NORTH PHILADELPHIA. Staci Moore has been involved in the push for more eco-friendly development in the city for nearly a decade. She's glad city officials have finally come around to her side.
The affordable housing advocate has touted the measures as a way to save residents money, and was happy that city officials accepted a new report released yesterday focusing on ways the city can increase the number of green buildings.
"There's a sense of validation for us and other organizations and developers like us who take green into consideration," said Moore, board co-chair of Women's Community Revitalization Project, which is starting work on a set of 42 town homes with a silver LEED rating in North Philadelphia.
A lack of strong political leadership is the top reason the city has fallen behind other large cities in green building, according to the Pennsylvania Environmental Council's Building Green: Overcoming Barriers in Philadelphia.
"It's really about having city leaders become champions [for green building] and taking the friction out of the system," said Sandy Wiggins, the report's author and former head of the U.S. Green Building Council.
The report recommends that Mayor Michael Nutter implement a sustainability plan as well as create a new cabinet-level position to handle sustainability. It also suggests educating political and labor leaders on benefits of green building.
Nutter has included an Office of Sustainability in his budget proposal, which City Council would have to approve