Site Planning (SP)

The location of a home and the plan for the area around that home can have a significant impact on both a resident’s quality of life and on the environment. Selecting an appropriate site for a home is essential to creating more walkable, livable communities with efficient transportation. One can also improve the air quality in a neighborhood, help manage storm water, lower energy bills and increase property values simply by protecting and restoring trees on a site. Planning for construction on a site can prevent soil loss and water pollution by reducing erosion and properly controlling for storm water. The Site Planning category of the EarthCraft program focuses on actions that a builder can take to minimize the direct impact of a building site on the environment. These actions range from protecting excavated topsoil from erosion to reducing lot size. Projects may also implement additional site planning measures to promote accessibility to public amenities such as mass transit and parks or using degraded sites such as brownfields.