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Is Tampa Growing Greener?

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By MIKE SALINERO, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 22, 2007

Updated: 12/22/2007 12:12 am

Nearly a year after Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio pledged to reduce greenhouse gases and conserve energy, little of significance has been done.

A "Green Team" the mayor formed has yet to meet, and most of the goals she pledged remain unfulfilled as Tampa lags behind other cities that made the same pledge.

"I think we need to pick up the pace," said City Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena. "I have seen words that we're going to do something, but I haven't seen action."

When Iorio signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in February, she pledged to reduce global warming pollution from city activities. The agreement listed 12 suggested areas, from discouraging urban sprawl to promoting recycling to buying more hybrid vehicles, where local governments could achieve reductions in greenhouse gases.

Yet the city has implemented few of the policies listed in the document. Other cities in Florida and around the nation have moved on sustainability measures that Tampa is still talking about.

For example, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government in Kentucky has replaced all its traffic signals with low-wattage bulbs and gone to once-a-week garbage service to save gas and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

"We want to do what makes sense for the environment and at the same time something that saves the taxpayer money," said Tom Web, environmental compliance coordinator in Lexington.

Iorio, who did not return messages seeking comment, has trumpeted a number of policies and projects she says show the city's commitment to a clean environment. Some of her examples, however, amount to taking credit for projects begun under previous administrations, such as the city's waste-to-energy plant, or private-sector initiatives, such as residential condominium projects downtown and in the Channel District.

New initiatives, such as those suggested in the mayors' agreement, will have to wait until the city's Green Team finally convenes in January.

"Before we decide where we need to go, we need to find out where we are," said Nancy McCann, who along with Varghese Jacob is charged with coordinating the city's green efforts. "We're making an inventory of all the things we're doing, then we'll get the teams together."

Frustration At Slow Pace

The city has taken some actions aimed at reducing energy costs and gas consumption. For instance, some of the largest city-owned rooftops, including the Tampa Convention Center, have been redone using the most up-to-date coatings to increase reflectivity and reduce heat absorption. The city also recently purchased eight hybrid vehicles for the code enforcement, solid waste and growth management and development departments.

Iorio gets credit from some city council members for restarting regional discussions about developing a mass transit system. She also has expanded the city's curbside recycling program to include metals in addition to aluminum. Last year, for the first time, the city participated in a Hillsborough County program to teach middle and elementary school students about recycling.

Some builders and architects credit the city with at least starting to talk about potential changes to city codes and ordinances to save energy and conserve water.

"There are some municipalities that aren't even having the conversation," said Lisa Montelione, a Tampa home builder. "Give the city credit for opening the door and having the conversation and attempting to put regulations or incentives in place."

Still, the administration's talk has resulted in few new policies. Council member Saul-Sena said she's been prodding the administration for nearly two years to create incentives for the private sector to construct buildings that are more energy and water-efficient.

"The reality is that so far I can't see much that's happened," she said.

Saul-Sena said a builder recently brought site plans for a green building into the city to be reviewed. She said no one in the department had been trained in evaluating such plans.

Peter Crawford, of Urban Studio Architects, said he offered to make his staff available free of charge to train city employees to review green building plans. He never got any response.

"It seemed the focus from that city department was much narrower than we in the green building community have seen in other municipalities in the state and the nation," Crawford said.

Tired of waiting for the administration to act, the city council began meeting this year with builders, architects and others in the private sector to look at incentives that would encourage more buildings with sustainable features. Their large need for electricity makes buildings account for nearly 39 percent of emissions of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Using information gleaned in the meetings, Councilman John Dingfelder developed the rough outlines of an ordinance that goes beyond green building incentives to include reducing gas consumption and changes in landscape codes to promote water conservation. The ordinance needs more work, but Dingfelder and Saul-Sena want to present it to the council once it's ready.

"It's a little frustrating," Dingfelder said of the administration's slow pace on a green building ordinance. "There are already 100 other cities that have adopted various forms of green ordinances and sustainability formulas. We're playing a little catch-up and the time is right."

Good Examples Abound

Tampa could draw some inspiration from just across the bay. In May, the Florida Green Building Council designated St. Petersburg as the state's first "Green City." The council cited the city for using hybrid vehicles and bio-diesel fuels. The city has one of the country's largest reclaimed water systems and more than 50 miles of bike trails.

St. Petersburg has also offers rebates of between $2,800 and $3,500 off permit fees for buildings that are LEED certified. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a national benchmark for green buildings.

The building council also recognized Pinellas County as a certified green local government, citing the county's efforts to preserve wildlife habitat and passing progressive solid waste policies. These include providing recycling drop-off sites, a household electronics and chemicals collection center, used oil recycling and a recycling education program.

Closer to home, Hillsborough County government is gathering information necessary to seek Green Local Government certification. The county has put together a five-page list of green initiatives. Some of the highlights:

•Hired an energy manager who instituted programs that save more than $1.6 million in costs and eliminated 13,000 tons of carbon dioxide emission annually

•Fast-track site plan review and permitting for green building projects

•Replacing outdated computers with machines with highest energy ratings

•Replacing incandescent lights in traffic signals with light-emitting diode (LED) lights, which use 92 percent less wattage

The county-owned Tampa Bay History Center, now under construction, will be the first LEED-certified building in Hillsborough. C.J. Roberts, chief executive officer of the History Center, said the county wanted to put as many green features as possible in the building, but balked at taking the more expensive steps to get LEED certification. The History Center's endowment then covered the difference.

"As my team started looking at how the building was developing and becoming more and more like a LEED building, it made sense to get all those elements and go a step further and seek LEED certification," Roberts said. "We all felt you can't be in the business of stewardship of history and not at the same time feel obligation to be a steward of the environment."

The new Tampa Art Museum, which will be built with $17.5 million in city tax money, includes many green-building features but will not be LEED certified, according to city officials.

Action On The Way

McCann and Jacob, who lead the city's Department of Solid Waste and Environmental Program Management, said they are still trying to gather information to find out what is already being done in terms of energy saving, recycling and water conservation.

"There are things here and things there," McCann said. "We have to understand what's been done and what hasn't been done."

Two city staffers have been assigned to do a greenhouse gas emissions inventory, one of the goals in the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.

Some energy-saving measures already being considered, McCann said, include turning yard waste into ethanol and going to once-a-week garbage pickup.

"By the end of February, there will be a fabulous list of everything that's going on because that's when the chairs of the green committees will be compiling lists," McCann said.

Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303 or msalinero@tampatrib .com.

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