Helping Clients Align Land Design and Development with the Functions of Healthy Ecosystems by helping to build SITES Teams, Facilitate the Certification Process, Provide Outreach and Public Education
As one of the first companies in the Western U.S. to offer services related to the Sustainable Sites Initiative™ (SITES™), Byline7 has announced the ability to assist clients in building their teams, facilitating the certification process and providing outreach and public education for SITES projects. These services are available for development of new or significantly renovated outdoor projects associated with open space, residential, educational/institutional, and commercial uses as well as for streetscapes and plazas that seek to align land design and development with the functions of healthy ecosystems.
The program considers the many ecosystem aspects evaluated in sustainability and environmental processes, such as soils and farmland, floodplain protection, aquatic ecosystems and habitats. Development of degraded sites, connection to multi-modal transportation, on-site precipitation management, reduction in water use, native plant conservation, sustainable materials selection, human health and well-being, on-site food production, local economy, pollution prevention, operation and maintenance, education and performance monitoring are several of the considerations. Use of an integrative design process, pre-design assessment, user and stakeholder engagement and public education and access are key areas in the SITES process provided by Byline7.
The SITES v2 Rating System, similar to the LEED programs for green buildings, is based on a point system, allowing projects to benchmark against performance criteria. Byline7 is available to help clients achieve Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum certification through a series of prerequisites and credits. SITES certification relates to projects and existing sites with a minimum area of 2,000 square feet.
“As of March 30, 2017 only 14 people in California had passed the exam, which was built on the expertise of leading practitioners in the field of sustainable land design, while using GBCI’s rigorous test development best practices” indicated Byline7 CEO and President, Barbara Eljenholm, AICP, LEED AP BD+C, SITES AP. “Byline7 appreciates this opportunity to be an early adopter of the program to serve clients in this exciting new SITES realm focused on sustainable outdoor spaces.”
For examples of SITES projects visit www.sustainablesites.org/projects . Projects in California include Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens in Escondido, Helix Environmental Planning, Inc., Headquarters in La Mesa and the Environmental Laboratory for Sustainability and Ecological Education (ELSEE) in San Jose. The George “Doc” Cavalliere Park in Scottsdale, Arizona, Pete V. Domenici U.S. Courthouse Sustainable Landscape Renovation in Albuquerque, New Mexico and the Theater Commons and Donnelly Gardens at Seattle Center, Seattle, Washington have also achieved SITES Certification in the Western U.S.
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