Orange County NC Website
Io <br />j. Take advantage of compact building design by incorporating more <br />compact building design as an alternative to conventional land <br />consumptive development. <br />2) Green building standards acknowledge these ten Smart Growth principles <br />and introduce energy conservation and efficiency in conjunction with <br />community sustainability, as additional essential principles. Green building is <br />a holistic process that addresses a broad range of issues, which include <br />a. Community and site design, <br />b. Energy efficiency, <br />c. Water conservation, <br />d. Resource efficient material selection, <br />e. Indoor environmental quality, <br />f. Construction management, <br />g. Building maintenance and monitoring of building efficiency. <br />3) A variety of green building standards are embedded in existing County <br />Code that implement county environmental goals and policies. These various <br />ordinances and regulations are consistent with and derive their basis from the <br />County Comprehensive Plan. The Plan was first adopted in 1981 and has <br />been amended several times since then. The County, through its many <br />advisory boards, commissions,.and task forces, is presently updating its <br />Comprehensive Plan. The following documents compose a suite of land <br />development regulations that presently impose a level of green building <br />standards on private landowners and developers. <br />• Zoning Ordinance through minimum lot sizes, set backs, stream buffers, <br />impervious cover restrictions, outdoor lighting, and special use permit <br />approval conditions. <br />• Subdivision Regulations through required open space, tree. and natural <br />area protection regulations, recycling requirement, and landscaping <br />requirements. <br />• Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance that prohibits new construction in <br />flood hazard areas and requires retrofitting for all substantial improvement <br />or substantial repair to existing buildings. <br />• Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Ordinance to regulate erosion and <br />sedimentation arising from public and private sector land development. <br />• Environmental Stewardship Action Team is developing a number of <br />environmental policies, which may include new BOCC policy initiatives, <br />objectives and a set of action statements and metrics to guide future <br />Orange County governmental business decisions. <br />• The Environmental Resources Conservation Department administers the <br />Lands Legacy program and helps produce the State of the Environment <br />report. <br />