of climate change and limits on our natural resources challenge us to ask more from our built environment — upgrading buildings with energy-efficient systems, weatherizing structures, enhancing walkability, reducing water run-off, and more. Main Street programs are uniquely poised as liaisons between the public and private sectors and as champions for the downtown to infuse sustainability into their revitalization work, but they need access to funding, proof that green upgrades are worth the effort, model ordinances and incentives, and more case studies of green Main Street projects. In the coming year, we will be working with our partners to help

bring resources to local programs. The summit’s challenge as a group is to take

a high-level approach with a local-level impact to collaborations with the understanding that the path to becoming a sustainable community isn’t by taking a “one-size-fits- all” approach. As we develop our goals and projects in the coming year, we must communicate that while single sustainability projects weave the whole, we must emphasize the power of a holistic approach to sustainable community development. While some of our work would be geared toward Main Street communities, by embedding a green filter into our revitalization methodology or criteria for accreditation, much of what we develop can be used beyond the Main Street network, and the implications for demon-strating how partnerships can affect thou-sands of communities is almost limitless.

tions on our website and linked them to the online version of this article.

Christine Green of the National Com-plete Streets Coalition challenged us to think about all users of the road; she pointed out that Complete Streets policies offer flexible, not cookie-cutter, strategies that can improve the livability of communities of all sizes. Michael Shuman of BALLE emphasized the need for a business-oriented approach to create sustainable communi-ties, explaining that it is critical to invest in small business development, like the microenterprise programs often found on Main Street that get results from investing $2,000 per job.

Dan Carmody of Detroit’s Eastern Market Corporation, stunned the audience with the fact that if Americans ate the fresh foods recommended in the USDA food pyramid we’d be 13 million acres short of meeting production. He pointed out that about five companies separate 300 million consumers from the 450,000 farmers producing our food, with Walmart today capturing 25 percent of food sales. Carmody championed the need for sustainable food hubs that match food producers with consumers — hubs that are metropolitan systems and bring wellness into the equation.

Sara Dinges discussed the quest of Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood to delve deeper into sustainability and green businesses by creating ecoAndersonville, an initiative that includes an innovative green small business certification program. The program helps small businesses meet the triple bottom line and assists them

LEFT: BALLE’s Michael Shuman discussed the importance of small business development in creating sustainable communities.

RIGHT: The Main Street Green Summit hosted discussions among 30 national leaders in the sustainability field.

As Program Manager of Research and Training for the NTMSC, Andrea L. Dono tracks national trends and case studies, assists in the development of trainings and national conference educational sessions, and leads research projects. For the last four years, Andrea has been analyzing the growth of the Main Street field as it relates to sustainability and has developed case studies and best practices for both urban and small town programs. She developed the Main Street Sustainability Survey and coordinated the Main Street Green Summit. She also serves on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Sustainability Taskforce.

GREEN SUMMIT

© Linda Glisson © Linda Glisson © Linda Glisson


Shop Talk is a continuing series of consumer-oriented retail articles by margie Johnson, president of Shop Talk, a retail consulting firm that specializes in showing organizations how to become leaders in their marketplaces and industries through customer-centered training. over the past 15 years, margie has worked in many main Street towns throughout the nation. She is passionate about helping small business owners become more successful.

Combining sustainability with small business is a win-win for communities and business owners. Simply stated, sustainability is “the ability to endure.” It became apparent to me while researching this article that while many small business owners understand the benefits of “going green,” they aren’t sure how and where to begin!

The following case studies were selected to showcase the scope and variety of going green—and the rewards! Sustainability and profitability need not be exclusive. The common thread in these case studies is that while “green businesses” have all of the same expenses as traditional businesses, the owners are extremely passionate about their endeavors. If the business model is well executed, the positive impact ripples throughout the business community, both socially and environmentally. These aspects also become a common denominator that resonates well with both potential customers and existing clients.

Small businesses can take steps to underscore the “triple bottom line.” In addition to the traditional bottom line of profit, sustainable businesses have two other bottom lines: people (the effect on the human race) and planet (the effect on the earth). Common

strategies of successful sustainable small businesses include the following:• Viewing sustainability practices as a

new business opportunity, not just a cost center;

• Seeking out organizations and resources to educate and assist in the “ramping up” of their efforts (see resource list on page 23);

• Committing to constant communication with staff and clients on “retooling and rethinking” green practices; and

• Constantly reviewing aspects of the business, i.e., energy efficiency, waste management, water usage, packaging, advertising, etc.

The following case studies offer great examples of business owners who made a commitment to go green as early as 1996 and as recently as the past two years. They exemplify the key to sustainable success: “start small – but start.”

Vines to Cellar, Port Washington, WisconsinEstablished in 2008, Vines to Cellar is a micro-winery that offers its customers the opportunity to enjoy all stages of the wine process, from “conception to consumption.” Customers can choose either to purchase a custom wine or make their own custom batch. Owners Jim and CJ Wirsching-Neuser offer customers the chance to become a vintner at their “U-Vin” where you can make, bottle, label, and cork your very own wine. Jim and CJ also wanted to do their part to become an eco-friendly winery.

In Wisconsin, alcohol bottles cannot be refilled, but the owners of Vines to Cellar have come up with a way to re-purpose the wine bottles used at their tasting bar. They

take the empty bottles, which have only been used once, rinse them, and repackage them for home wine makers. They charge half the price of new bottles and donate all of the proceeds to the Ozaukee Humane Society. Last year alone, they donated almost $1,000.

They also put gift certificates in recycled bottles, a creative and sustainable packag-ing idea that has been hugely successful. People enjoy giving the gift certificates be-cause they can have the bottle custom labeled, and those receiving the gift certificates hate to open the bottles because they want to keep them as a special memento. Vines to Cellars has also begun selling six-pack cloth bags that can be reused and gain the customers an additional 5 percent off on future wine purchases. This will hopefully eliminate the use of cardboard boxes which usually end up in the recycling bin after one use.

Vine to Cellars sells other sustainable merchandise such as wreaths and purses that are made out of recycled corks. By offering recyclable products and sustainable

ShOPTAlK

CONSIdERING GOING GREEN?START SMALL – BUT START!

By Margie Johnson

The Vines to Cellar Winery recycles everything from bottles to barrels in creative ways that include this unusual business sign.

Teri Carter is the owner of EcoChic, a unique “green” boutique that offers products that are not only environmentally friendly but also trend setters for the fashion conscious.


ingredients, Jim and CJ Wirsching-Neuser do their part in the go green movement. Vines to Cellar is currently expanding within its current location to host larger in-store parties and wine tastings. Learn more about Vines to Cellar at www.vinestocellar.com.

EcoChic, Milford, DelawareTeri Carter opened EcoChic in 2009. Nestled in the historic downtown area of Milford, Delaware, EcoChic is a unique “green” boutique. Repurposed bookshelves from the previous storefront occupant flank the walls and display everything from environmentally friendly household cleaners, organic skincare from Australia, and jane iredale® natural min-eral cosmetics to ladies apparel made from sustainable bamboo and handcrafted designer jewelry and accessories.

“The decision was easy,” says Carter, a former registered nurse and the mother of five young children, when asked how she decided on the concept of her store. “I wanted to share my passion for health and the importance of the products we are using in our everyday lives. By choosing products that are safer for the earth, we are also choosing products that are safer for our families. I wanted customers to be able to see, smell, and touch the products I was purchasing for my family and could only find on the internet.”

Frustrated that environmentally friendly products were difficult to find in the Milford area, Carter decided it was time to bring this responsible way of living to her com-munity. “Being eco-friendly is a way of life for my family,” she says. “It’s the future, not just a trend.”

The diverse selection of products offered at EcoChic are not only environmentally responsible, but also the latest trend in the fashion world. Many of EcoChic’s products have been touted in national publications such as O Magazine, Allure and Glamour.

Designed for the fashion-forward, envi-ronmentally conscious shopper, EcoChic is where “green” is the new black. EcoChic was voted “Greenest Store Downstate” in Delaware Today Magazine’s Best of Delaware. Learn more about EcoChic at www.shopecochic.com.

Clothing Matters, Grand Rapids, MichiganAfter an 18-year career devoted to educating clients about sustainability principles and how they can support existing objectives, Marta Swain decided to open Clothing Matters in 1996 after learning about the ills of apparel production. Starting with $400 and no business experience, she consistently chose products with appeal to a discerning clientele that appreciated quality, comfort, and the opportunity to support practices that prevent pollution, conserve resources, and promote social justice.

For the customers of Clothing Matters, the shopping experience is a delightful way to be reminded that we live in an ecosystem and have the opportunity to improve our personal, social, and ecological well-being. Swain’s formula is to invite, inform, and engage her customers in discovering how great clothing can be. Her store has a world-class collection of sustain-ably manufactured “eco” apparel from more than 50 “partner” vendors — local and regional, domestic and international.

Swain plans to share her expertise to help others recognize how the everyday act of getting dressed can add a comfortable layer of sustainability to our lives and work. Marta Swain has earned a reputation as a “trail blazer” in the green movement. The momentum created by Clothing Matters reaches beyond the four walls of her store. Visit the shop’s website at www.clothing matters.net.

The Store at Grant Design Collaborative, Canton, GeorgiaGrant Design Collaborative, a multidisciplinary design firm, was founded in 1996 by President and Creative Director Bill Grant. In 2009, when a first-floor vacancy became available in his historic downtown building, Grant decided to showcase his product designs by opening a retail store. This allowed the company to introduce itself, its products, and its services to the world. The design team wanted to create products that illustrated the concept that “design thinking and ingenuity can transform treasure from trash.”

This concept in turn created Grant’s mantra “Reuse and Reimagine,” which is visible in the products sold in the retail shop. All of the merchandise is made out of recycled materials from previous design projects. The Store offers eclectic products, including furniture, rugs, handmade paper products, and clothing. The Store’s recycle and reuse approach has made it a community favorite because it sells products that are not only interesting, but sustainable. To bring people into the store, Grant has tweaked store hours to accommodate customers and launches new products during popular local events like the Farmer’s Market and Fourth Fridays.

Over the years, as The Store has evolved, its unofficial mantra has become “a retail stream-of-consciousness for cockeyed opti-mists.” Through this mantra, Grant wants to let the public know that “even with minuscule budgets and unrelenting economic conditions, great design can move people, create change, and advance cause.”

Clothing Matters, in Grand Rapids, Mich., offers a wide collection of “eco” apparel, sustainably manufactured by more than 50 “partner” vendors.

“Reuse and Reimagine” is the mantra of Bill Grant,

owner of the Grant Design Collaborative.

Its retail store sells furniture, clothing, and other items made from

materials recycled from previous design

projects.


The design firm wanted to create a store that adhered to the “go green” move-ment by creating products that were one of a kind and were made out of unused or leftover materials from past design proj-ects. The design team, says Grant, saw this venture as a “chance to reclaim their craft, a real testament to the fact that it doesn’t take lots of money to be creative and successful.” For more information, visit them on the web at www.Grantcollaborative.com.

The Treasure Mountain Inn, Park City, UtahNestled in Park City, Utah, the Treasure Mountain Inn is committed to being an “eco-tique hotel.” Owners Andy Beerman and Thea Leonard are stewards of the quality of life in Park City. Operating by the motto “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle,” theirs is a long-term commitment to protect the environment.

In 1996, Beerman and Leonard began their commitment to go green by adopting a recycling program. They recycle everything from glass to cardboard. Not only do they recycle basic materials like tin and paper, but they take the extra step to sort all garbage to see if there are other items that can be recycled. They make it convenient for guests to participate by putting recycle bins at all entry points, in hallways, and in rooms. All of the inn’s amenities such as shampoo and soap, are packaged in recycled material. Due to their recycling efforts, the inn has twice been awarded the Utah Busi-ness Recycler of the Year (2005 and 2006).

Other sustainable practices include installing Energy Star-approved appliances, fluorescent lighting, high-efficiency cooling and heating systems, and a solar array for heating their hot tub, as well as putting water-conserving shower heads and toilets in each guest room.

For its environmental efforts, the Treasure Mountain Inn has been EPA-certified as a Green Power Partner. In 2010, Beerman and Leonard also received the Environmental Heroes Award, which is awarded to businesses that are committed to sustainable business practices. To keep their commitment alive, the inn’s owners donate 1 percent of all their revenue to “1% for the Planet,” an organization committed to making the planet a healthier place.

The Treasure Mountain Inn is an inspiration to other businesses because it shows how a few small changes can make the world a better place. Learn more about The Trea-sure Mountain Inn at www.treasuremoun-taininn.com or, better yet, visit the inn itself.

Park + Vine, Cincinnati, ohioLocated in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, Park + Vine opened in 2007 and has since been dubbed the “General Store of the Future” by CityBeat.

Park + Vine offers environmentally friendly merchandise that reduces the use of natural resources and animal by-products. Products include reusable bags, non-toxic cleaning supplies, natural baby supplies, and organic food. Owner Dan Korman spreads his message about the importance of being eco-friendly by hosting numerous events and classes that show consumers how their choices can damage the environment.

Korman’s mission is to show “struggling wannabe-greenies the way to environmental salvation.” Each week, he hosts classes focusing on environmental topics such as eco-safe cleaning or cloth diapering to show the public how small steps can make a tre-mendous difference in the green movement. Korman also hosts several monthly events, such as the Veeegan Pizza Party or the Earth Day Kombucha Keg Party.

In addition, he has created pop up shops that have become community favorites. Every Saturday, Korman hosts a Pop Up

Bicycle Repair Shop so customers can get their bikes tuned up before they hit the trails. Another popular shop is the Pop Up Swap Shop where people bring items to sell, swap, or give away. The Pop Up Swap Shop goes back to the notion that one’s man trash is another man’s treasure.

By hosting classes, events, and pop up shops, Korman shows the public that going green can be easy and fun and hopes to encourage others to follow suit. Through the sale of eco-friendly products and his efforts to spread the word outside the store, Korman has become a leader in the sustainability movement. To learn more about Park + Vine, visit its website at www.parkandvine.com.

GreenSky, Andersonville, IllinoisTucked away in Andersonville’s oldest building, this locally owned emporium offers a variety of decorative arts, eclectic gifts, and everyday goods. “Every item has a story” at this eco shop, which features merchandise ranging from handmade tiles and mosaics to products made from recy-cled license plates and even old steel drum flying pigs! The basics include recycled milk jug furniture, locally produced soaps and soy candles, recycled yogurt cup toothbrushes, and fair trade chocolates.

GreenSky is housed in an 1898 classic Chicago Victorian corner building recently restored by shopkeeper Nadeen Kieren and her husband, local architect Thom Greene. You can meander through the hundred-year-old rooms discovering pleasures for the eyes and the mind. GreenSkyfunfacts:• Named one of Chicago’s top 10

eco-boutiques by the Huffington Post in 2010;

• Has been a three-star eco-Andersonville certified business since 2009, one of the first three to be certified by eco-Andersonville;

LEFT: Its sustainable business practices have earned the Treasure Mountain Inn numerous awards, including Park City’s Environmental Heroes Award in 2010.

RIGHT: Dubbed the “General Store of the Future,” Cincinnati’s Park + Vine not only sells eco-friendly merchandise but also spreads the “go green” message to customers by hosting several monthly events and classes.

© Mark Byron


• Was certified as the first Green Americas certified business in Edgewater and Andersonville in 2007;

• Received the 2007 Commercial Good Neighbor Award from Chicago Board of Realtors for restoration of a commercial building.

Learn more about GreenSky by visiting www.greenskycompany.com.

The Big Bad Woof, Washington, D.C.

When owners Julie Paez and Pennye Jones-Napier started The Big Bad Woof six years ago, they applied their personal philosophies about environmentally friendly practices. Some of the practical applications they have implemented in their store include recycling, utilizing micro-fiber towels in place of paper towels, using green cleaning products, giving customers their shipping boxes as an alternative to bags, and buying organically raised or sustainably manufactured products. These practices have also helped them save money in their operating costs.

Each year Paez and Jones-Napier have refined and added sustainable criteria, such as where a product is made, how it is made, how it is packaged, how far it travels to get to the store and, ultimately, the consumer. They also give priority to local, minority-owned businesses and fair trade products. In the past five years, they have eliminated more than 50 percent of products mass-produced overseas. Supporting local econo-mies is critical, they believe, because it adds diversity to consumer product selection and brings money back to the local economy.

The store also has an aggressive calendar of events, including “Woof Clinics” on a wide range of topics. The response from the store’s customers has been overwhelmingly positive since the day it opened its doors. While there is still a perception that the store is more expensive than big-box stores, customers who compare prices note that Big Bad Woof is very competitive in price on similar products and that it has a selection of regional and local products that aren’t available in the bigger stores.

This year, when the owners were ready to open a new store in the Arts District of Hyattsville, Maryland, it was their customers and employees who came forward to provide the bridge loan needed to complete the funding by the State of Maryland and the developer. The new store will be a model for franchising the owner’s concept. Learn more at the website www.bbwoofinc.com.

I hope this tour of sustainable small businesses across the United States has inspired you to think creatively about how your town, your business, and your clients can benefit from this “go green” initiative! Smart companies are starting to innovate around this trend in many creative ways. Things to consider as a way of getting your business involved include:• Think eco-cycle. Recycling, up cycling,

down cycling — it doesn’t matter what you call it. If you can figure out ways to eliminate negative environmental impacts (both direct and indirect) from your products and services, do so and educate your clients on your practices. Consumers are increasingly aware of the consequences of their purchasing decisions, and their shopping behaviors are changing to reflect their concerns.

• Beeco-generous. Designate a hybrid parking place or two — this gives environmentally conscious individuals a chance to share their passion and receive recognition for it.

• Nurturetheeco-frugalcustomer. During the past few years, cash-strapped consumers have embraced sustainability in many ways, from selling their own items for cash, to generously donating to causes,

to partnering with businesses and charities to do what is worthy and prudent.

• Offereco-conciergeservices. Consider eco-educational opportunities through green home makeovers, green office makeovers, and go-green parties. This new trend is known as eco-concierge, as many firms are beginning to help clients go green. Figure out what eco-concierge services you can offer your clients.

In summary, I strongly urge all small business owners to study the opportunities that abound and to become engaged at some level in the sustainable/go green movement! Involve your team, your customers, and your community. I trust that these “case studies” have inspired you! Get creative — use my short list of resources to assist you in launching your own platform for your business.

Got to go – just got the “green light.”Margie Johnson is an Allied Member of the National Main Street Network. Learn more about Margie and Shop Talk at http://allieddirectory.mainstreet.org. She can also be reached at [email protected] or by visiting her website, http://www.shoptalk.org.

Eco-friendly Websites for Small Businesses

Energy Star Small Business Network is a government-sponsored program that offers free information about the benefits of having an environmentally conscious business. www.energystar.gov

Greenbiz.com offers valuable articles that discuss various topics of the green revolution. www.greenbiz.com

Ecoprenurist discusses many different ways that small businesses can go green. www.ecopreneurist.com

1% for the Planet is an organization whose members understand that being environmentally conscious will lead to the success and longevity of their busi-nesses; the website offers insight about the importance of this concept. www.onepercentfortheplanet.org

Greenwala has useful articles about the significance of going green for both business and personal life. www.greenwala.com

GreenAmerica is a not-for-profit orga-nization that focuses on the importance of protecting the environment and establishing a sustainable society. www.greenamerica.org

Washington, D.C., pet store, the Big Bad Woof, focuses on selling goods produced by local, minority-owned businesses, as well as fair trade merchandise.

24 MAINSTREETNOW May / June 2011

By Teresa Lynch

What do you get When you combine entrepreneurial spirit and great business acumen With an innate understanding of local food systems and green building technology?

© Courtesy of Rusty Winkstern

25May / June 2011 MAINSTREETNOW May / June 2011 MAINSTREETNOW

In 1995, they combined their talents and built the Monument Café on the outskirts of Georgetown’s downtown district. The 2,900-square-foot café building was equipped to seat 125 people.

From the day Rusty began cooking for a few guests eager to sample the food at the town’s newest restaurant, a constant stream of diners flowed to the café. It wasn’t too long, however, before the deluge of custom-ers, the building’s limited seating capacity, and the confined kitchen quarters caused Rusty and Clark to consider moving to another location where they could expand the café facilities.

But there were other reasons for relocating. Through the years of running the café, Rusty and Clark were constantly innovating, creating new ways to prepare food and adding menu choices made with the freshest seasonal ingredients, much of it organically grown and purchased from local farmers. Preparing food for their café customers and for their large catering operation was stretching the seams of the small building.

The two were also becoming more and more engaged in, and enthralled by, the concepts of the green movement and sus-tainable development. By 2007, the café was selling $1,000 per square foot of space — a great return on investment. But these were two guys who had bigger plans for their and downtown Georgetown’s future.

As Rusty explains it, their dream was to create a large sustainable development that would represent a new paradigm for Georgetown — a business enterprise that would be healthy and comfortable for its occupants; economical to operate; and built to conserve resources and minimize toxic materials and waste in its design, construction, landscaping, and operation. Constructing an urban development complex

where they could more fully embody their food service philosophy and principles of sustainable development became their mission.

In 2007, Rusty and Clark acquired a property consisting of a full city block just off the downtown square, where a Ford dealership had been located. When it moved, three auto-oriented structures were vacated and remained on the parcel: the dealership sales office, a service garage, and a small storage building.

Clark, calling on his innate design abili-ties, created a plan to adaptively reuse the sales building as the new Monument Café and to use all of the latest green building principles in the retrofit. But, partway into design of the project, the partners discovered that the existing structure’s load-bearing walls would not hold the weight of the green roof system or mechanical equipment planned for installation on the roof. Instead, they de-cided to raze the building — salvaging and recycling most of the resulting debris — and to construct the restaurant on the slab foundation of the old dealership building. By November 2008, the new 6,600-square-foot Monument Café, which had the capac-ity to seat 225 people, opened its doors.

In Georgetown, Texas, you get sustainable urban development on a city block of land, a stone’s throw off the his-toric downtown square.

Business partners Rusty Winkstern and Clark Lyda have blended their talents, skills, philosophy, and life experience in the design and construction of this innovative project. Thus far, the development includes an outsized Texas roadside eatery called the Monument Café, which serves food made with farm-fresh ingredients, and the Monument Market, which sells locally sourced seasonal produce and meats. A quarter-acre garden plot for growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs nestles by the café and the market, and fu-ture plans for the site include development of a two-story office building. From design and construction of the buildings housing the café and urban market to all aspects of food preparation, service, and delivery, this development incorporates the use of every imaginable form of sustainable building technology and business principles.

Down the Green RoadHow did Rusty, a transplanted New York farm boy, and Clark, a real estate developer from Austin, end up going down the green road together? Rusty’s love of agriculture and cooking were part of his makeup from early days. At 22, he opened a Mexican restaurant in Austin, Texas, and a few years later moved on from that enterprise and established a seafood restaurant just outside of Austin. Rusty then returned to downtown Austin where he opened a luncheonette close to the state’s Capitol Building. Since it was a short walk from his office, Clark often grabbed lunch at Rusty’s place. Customer and proprietor became friends as they bonded over their common love of good food.

It wasn’t long before they saw the advan-tages of melding Clark’s business acumen and design sensibilities with Rusty’s farm experience, affinity for cooking, and knowl-edge of day-to-day restaurant operations.

Monument Café customers can see all aspects of food preparation and service through large glass parti-tions that separate the dining area from the kitchen.

Monument Café co-owner Rusty Winkstern hopes to educate customers about the importance of organically produced, non-processed food products.


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A quarter-acre garden next to the Monument Café supplies vegetables, fruits, and herbs for the restaurant and neighboring market.


days a week. Rusty describes it as a hybrid of a grocery store and farmer’s market. Food products prepared at the café commissary — such as jellies, pastries, and soups — and fresh produce grown in the garden on the development site are sold at the market. The market also carries organic fruits, vegetables, meats, and dairy products purchased from local farmers as well as locally sourced non-food products, such as hand-made soaps. Eventual plans for the market building include addition of a second story, which will house offices for staff as well as provide office space for lease. Clark says that when that upper story is added, a green roof system will be installed.

Sustainable DevelopmentIn all of the construction that has evolved on the site, Rusty and Clark have integrated established and new sustainable technolo-gies so that they reinforce and support each other to achieve the maximum benefit. As already mentioned, one of their origi-nal goals was to adapt and reuse two of the existing structures on the property so they could make use of the material and economic resources contained in them. When it was found that most of the dealership’s sales building had to be removed, it was done through a process of deconstruction rather than demolition. As a result, they were able to recycle 90 percent of the resulting debris.

Following the same sustainability philos-ophy, all materials used in constructing the Monument Café were either recycled and/or locally sourced building materials. Any new materials used were chosen because they could be recycled at the end of the

building’s life. For instance, the ‘skin’ of the café building is cement stucco rather than dryvit, because stucco can be recycled at the end of the building’s life span or if there is need to remove it. Also, all of the building’s finishes, including doors, windows, and trim, are made of wood which has a long life span and can be recycled. Even the wood finish applied to the surfaces of those doors, windows, and trim was an environmentally friendly, oil-based finish that stains, seals, and protects the surfaces.

In the building cavities, Clark says that a LEED-certified spray-on foam was used to seal and insulate the structure. Besides being super-efficient at saving energy use, there is no ‘off-gassing’ when the foam is applied, he says, making it a safer product for people and the environment.

A containerized green roof was installed on the café building. It serves many purposes: it creates a home for some lovely plants which, in turn, camouflage mechanical systems on the roof; reduces runoff; acts as an insulating agent; and serves as a habitat for birds. When it rains, the water on the roof is harvested and stored in cisterns that can be incorporated in the heating and cooling system and then used for irrigation needs.

Rusty is very proud of the sustainable food system practices that have been built into the café’s food preparation and cooking processes. He can wax eloquently on the way the Eco-Arch AVTEC commercial hood venting system for cooking and frying works. According to Rusty, the Monument Café is the first restaurant in the country to utilize this island hood-design system and he couldn’t be more pleased with the results. The cooking ventilation system is

extremely efficient and uses 75 percent less energy in the process.

There was even “green” thought given to the floor cleaning system purchased for the café. Rusty says that the floor cleaning machine that is used to keep the café spic and span uses only water and no chemicals. It is run through an electrolyzed water system, so floors and other soiled surfaces can be cleaned with tap water only.

Another energy-saving device that Rusty extols is the louver air conditioning system that pulls in cool air from the outside when the louvers are open. It employs thermal venting and cross-ventilation, thus reducing the need for the air conditioning system to kick in. When it is very hot outside, the louvers close automatically—returning the HVAC system to a conventional mode.

Clark is equally proud of the daylight harvesting system they have installed, which produces additional energy savings by reducing the need for electric lighting. The café walls are lined with many windows, all of which provide passive light from sunlight during the day. There are sensors in the ceiling that are cued to the amount of daylight coming in the windows, causing electric lights to dim whenever passive sunlight streams through. On very hot days, when too much sun coming in through the large windows might cause the air condi-tioning system to come on, louvers on the windows automatically shut and keep the sun’s heat from entering the building.

An Energy-efficient EnvironmentExterior landscaping on the Monument site is also planned around green principles. Clark designed a shared parking arrange-ment that serves all of the activities going on at the site. Pervious concrete/asphalt was used to pave the parking area, which meets development demand and maintains the desired urban character of the project. A permeable paving system reduces heat and runoff, improves water quality, and gives urban trees the root space they need to grow to full size. In another landscaping feature, the use of native plants and water gardens acts to passively heat and cool the site, thereby minimizing the urban heat island effect and creating livable outdoor areas.


One major energy-saving and environ-mentally sustainable system that hasn’t yet been installed on the Monument site, but which Rusty and Clark talk about long-ingly, is a state-of-the art automated thermophilic composting unit that converts all types of biodegradable waste into useable mulch. Clark says that the system would take cardboard, paper, some plastic, wood, and all of the food waste—including meat, fish, and dairy. If they had such a unit on site, it would eliminate the need to send garbage to landfills. All of the bacteria would be killed in the composting process and the resulting residue would be mulch that can be used on gardens and in landscaping. This composting unit carries a very high price tag. But with all of the other sustainable technology that has been integrated into the development, it seems likely that such a system will find a home on the site in the not-too-distant future.

Green Principles: A Profitable PursuitIn the meantime, Rusty and Clark have started a totally new project that will extend their restaurant development and sustain-ability reach in Georgetown. They have

just broken ground on the construction of a new building that will house a Mexican restaurant on a site about six blocks north of the downtown square. The design and build-out of the new restaurant and its surrounding landscape will incorporate many of the green practices and sustainable building technologies that have been used at the Monument Café. The restaurant structure will be built on a large parcel of land that has a view of the San Gabriel River, creating opportunities to integrate garden and other landscaped areas, including a courtyard and outdoor dining pavilion, into the design plan,

Rusty says the menu for the new restaurant will not be “Tex Mex,” but that “Interior Mexican” food will be served. All of the ingredients for the menu items will be locally grown or sourced, will be organic whenever possible, and will vary as the seasons change. None of the food served will be pre-packaged, and the menu will include a variety of fresh seafood and meats that are traditional Mexican cuisine. Much of the food that will be served at the Mexican restaurant will be prepped and cooked within the café’s commissary, and the farm-to-table concept that has served he Monument Café so well will be embraced in the new restaurant.

In recounting their sustainable development journey, Clark says that he and Rusty have always tried to incorporate good business practices and principles their projects by designing buildings that are “permanent” structures with long lives. Although those buildings cost significantly more initially than conventional structures, says Clark, they pay back with increased rents, lower maintenance and operation costs, and higher resale values. Clark believes that their busi-ness practices also demonstrate how people and businesses can easily incorporate sustainability into their daily lives.

It would appear that Rusty and Clark’s sustainable business practices are paying off in both customer and employee dividends. Last year, the wait staff served 400,000 meals at the Monument Café. That is apart from all of the catering business they do. And, at last count, the Monument Café Group partnership employed more than a hundred people who are working to main-tain the sustainable development. Some of those employees have been part of the café team for years and have reached their 10 and 15 year anniversaries. Rusty and Clark make sure they recognize their employees’ years of service by including that informa-tion on the name plates they wear on their uniforms.

The Monument Café uses many energy-efficient devices including a daylight harvesting system that reduces the need for electric lighting. The café walls are lined with windows, all of which provide passive light from the sun during the day. Sensors in the ceiling dim the elec-tric lights whenever sunlight streams through the windows. On very hot days, louvers on the windows automatically shut to prevent the sun’s heat from entering the building.




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An extremely popular destination, the Monument Café brings many

first-time visitors to downtown Georgetown. Last year, the

wait staff served up more than 400,000 meals.

Building Sustainable PartnershipsRusty is very appreciative of the sup-port he and Clark have received from the community as the two have moved from one green project to another. “George-town is a great place for our business,” he says. “The concept has been well received here. And everything has seemed to fall into place since we arrived. We believe in Georgetown and in the downtown district. We particularly want to get more people onto the square.”

Rusty is excited about teaching adults and children about the social, economic, and health benefits that come from eating locally sourced food and appreciating fresh produce when it is in season. As he says, “We want people to celebrate this community, its local assets, and the sea-sonality of food.”

Main Street Georgetown Program Director Shelly Hargrove can’t say enough positive things about what the two entrepreneurs mean to the community. “These are the types of projects that you dream about,” Shelly says. “Rusty and Clark have such a great vision — they’re developing sustainable businesses that are becoming destination businesses for downtown. We are seeing so many people who are visiting downtown Georgetown for the first time because of the Monu-ment Café. And for a small town, the type of sustainable urban development they are doing is huge and sets such a great example for other business owners and property developers. Rusty and Clark have set the bar so high. Everything they have done is of the highest quality and that high quality is what we always try to do in downtown Georgetown. To get even one of these businesses in our town is amazing but now, along with the Monument Café and the Monument Market, we will soon have the Mexican restaurant.”

Rusty’s commitment to the community and the downtown goes beyond his work on sustainable development projects, says Shelly. He has also served on the George-town Main Street Board and as the chair of the economic restructuring committee. He believes in, and knows firsthand, what makes a downtown viable, she says.

Shelly also attributes a good portion of

the success of Rusty and Clark’s projects to the completion of the Downtown Mas-ter Plan in 2003. Shelly says the commu-nity vision expressed in that plan sparked the interest of several business owners and property developers. Soon after the plan was completed, a downtown residential townhouse project was built. She believes that Rusty and Clark were encouraged in their pursuits by the master plan, which outlined exactly what the city and the community were looking for in new development projects.

As developers become interested in creating new projects, Shelly says the Main Street Georgetown program works with the city to establish incentives that fit the needs of each new development. In the case of Rusty and Clark’s sustainable urban development, the city upgraded sidewalks, buried utility lines, provided historic lighting and trash receptacles, and made other streetscape improvements. As Shelly says, “It’s a real partnership be-tween the private developer and the city.”

It appears that the Mexican restaurant development will also reap the benefits of that strong public-private partnership. Shelly says that the site of the new restaurant overlooks San Gabriel Park, which fronts on the river and already has a trail system leading from the park into the downtown district. The city plans to expand on pedestrian options between the Mexican restaurant and the downtown square by improving all of the sidewalks and adding other streetscape amenities between the two locations. People will be able to visit downtown Georgetown, leave their cars parked there, and walk six blocks to enjoy Mexican food or enter the San Gabriel Park to use its trail system. Thus, the community is developing a new “green” feature that will capitalize on another destination business created by the sustainability team of Rusty Winkstern and Clark Lyda. As Shelly says, “These are the types of guys you want to duplicate and triplicate. They really ‘get’ downtown.”Teresa Lynch is a senior program officer with the National Trust Main Street Center.



NETWoRK NOTESGReen eDITIOn“ Network Notes” is compiled and written monthly

by Andrea L. dono. If you have interesting

projects or ideas you would like to share, e-mail

[email protected].

In the Green Building Law Blog on Janu-ary 12, 2011, Shari Shapiro’s “Let’s Make a Deal – Top 10 Rules of Green Project Fi-nance,” (www.greenbuildinglawblog.com), offered tips for getting banks to finance projects. Traditional loans have been harder to come by lately, but you can increase your chances of getting financing by clearly ex-plaining what your project is and what the green benefits will be. Shapiro makes the point that not every banker gets green technol-ogy and its value, so you need to spend some time educating them. For example, an applicant must explain the value of the solar array (e.g., what is the resale value of the solar panels and what is the value of the electricity the array will produce?). For a green retrofit of a historic building, put a value on the potential energy savings and show that the building can command higher rents.

HereareShapiro’srulesforgreenprojectfinance:1. Findabankorfinancialinstitution

committedtogreenprojects. Some banks now have financial arms dedicated to funding renewable projects.

2. Pickamodel. It’s easier to tweak an existing project finance model than to create a new one from scratch. Con-struction? Equipment?

3. Recognizetheneedfortweaks. Whatever the model (see #2), it will need to be tweaked for the unique features of green building and renewable projects.

4. Setoutthedealtermsinadvance,particularlytheobligationsofthepartiesintheeventofdefault.

5. Identifyandaddresstherolesofthelenderandborrowerwithrespecttoanyincentivesorothergovernmentfinancingthatispartoftheproject.

Each incentive has its own requirements regarding transferability and assign-ment, and ownership status is often an important factor.

6. Makesureyourgreenprojectpencilsout. Seems simple and obvious, but when seeking financing, it is important that the project actually be a wise investment.

7. Provideasmuchdataaboutthebeneficialfinancialfeaturesofthegreenprojectaspossible. The growing body of data about the financial benefits of green buildings and the balance sheets of renewable energy projects should enable borrowers and lenders to better evaluate the risks and benefits of green projects.

8. Whereavailable,usegreenspecificfinancingtools,likeenergy-efficientmortgages.A good primer is available at www.mortgageloan.com/environment.

9. Bepreparedtocross-collateralize.There is so much risk aversion that many financial institutions are seeking cross-collateralization of non-green projects to alleviate the fear, real or imagined, associated with financing green projects.

10. Acknowledgealongerfinancingtimeline.Getting all parties on the same page about the financing deal and the documentation may take longer than traditional projects. But, as lenders and borrowers get more projects under their belts, this timeline will shorten.

Shari Shapiro, Esq., LEED AP, is an attorney in the Energy, Environment and Utilities practice of Cozen O’Connor. More information on Cozen’s EEU Practice is available at www.cozen.com/industry_sector_detail.asp?d=1&isid=6.

Web Watch

If you’re launching a planning process, leading a new visioning exercise, or trying to better incorporate smart growth and sustainability into your community, head over to the Planning ToolExchange (PlanIt X) brought to you by the OrtonFamilyFoundation. It’s got a free database filled with various planning processes, supporting documents, and case studies that will help you find the inclusive process that will meet your needs. A broad variety of topics is covered, from integrating arts and culture, protecting community character in the face of population growth, engaging youth and diverse groups, and using a variety of high and low-tech tools to encourage public participation. http://www.planningtoolexchange.org.

New from the NationalParkService:The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation & Illustrated Guidelines on Sustainability for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings. Download the free PDF to help your local property owners with green rehabs. This is the first set of official guidelines on how to make changes that improve energy efficiency and still preserve the character of historic buildings. The Guidelines are an important addition to current discussions about sustainability and achieving greater energy efficiency, which have focused primarily on new buildings to date. The Guidelines on Sustainability stress the inherent sustainability of historic buildings and offer specific guidance on “recommended” rehabilitation treatments and those that are “not recommended” because they could damage a building’s historic character. http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/index.htm.


The fine folks at the NationalCompleteStreetsCoalition understand that a road has many users and uses — they are champions of streets that meet the needs of bikers, walkers, and drivers. The coalition’s new report, Complete Streets Policy Analysis 2010, may sound dry, but it features policies that support many downtown goals. You’ll find sample policies and explanations that can help your organization make the case for multi-use, safe streets in your community. Note: one out of five communities that have adopted Complete Streets policies is outside of urban areas, so there is something here for communities of all sizes. http://www.completestreets.org/webdocs/resources/cs-policyanalysis.pdf.

If you’re looking for ways to help your local businesses go green, the CityofSpokane’sBusinessandDevelopmentServices’Sustain-ableManagementofAssets,ResourcesandTechnology(SMART)RecognitionProgram is a good place to start. It recognizes both aspiring and certified green businesses that are committed to creating better work environments; a healthier, more productive workforce; more customers; and an increase in the bottom line. Applicants are asked to demonstrate their accomplishments and activities and are given decals for their mar-keting materials and storefronts. Decals are available for eight sustainability categories, including historic preservation, transportation, and waste reduction. Want to know more? Visit SMART’s website or attend the session, “SMART Business! Encouraging Sustainability in Your Business Community,” at the NationalPreservationConference in Buffalo, N.Y., Oct. 19-22, 2011.

http://www.developingspokane.org/incen-tives/green_incentive/green_business_smart/default.aspx.

Around the Network

Green Infrastructure for Clean

WaterUpon learning that the City of Boston planned transportation improvements for Peabody Square, the community requested green infrastructure to help mitigate pollution of the Neponset River. TheSt.Mark’sAreaMainStreet program helped organize public charrettes, and a few Main Street volunteers, including an architect and two environmental professionals, teamed with the Charles River Watershed Association to offer technical expertise. The project integrated a passive stormwater filtration system into the Square — it has a rain garden, bioswale, porous pavement, and interpretive signs to explain how these elements create cleaner water for the city.

The small town of PortOrford,Oregon, installed a bioswale in its downtown, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean. The Ford Family Foundation, the municipality, and the South Coast Watershed Council worked together to bring this project to the community. Storm-water ordinances for the downtown comple-ment its clean water goals. Large properties and developments in town are required to provide permeable surfaces for water runoff and smaller properties are required to install proper gutter systems to manage water runoff.

ABQ Urban farming Albuquerque’sDowntownActionTeam will be managing a new local foods demonstra-tion project — the AlvaradoUrbanFarm. Tabling recruitment efforts to bring a grocery store downtown, the program signed a lease to develop a fully functional half-acre farm downtown. Blending commercial, farms and community gardens, a farmer’s market, public education, and recreation (bocce courts!), the

group hopes to show de-mand for a market while engaging in placemaking. Fresh food will be sold at the farm stand and will also go to local schools and homeless shelters. Planting will begin this summer.

Another cool thing — the city’s mayor unveiled the state’s first electriccarchargingmeters in downtown Albuquer-que. People simply pull up, swipe their credit card, and plug in.

LEd Lights on MainOxford,Michigan, replaced older street lights along four major downtown streets with LEDfixtures designed by a local com-pany called Relume. Oxford is the first city in the U.S. to employ this technology and expects to save $8,000 a year in energy bills and maintenance as the LED bulbs use 40 percent less electricity than incandescent lights and last six times longer. Relume fixtures have a variety of cool features such as dimming capabilities, 911 system con-nectivity, and a pattern lighting function that can turn on every other light.

In 2009, using funds from its business improvement district, the city, and the Community Redevelopment Authority, Hastings,Nebraska, began upgrading its old Christmaslightswith LEDbulbs. Before the twinkle light overhaul, the downtown was decorated with 13,000 light bulbs. The lighting display was downsized to 10,000 since LED bulbs cost $.90 more than standard bulbs, to-taling about $11,500. The entire project cost $15,000 more than the community typically would have spent, but the savings promise to add up. Before the up-grade, the cost of the holiday lighting was $4,800; after the upgrade, the utility bill was reduced to $403! While community members had to adjust to the bluish hue, they applauded the savings, and the city appreciated the easier maintenance — LEDs don’t burn out as quickly and they stand up better to hail storms.

Vermont Viewshed ProtectionsLast year, the city of Randolph,Vermont, adopted new zoning regulations that include establishment of an Interchange (INT) district, designed to curb sprawl and protect scenic views. The INT encompasses lands near the highway interchange and interstate that are nestled among mountains and farmland. Zoning regulations stipulate what can and cannot be built in these zones and try to concen-trate commercial development within exist-ing traditional village centers. Randolph’s master plan includes recommendations for Transfer Development Rights (TDR) to allow owners of open land to sell their development rights to developers

The Alvarado Urban Farm is a local foods demonstration project in Albuquerque, New Mexico.


of projects in denser areas in exchange for special zoning exceptions. TDR zoning regulations have not yet been adopted, but once they are, they will help preserve rural space, create compact urban areas, and limit additional infrastructure expenditures by preventing development on greenfields.

I Pity the fool Who doesn’t hike!Although the annual festival is called AprilFools’TrailDays, this event is no joke to the TownofFranklin, North Carolina. The Main Street program has found a unique way to celebrate its heritage, encourage healthy living, and turn its close proximity to the Appalachian Trail (AT) into an economic benefit. With deep connections to the trail’s history, the townsfolk of Franklin have long enjoyed this recreational asset. A local club was formed in 1968 to help take care of the trail near the downtown, and the community has a reputation for being exceptionally hospitable to hikers. In fact, in 2008, Franklin received one of only five Appalachian Trail Community™ designa-tions along the entire 2,181-mile trail.

The April Fools’ Trails Days is an event that grows bigger each year. This year, the number of vendors has doubled. Franklin residents, hikers, and other visitors cel-ebrate the AT’s national significance and its connection with the town. Entertainment takes place all day long, with appearances by AT All Stars (such as the fastest female through-hiker), vendors of hiking gear, a rock-climbing wall, educational exhibits, trail displays, music, food, and more.

Livable Streets in Lee’s Summit Three year’s ago, a citizen-driven planning process brought together 200 Lee’s Summit, Missouri., stakeholders to spend eight months developing guidelines and ideal goals for the city. The mayor and city coun-cil adopted the planning document and a LivableStreetsResolution in 2010. The resolution provides a policy framework for all future development and requires a livable streets review coordinated by a Livable Streets Advisory Board and municipal agencies.

Emphasis will be placed on enhancing the pedestrian environment. All new projects will be assessed on their ability to link to the city’s Greenway Trail and regional MetroGreen systems, as well as their plans to accommodate design elements such as zero-lot line infill.

Be Green — Eat a CupcakeIf only it were that easy… wait! It is that easy in Baltimore’sHamilton-LauravilleMainStreetdistrict. This spring, Ruben and Kristin Hernandez opened the new HamiltonBakery whose mission is to keep the local economy thriving by buying from local producers. Finding the perfect building in this up-and-coming artsy neighborhood has been a lot easier than their search for ingredients like organic hard wheat, which typically doesn’t grow well in the humid climate of the Mid-Atlantic. An Eastern Shore farmer finally emerged, allowing the bakery to locally source freshly ground flour and open its doors as one of those great “third places” that also adheres to being green.

Creating healthy LifestylesSince the HealthyNacogdochesCoalitionwas founded in 2007, a number of projects have come online to help Texans live healthier lives. The executive director of the Nacogdoches Main Street program sits on the coalition’s board, and the two organizations work together on various projects, such as getting food stamps accepted at the farmer’s market, and hosting an annual Bicycle Rodeo downtown to promote bike safety and maintenance. Also a strong partner in this wellness coalition is the city, which used a $300,000 grant to enhance the accessibility of the Lanana Creek Trail by connecting it to local schools.

MainStreetKingwoodhas channeled grant money from the West Virginia Department of Health & Human Services and the Center for Disease Control toward healthylifestyles projects for school children and teens. With the help of the Tractor Supply Co., the program helped

the children plant their own gardens, giving them not just the how-tos, but also cameras so they could keep a diary of their work. At the end of the growing season, one winner received a cash prize for the best garden, and all children were invited to display their produce at the annual Buckwheat Festival.

Earth day Celebrations Earth Day in Staunton,Virginia, is more than a one-day event. Throughout April, downtown businesses and property owners of vacant storefronts create green-themed window displays, there is a Wild and Scenic Film Festival, Mary Baldwin College hosts a birdhouse building workshop, and the city recycles tricky items like tires and electronics. Actual Earth Day activities feature interactive learning booths by dozens of earth-friendly organizations, including the area bird watching club, master gardeners, beekeepers, the Virginia Department of Forestry, and wa-tershed groups; hands-on demonstrations for kids; a native plant sale; and entertainment.

Keeping Chinatown CleanIn Philadelphia’s Chinatown district, a clean-up day was about a lot more than just picking up trash. In a community with a lot of immigrants accustomed to daily trash pick-ups in China, rubbish tends to pile up outside because keeping garbage inside the house or business is unacceptable.

ThePhiladelphiaChinatownDevelopmentCorporation(CDC), which runs the neigh-borhood’s Main Street program, worked with a team of 100 volunteers on the city’s annualSpringCleanUp. Putting an educa-tional twist on the event, the CDC handed out fliers, in English and Chinese, that urge people to keep the neighborhood clean. The district’s cleanliness is important to the program as its revitalization effort gains momentum. An illuminated plaza guarded by giant foo dogs and street improvements that will dot the streets with Chinese zodiac characters and elm trees will bring a new vitality to the district — one that will benefit from the new ethic of keeping the area clean.

LEFT: Nacogdoches, Tex., is promoting outdoor activity by connecting the Lanana Creek Trail to local schools.

RIGHT: Lee’s Summit, Mo., has developed a frame-work for future develop-ment that will enhance the walkability of the community.

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My Main Street

Cane River Lake runs through the downtown historic district in Natchitoches. The 33-block National Landmark historic District is one of three in Louisiana. With nearly 40 bed and breakfasts in the historic district, downtown Natchitoches, and the surrounding Cane River heritage Area, is a great place to visit and explore.

If you have a photo that captures the essence of your Main Street, e-mail it to [email protected] and we’ll consider it for next issue’s My Main Street. Please make sure the image file is at least 5”x6” at 300 dpi. Let your imagina-tion run wild. We’re looking for unusual, artistic shots that capture the spirit of your Main Street district.

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