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13 <br />D. Local application <br />Utilizing appropriate portions of these green building programs, the following <br />aspects of site development, can be addressed through enhancements to existing <br />County land development regulations. The following include a short narrative <br />listing the rationale for addressing each issue. <br />1) Green building incorporates environmental considerations into <br />every phase of the building process. During the design, <br />construction, and operation of a home or building, energy and <br />water efficiency, lot development, resource efficient building design <br />and materials, indoor environmental quality, building maintenance, <br />and the building's overall impact on the environment are all taken <br />into account. <br />The benefits from using green building guidelines are lower <br />operating cost, increased comfort, improved environmental quality, <br />and enhanced durability, less maintenance and overall less <br />environmental impact through system operations and product <br />selection. <br />2) Site planning. To protect environmentally sensitive sites do not <br />build structures, roads, or parking areas on portions of sites that <br />meet any one of the following criteria: floodplains, rare or <br />endangered species habitat, within one hundred feet of a wetland, <br />parkland, or prime farmland. Green homes should be built in <br />locations that are safe for inhabitants and the surrounding <br />community, both human and ecological, and should not contribute <br />to the degradation or loss of our agricultural and natural resource <br />lands. Avoid building on sites that are environmentally sensitive or <br />precious resources. <br />Construction recycling. The reduction of waste generation level <br />should be below the industry norm. Waste management planning, <br />which investigates and documents local options for diversion of all <br />anticipated major constituents of the project waste stream and <br />document rate of diversion, record diversion rate for land clearing <br />and/or demolition. Waste reduction diverts waste generated from <br />new construction activities from landfills and incinerators. Because <br />landfill space is rapidly diminishing, incineration produces <br />pollutants, and waste of materials in itself carries negative <br />environmental impacts, waste should be avoided to the extent <br />possible. <br />The National Association of Home Builders has collected data <br />nationally and estimates that the construction of a typical 2,000 <br />