It’s the brainchild of Greensboro hotelier and restaurateur Dennis Quaintance, who has made his mark in the Triangle as owner of the Lucky 32 restaurant in Cary. Proximity opened in 2008 as the first hotel in America to earn the highest rating offered by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system. With water heated by 100 solar panels on the roof, a high-tech elevator that feeds energy back into the building’s electrical grid and an array of ultra-efficient materials, the Proximity uses 39 percent less energy and 33 percent less water than comparable hotels.

“The widely held notion that building and operating hotels with a commitment to sustainable practices is too expensive is a myth,” Quaintance said. “We wanted to get to the point where we’re not wasting energy and the guest is still very comfortable – and that’s where we ended up.”

But why aren’t more developers joining him? And what can they learn from Quaintance’s project that might serve both their bottom line and sustainable construction?

“Most property owners start with a calculator” – and often hastily decide green buildings cost too much, said Todd Mansfield, past chairman of the Urban Land Institute and current CEO of Charlotte real-estate developer Crosland.

Developers, for example, finance up to 90 percent of the money needed to build a hotel. With that high debt load, they focus on maximizing profits quickly by selling the hotel in three to five years. “There’s also been a long-standing misperception about the cost of green elements, that they add 20 to 25 percent to the cost of a project,” Mansfield said. In fact, he said, those costs more typically run less than 5 percent – and developers are gradually catching on.

Quaintance estimates the green elements of the Proximity added a net cost of about $800,000, or 3 percent, to his $29 million hotel. He expects to recoup it by 2012 through energy savings, state and federal tax credits and other incentives. He’s rooted in Greensboro, put considerable equity into the hotel with his investors and is willing to wait for his payoff – but many developers aren’t. Nor are they inclined to create more work for themselves by vetting the myriad green options that are available – from sensors that switch off the lights in empty rooms to high-tech drapes that retain heat more efficiently.

The result: In the two years since the Proximity opened, just one other hotel in the United States has achieved the platinum LEED rating. Quaintance finds that more disappointing than gratifying. He didn’t build the hotel to make a social statement; he did it because it made business sense.

The hotel’s energy efficiency will add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the bottom line in coming years. And, already, about 15 percent of the Proximity’s revenues come from clients who want to hold weddings, meetings and charitable events there precisely because it is a green hotel.

In the Triangle, there are several dozen LEED-certified office, university and public buildings under way or finished. Durham, in fact, is among the national leaders in LEED buildings per capita. Duke University sets the pace with 16 buildings completed and another 12 seeking certification. Scientific Properties and Trinity Design/Build have kept pace with their own LEED-certified buildings. Greenfire Development, one of the city’s largest developers, has several innovative projects using green technology.

To prod more developers in this direction, Quaintance offers a few modest proposals. For example, he said, what if developers received incentives for earning LEED certification? What if they got accelerated tax depreciation for new buildings with energy and water consumption that exceed efficiency thresholds? What if colleges, universities, school systems and government agencies required that all new buildings include an estimate for the first five years of utility costs in their capital expenditure items? The math would show where the long-term savings from green features, such as solar panels, exceeded upfront costs.

“My hope,” Quaintance said, “is that in just a short while our accomplishments with the Proximity will be overshadowed by other hotels and restaurants that surpass our performance.”

Christopher Gergen is on the founding team of Bull City Forward and Director of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Initiative at Duke University. Stephen Martin, a former business and education journalist, is a speechwriter at the nonprofit Center for Creative Leadership. They can be reached at authors@bullcityforward.org.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/06/06/515631/green-hotel-proves-saving-energy.html#ixzz0qXmNlEyz

Wednesdays, 3pm in the old Carmack Jay’s parking lot, between 3rd and 4th streets on Market St. Cut flowers, berries, vegetables, herbs, fruit, beef, pork, eggs, baked goods, lamb, rabbit, wool, yarn, chocolates, and hand made knits.

All items raised, grown or made within 120 miles of Frederick.

Friends of Frederick County Position on Crum and COPT/Thatcher Annexations into Frederick City

We believe that our county and city should protect the Monocacy River corridor, productive farmland, scenic vistas, and a buffer between Frederick and Walkersville. At this time there is adequate development planned in the existing “pipeline” of future development in the city and we should develop that first, see that it is done in the most economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner, and evaluate its impact before bulldozing greenfields.  FoFC believes that existing roads to the north are inadequate, congested and dangerous, and there’s no financial plan to solve that anytime soon.

Background

In September 2009 the City of Frederick’s Mayor and Aldermen[1] voted to annex two farms (total 436 acres) along Route 15 north of Frederick City for 1200 new homes and approximately 2.3 million ft² of non-residential (office, retail, manufacturing, hotel) space. During the Fall 2009 citizens made a good faith effort to gather 20% of city voter signatures to put these annexations to referendum but fell short of our target due to the 45 day time allowed. Judging from overwhelming citizen involvement in that effort and interest in signing the petition for referendum it was clear that citizens of Frederick City do not agree that the development plans for the Crum and COPT/Thatcher properties promote the health, safety and welfare of our city nor county.

Petition to DeAnnex the Crum and COPT/Thatcher Properties

For these reasons, on May 20^th 6:30pm Frederick City Hall Friends of Frederick County launches a petition drive for a charter amendment to change the boundaries of the City of Frederick, MD to exclude the Crum and Thatcher properties.This petition effort, to “de annex” these properties, when put on the ballot will give citizens the opportunity to vote their preference.   The petition can be downloaded off the Friends of Frederick County website (http://www.friendsoffrederickcounty.org/by-campaign/petition-deannexation-referendum/ ) and delivered or mailed to our office.  Petitions will be available at events;  petition drop off points will be announced during the petition drive.  Hear what citizens have to say.

Why deannex the Crum and COPT/Thatcher properties from the City limits?

• Route 15 is one of the most dangerous roads in Maryland – and there is little funding for improvements.  The northern annexations will add 12-15,000 car trips/day to Route 15 and arterial roads.[2] The Maryland State Highway Administration strongly recommended that the cost of planning, design and construction of the Biggs Ford Road interchange be included in the annexation agreements, that cost is estimated at $75-80 million. It was not. The Monocacy Boulevard completion (to cost $75-$80 m) is not even funded yet.[3]
• There are 3500 homes and millions of square feet of commercial space within Frederick City that should be built first before expanding outward.  These approvals include Brick Works, Northgate, Clemson Corner, Market Square, the Ballenger Creek Center and the SAIC-Frederick/NCI facility.  For a complete list of commercial projects see:  http://www.businessinfrederick.com/site_selection/development.htm
• The annexation agreements for Crumland Farm and COPT/Thatcher do not adequately address sewer, schools and fire and rescue services. There is no planned sewer service for the Crum and Thatcher properties at this point [4] and no detailed plans for school and emergency services.
• This farmland has excellent soil for growing food.  If the properties are under Frederick County jurisdiction they will be in an Agricultural Priority Preservation Area (PPA), according to the recently signed Frederick County Comprehensive Plan.

Positions from Voices of Authority

Maryland Department of Planning[5] (7/22/2009) Asks the city to look into potential sewer constraints, the expansive floodplain and the road network impacts in light of the I270/Rte 15 Multi Modal Study.

State Highway Administration[6] SHA strongly recommends that the cost of planning, design and construction of the Biggs Ford Road interchange and park and ride lot be included in the requirements for annexation, as well as dedication of Rte 15 right of way and plans for arterial roads that will need to be constructed once Sunday’s Lane is closed.

Frederick County Board of Commissioners[7] letter dated 9/2/2009 2, 2009:  Without concurrent construction plans for an interchange and the elimination of the at-grade crossings “will only exacerbate an already dangerous situation and jeopardize the safety of City and County residents.” “The Crumland Farm Agreement (pg 5) does not obligate Petitioners (meaning the developer) to fund any portion of the US 15/Biggs Ford Road interchange. The County Commissioners and the State Highway Administration believe the developers, rather than the taxpayers, should pay for this interchange.”  There is no planned sewer to either property.  Absent private funding for a new school this development will worsen school overcrowding.

Frederick County Fire and Rescue Services Division[8] (5/5/2009)on Crumland Farm annexation:  “With the potential increase in traffic traveling to the site, thus requiring vehicles to cross Route 15, the potential for accidents will increase. An increase in accidents on Route 15 may have an effect on the fire and rescue services, therefore, the Biggs Ford Road interchange should be constructed and operational before the first Use and Occupancy permit is issued for the proposed site.”

Town of Walkersville[9] (8/31/2009)  The Walkersville Burgess and Commissioners voted 3-2 in opposition to both the Crum and COPT/Thatcher annexation proposals and urged the Frederick City Board of Alderman to vote to deny them.

Monocacy Scenic River Citizens Advisory Board River Board (5/11/2009) expresses concern about the proposed alteration of the natural landscape in the 100-year floodplain on the COPT/Thatcher property and the disruption of environmental processes and functions that follow from grading, filling, and building in a floodplain—mainly the natural storage and conveyance of flood waters.

Does your organization have a position?  If so, please send it to deannexation@friendsoffrederickcounty.org.

[2] Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual, 7^th Edition, pp 268-269.

[3] Thomas, John B. (Pers Comm May 2010).  Cost for Biggs Ford Road interchange at Route 15, and the Monocacy Boulevard interchange, Frederick County Division of Planning.

[4] Tax map 57 and 48 at: http://www.frederickcountymd.gov/index.aspx?NID=1326.

[5] Conrad, Peter G., Director, Local Government Assistance, Maryland Department of Planning.

[6] Slater, Gregory I, Director, Office of Planning and Preliminary Engineering, State Highway Administration

[7] Board of County Commissioners, September 2009 (Jan Gardner, David Gray, John L Thompson, Kai J Hagen and Charles Jenkins), Frederick County MD.

[8] Dmuchowski, Michael P, Battalion Chief/Fire Marshall, Frederick County MD

[9] Hauver, Susan J, Planning and Zoning Administrator, Walkersville MD

Rebecca Rush, right, with the Land and Cultural Preservation Fund, talks to an audience at the Women’s Club in Hagerstown about the documentary that Washington County Technical High School students from left, Hannah Leizear, Heaven Burkhammer, Christine Johnson and Kenise Lewis made about the Garden City movement in Hagerstown. (Credit: By Ric Dugan / Staff Photographer)

05/09/2010

Garden City movement inspires student documentary

By JANET HEIM
janeth@herald-mail.com

HAGERSTOWN — Clara Hamilton was ahead of her time, with her plan for what is now known as the Oak Hill Historic District in Hagerstown’s North End.

Even though she lived from 1837 to 1919, her ideas would fit in with the current interest in home gardens, green technology and healthier lifestyles.

Hamilton’s development plan came from the Garden City movement started in England in 1898, and she started putting it into action in Hagerstown in 1909. It focused on the preservation of trees, land for home-based gardens for healthier eating and a walk-to-work concept.

A new generation of Washington County students now knows about Hamilton’s efforts, thanks to a Maryland History Day project. This year’s theme was “Innovation in History: Impact and Change.”

As part of a course requirement for Advanced Placement U.S. History, four Washington County Technical High School students — Heaven Burkhammer, Christine Johnson, Hannah Leizear and Kenise Lewis — were feeling the stress as the last group in their class to pick a project topic.

Nothing seemed to be clicking and multiple snow days slowed the group’s progress. Their teacher, Rossana Larrick, had heard about Hamilton’s efforts through a friend of hers, Rebecca Rush.

Rush recently moved to Hagerstown and knew of the Oak Hill Historic District through her work with the Land and Cultural Preservation Fund, which is headquartered in Frederick, Md.

It was a topic that caught the girls’ attention and although they could focus on something of national interest, they liked the local connection.

“It was a peaceful anti-industrial resistance,” Lewis said of Hamilton’s movement.

The four seniors juggled work and internships to find time to work on the project just about every day for three weeks. Most of it was done out of class, and adding to that challenge was the fact that two of the students live in Hagerstown and two are from Clear Spring.

The girls divided the tasks to create an almost 10-minute documentary. There was research to be done, photographs to be taken, a script and bibliography to write, and lots of editing to be done.

One of the girls was assigned the task of interviewing Steve Sager, who was mayor of Hagerstown in 1987 when the Oak Hill neighborhood was named to the National Register of Historic Places.

“There was a lot of stress putting it together,” Burkhammer said.

“I was still burning CDs the night before,” Leizear said.

The documentary, titled “Hamimlton Plants a Seed: The Garden City Movement of Hagerstown,” won first place for high school documentary — group in the Washington County competition for Maryland History Day. A little more editing was required before it went on to the state level, although it did not place at that level. That version will be sent to the State Women’s History project, in which Rush is involved.

The girls presented their research and showed their documentary on May 3 at the Women’s Club on South Prospect Street in Hagerstown. Other venues, such as the local-access TV station, are being considered.

“With this documentary, Hannah, Heaven, Christine and Kenise have become real historians,” Larrick wrote in an e-mail. “They brought a piece of local history alive — something that very few people actually knew about our hometown. They worked together to analyze and interpret documents and primary sources, they conducted interviews and their documentary became a true group effort.

“I am very proud of their work and their efforts, and how composed they were during the judges’ interviews at both county and state level competition. This is why the National History Day program is so valuable — it keeps history important.”

The state contest was at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, on April 24. The top two county winners, and in some cases the top three, for each category advanced. More than 500 students competed.

Washington County student Sarah Eckstine from Springfield Middle School won the Barry A. Lanman Award for oral history, sponsored by John D. Williard V (of the Maryland Humanities Council), for her exhibit “Tractors: Rolling Through Time.” Her teacher was Linda Martin. 

Ginger Scally, social studies Teacher at E. Russell Hicks Middle School in Hagerstown, received two awards for her leadership in the Maryland History Day program. In addition to being named the Washington County District History Teacher of the Year, she was also given the statewide Patricia Behring Middle School Teacher of the Year Award.

“The Maryland Humanities Council is so proud of our state winners,” said Executive Director Phoebe Stein Davis. “They’ve worked so hard for the past year on their projects, and we hope that our winners go on to win awards at the national competition in June.”

Participants in History Day underwent a yearlong process of intensive research and competitions at the county level. Students conduct research at libraries, museums and historic sites, and through oral history interviews, and present their findings in one of five categories: papers, performances, documentaries, websites and exhibits. 

A complete list of students and teachers honored at the state contest can be found on the Maryland Humanities Council website at www.mdhc.org. 

The Herald-Mail

http://www.herald-mail.com/

http://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/local-economies-close-the-distance-between-us

Sustainable Communities (SB 285/HB 475) Continues the highly successful Historic Tax Credit program and extends the program to key non-historic properties for revitalization. This bill also improves coordination between a number of important revitalization programs including Community Legacy, Maryland Main Streets and Maple Street. This important Smart Growth program was funded at $10 million.

Agricultural Estate Tax Bill (SB 396/HB 1571) The primary purpose is to:  (1) provide farm families with adequate time to make good decisions about the future of their property; (2) provide farm families with an estate tax payment option that better reflects the challenges of the farming community and the current economic climate; and (3) allows the state of Maryland to gauge the need of farm families for estate tax relief and to monitor the fiscal impact of providing that relief.

Transportation Funding Criteria Bill HB 1155/SB 760 ensures that state transportation funding will now be aligned with state goals including climate change and smart growth.

In addition, three bills were passed to improve bicycle – pedestrian issues in Maryland

• SB624 – Shoulder Rule bill:  cyclists no longer have to ride on road shoulders even when unsafe
• SB51 – 3-Foot bill:  a safe distance must be left when passing a cyclist
• HB 282 – Funding for Bike/Ped Access bill:  Funding must be equitable

State Budget:

A big part of our effort this year was to protect key programs from budget cuts. We were successful in demonstrating that these programs were critical to the state economically and environmentally.

• Program Open Space funding was not diverted,
• Maryland Agriculture Land Preservation Funds were preserved,
• Funds for Maryland Department of Planning staff were not cut

Stormwater:

1000 Friends is a strong supporter of improving stormwater controls for new and existing development.  There was a serious attempt by some in the development community to roll back the regulations passed in 2007. 1000 Friends successfully negotiated to keep changes to the regulations modest and reflecting real concerns.  These changes included:

• Clearly defining which projects must comply with the new regulation and which few can follow the 2000 regulations
• Setting strict time frames for these developments to keep, or they must meet the new standards
• Setting a date by which all grandfathering ends
• Clarifying redevelopment project standards and ensuring improved water quality.

This material was copied from the  1000 Friends of Maryland newsletter sent 4/16/2010.

Municipal sprawl imposes a huge tax burden on county residents to pay for public services and facilities far from the city center. It also saps the strength of our community-based economy and the local work force that it employs.

Fortunately, the county’s new 20-year comprehensive plan will put an end to far-flung development and channel future growth downtown — where it will stimulate the local economy, create new jobs for the people who already live here, and bring amenities closer to our neighborhoods and homes.

This comprehensive plan embraces smart growth and tackles our current fiscal crisis — avoiding massive investments in infrastructure that county taxpayers must underwrite. The county’s passage of tax credits for renovating and reusing vacant space along the Golden Mile is one initiative that supports revitalization.

There are still some who are trying to discredit the county’s 20-year plan as an unwarranted constraint on their vision of more sprawl, everywhere and all the time. We understand that mega-subdivisions on prime farmland are where the big bucks and fat margins are found. But the Board of Frederick County Commissioners has something else in mind: a stronger local economy, jobs for those who live here, and vibrant urban centers in which to live, work and play. We can be grateful for strong leadership and good government in Frederick County.

JANICE WILES, Friends of Frederick County

Originally published March 15, 2010

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/opinion/display_lte.htm?storyid=102408

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley announced the publication of Going Green Downtown in October 2009, saying that with “tools like this new guide, we will promote sustainable growth, protecting our natural resources and strengthening the character and economic vitality of our communities for future generations.”   The document is available on Maryland DCHD’s website at:

http://www.mdhousing.org/Website/documents/green_guide.pdf

For more information, please contact Ben Sussman or Clive Graham at 410-266-0006 or benjamin.sussman@erm.com

The public is invited to a meeting on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. which will allow interested stakeholders to learn more about the project, review study draft recommendations and discuss the next steps in the process.  The meeting will be held at in the Winchester Room, 2nd Floor, Winchester Hall, 12 East Church Street, Frederick, Md.

For more information contact Frederick County Planning Division Principal Planner John Thomas at 301-600-6768 or via e-mail at jbthomas@FrederickCountyMD.gov