Port Orchard’s Director of Planning James Weaver is excited
about last night’s adoption by the city council of an ordinance
that will incorporate low-impact development guidelines into the
city’s Storm Water Design Manual.
Low impact development is an optional way for builders and
designers to meet storm water runoff requirements. The ordinance
adds to their “toolbox,” Weaver said.
Guidelines in the manual will outline methods to reduce the amount
of storm water runoff generated on developed sites. Topics covered
include site design, permeable and nonpermeable surfaces,
dispersion of runoff, vegetated roofs, excavation, bioretention
facilities and soil retention.
The practice makes sense economically and ecologically, Weaver
said. For example, a developer could conceivably avoid having to
install a storm water detention pond by using permeable pavement
that absorbs runoff. This in turn would increase the amount of
usable land on the site.
Weaver praised the Homebuilders Association of
Kitsap County for taking the lead in establishing uniform
low-impact standards to be adopted and implemented by Kitsap County
and its four incorporated cities. Check the association’s Web site
for information on its Low
Impact Development (LID) Standards Implementation Project.
Having uniform standards will help streamline the annexation
process as local cities grow by taking on areas of unincorporated
Kitsap, Weaver said.
If you work in the construction industry, have you found
low-impact development to be cost effective?
If you are or have recently been in the market for a new home, how
important is low-impact development to you? Would you be willing to
pay more to live in a home or apartment that was constructed using
LID standards?
