Heal the Bay, South LA

Heal the Bay is an organization I have been interested in for some time. It was founded on the simple premise that Santa Monica Bay, which in 1985 was suffering from some of the highest levels of contamination found anywhere among US coastal waters, represented the health of the entire ecosystem of the area. Heal the Bay, Heal our City, is the underlying message. They have a great website, a huge membership, and do excellent research and community outreach.

On its website, Heal the Bay highlights a positive development from the LA City Council earlier this month. City Council has passed three far-reaching ordinances: Low Impact Development, Green Building and Drought Tolerant Landscaping. In the context of Heal the Bay, these new ordinances pull our work at Urban Development & Finance into sharp focus.

Quoting the site, the ordinances rule that:

+ All new developments must install smart irrigation controllers for landscape irrigation
+ In 2010 all buildings above 10,000 square feet and greater must be LEED certified those developments above 25,000 square feet or higher than 75 feet must receive LEED Silver certification
+ All new developments must consume at least 15% less energy than required by 2005 state efficiency standards
+ A minimum of 75% of total landscaped area shall be plants that are drought-tolerant. Only 25% of the landscaped area can be turf.

Our goals for two significant projects in South LA (Montclair West Adams and Bethany Square) are to exceed these standards. And when we do, we hope the effects are felt all the way to the Coast.

- Norris Lozano

From the ashes... a solar tax credit bill

It's been one of the wildest months in financial history, and watching the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 go down in flames was one among many shocks. The benefits that can pour forth from these stimulus programs are extraordinary in any market conditions, not the least of which are a great leap forward in America's technology leadership, "green collar" jobs, a reduction in emissions, and reduced dependency on foreign oil.

So it was a surprise and relief to see the bill come back to life as part of the $700 billion relief package, passed by Congress and signed by the President this week. Many of us who are involved in green buildings and renewable energy development are looking forward utilizing these important tools to help create a triple bottom line opportunity within all of this economic turmoil.

-Norris Lozano