Fairfax County planning commissioners will weigh a broad set of recommendations this week that would help the county harness environmentally friendly construction as a tool to cut air pollution.
The policies span from maximizing tree preservation to promoting telework to ensuring that certain new developments meet independent standards for energy efficiency, among other measures.
Nearly all the measures are aimed at one of the country’s largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions. Traditional buildings, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, are responsible for 38 percent of the pollutant, which has been linked to global warming. Buildings also account for 39 percent of the nation’s energy consumption, as well as 68 percent of electricity and 12 percent of water use, according to the EPA.
If ultimately approved by the county Board of Supervisors, the proposal would put new regulations and guidelines into the comprehensive plan, a document that lays out the county’s land-use policy.
“I think it adds an additional factor onto the equation: Is this going to be an energy-efficient building? Is it going to objectively meet these other criteria?” Planning Commissioner Jim Hart said. “We’ve become increasingly aware that we need to focus on these issues.”
The Planning Commission, which serves for the most part as an advisory panel, will vote on the issue Thursday. Supervisors likely will take up the issue next month.
One of the largest initiatives would require the county to mandate zoning requests for apartments and nonresidential developments of four or more stories in Tysons Corner and other centers to meet U.S. Green Building Council requirements.
Hart said the proposal before the commission Thursday is far from the last step. The county still must figure out how to persuade developers to adopt many of the practices. Those details, he said, are in supervisors’ hands.
“The hard part is: What are the next steps?” he said.
