G ee S . Pe e b g P g a - St. Petersburg, Florida · p. 16 l Construction/Demolition Debris and Wastewater Sludge ... the quality of life in St. Petersburg. ... the methane gas and

“Green St. Petersburg” Program

Green St. Petersburg 2011

Electric Energyp. 2 l Energy Conservation

p. 3 l Alternative Energy

p. 4 l LEED Certifications of City Buildings

Transportationp. 6 l Fuel Conservation

p. 7 l Alternative Fuels

p. 8 l Transit and Multimodal Transportation

Parks, Nature Preserves and Estuariesp. 9 l Active Parks

p. 9 l Nature Preserves

p. 10 l Estuaries

p. 10 l Tree City USA

p. 10 l Maintenance

Water Conservation and Supplyp. 11 l Conservation

p. 12 l Alternative Water Sources

Land Use Policies and Sustainable Developmentp. 13 l Planning History

p. 14 l Re-focusing Development Policy with Vision 2020

Earth Friendly Recyclingp. 15 l Pinellas County’s Waste-to-Energy Plant

p. 15 l Curbside Recycling

p. 15 l Drop-Off Sites for Recycled Materials

p. 16 l Construction/Demolition Debris and Wastewater Sludge

Buying and Working Greenp. 16 l Buying and Working Green

St. Petersburg’s commitment to environmental practices relate to:

l Electrical Energy

l Transportation

l Parks, Preserves and Estuaries

l Water Conservation and Supply

l Sustainable Land Development

l Earth Friendly Recycling

l Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Practices

St. Petersburg’s Mission is to provide efficient

and effective public services that protect and

enhance sustainability of our environment and

the quality of life in St. Petersburg.

Downtown St. Petersburg

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The city of St. Petersburg continues to be an environmental leader in Florida,

and its long-standing organizational commitment to sustainable practices

explains why it was the first community in the state designated as a “Green

City” by the Florida Green Building Coalition.

Specific program areas are guided by the principle thatall actions the city takes should meet the “double bottomline:” policies, programs, and capital investment shouldbe economically and environmentally sound.

In addition to reforming its governmental operations to be environmentally sound, the city overhauled its land development policies to promote higher density,mixed-use and more urban development patterns. Thiswas done to promote transit-supportive development,alternatives to the automobile and use of the city’s extensive bicycle and pedestrian trail system.

Following the “Green City” designation in 2007, thecity’s commitment to “green practices” was formallyadopted by the organization and its residents by promulgating Executive Order EO 08-01 (Green St. Petersburg) in 2008.

Highlights of the Executive Order include:

l Reporting of financial and emission reductions

l Meeting LEED standards for large new construction or renovation projects undertaken by the city

l Using alternative fuels

l Converting streetlighting system to more energy efficient systems

l Developing and implementing a prototype solar project

Electric Energy

Traditional power generation for the electrical grid in Florida is heavily reliant on

fossil fuels, including oil, coal or natural gas, and thus is a major contributor to

greenhouse gas emissions. Natural gas burns cleaner than coal, emitting roughly

one-half of the CO2 of inductive lights and anthracite coal. Because of this, Florida’s

electric utilities are expected to increase their use of natural gas among all fuels from

39 percent in 2006 to 54 percent in 2016, while reducing their reliance on coal from 29

percent in 2006 to 23 percent in 2016. While the increased use of natural gas would

improve CO2 emissions in Florida if the population remained stable, it is expected that

population growth in the state and the St. Petersburg/Tampa region will continue.


High pressure sodium street lights are also beingreplaced with inductive lights. Started as a pilot pro-gram, a citywide conversion of street lights is expectedto save millions of dollars in electricity and maintenanceexpenses for the more than 30,000 street lights alongcity roadways.

Energy Audits: Progress Energy, the city’s power supplier, conducted energy audits of all city facilities.Information from the audits was used to create a prior-itized list of energy conservation measures based on payback analysis. All city buildings using incandescentlights have been converted to compact fluorescentlights, with investment paid back within a year. Theconversion of existing T-12 fluorescent lamps and bal-lasts to T-8 with electronic ballasts is nearly complete.

A payback period of two years is expected.

In light of the reality of population growth, St. Peters-burg continues to reduce its energy usage through bothconservation and alternative fuel strategies as not only a cost savings measure, but also to reduce its carbonfootprint.

Energy ConservationThe city works to conserve energy through technologicalupgrades to traffic signals and lighting, and regularly performs audits of buildings and processes.

LED Traffic Signals: St. Petersburg owns and operatesapproximately 300 traffic signals within the city. All ofthe incandescent bulbs in traffic signal systems are being replaced with light emitting diodes, or LED lights.The LED lights produce a 68 percent energy savings that translates into a benefit of more than $150,000 in energy savings per year with a three-year payback.The LED traffic lights also last five to ten times longerthan incandescent bulbs.

Induction Lighting: The city is using the newest tech-nology in converting municipal parking garages andstructured lighting systems to induction lighting sys-tems. Two downtown municipal parking garages –Progress Energy Center for the Arts and South Core –are converting from metal halide andhigh-pressure sodium lighting systemsto inductive systems. Annual energysavings are expected to reach 50 per-cent, with a 400 percent savings overthe life of the system. This will result in payback of five years or less.

Sunlit City Parks

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The balance of energy conservation measures, includingimproved insulation, and improvements to HVAC sys-tems and complex systems of water and wastewatertreatment plants now serve as the basis for the city’songoing Capital Improvements Program.

In addition, not-for-profit agencies located within thecity have taken advantage of a federally-funded programto implement energy conservation measures. The pro-gram allows for the city to provide the materials andequipment at low cost when the not-for-profit organiza-tions use a city-certified Small Business Enterprises toimplement the measures at their expense.

Alternative EnergyThe city’s commitment to alternative energy is also moti-vated by the “double bottom line” logic – economic effi-ciency and savings and environmental sustainability andimprovement.

Solar Power: In cooperation with the University ofSouth Florida St. Petersburg and Progress Energy, a photovoltaic solar energy system was installed at AlbertWhitted Park, along the city’s waterfront. The system ismounted on the roof of the park’s restroom facility, com-plete with a battery system that can supply power to thepower grid. The power generation is more than requiredfor the park’s energy needs, thereby offsetting the city’selectricity expenses. Also, St. Petersburg’s LakewoodHigh School and St. Petersburg High School derive 15percent of their daily power from solar panels.

Solar Parks Program: Using federal monies, 17 photovoltaic systems will be installed in selected city parks to offset all or a large portion of the parks’ electricalrequirements. This program also includes a public education component at a not-for-profit science center.

Methane: As part of the city’s sanitary sewer treatmentprocess, volatile organic compounds generated bymethane gas are burned-off through the digestion ofheated sludge. Historically, the city’s treatment plantshave burned the methane to the atmosphere. Using adesign-build-operate approach, the city expects to generate a 100 percent reduction in electricity expenses,while reducing air emissions associated with burning of methane gas. This can be accomplished by capturingthe methane gas and processing it with the by-productused to produce enough energy to power the plant.

Waste-to-Energy: Pinellas County, where St. Peters-burg is located, has a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant thatincinerates approximately one million tons of garbageevery year providing power to as much as 45,000 homes.The process can produce up to 75 megawatts per hour of electricity. The plant sells about 60 megawatts toProgress Energy for distribution within the community,and the remainder powers the plant itself. The WTEfacility uses state-of-the-art air pollution control technol-ogy, which continuously monitors WTE emissions,ensuring the plant’s emissions fall within the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) standards.


Albert Whitted Park’s Photo Vol taic Pilot Program

Pinellas County Waste-to-Energy Facility

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Environmentally efficient buildings need not cost more.Green buildings are now built with little or no addedcost, and with budgets well within the cost range of non-green buildings. The study also found that, “inmany areas of the country, the contracting communityhas embraced sustainable design, and no longer sees sustainable design requirements as additional burdens to be priced in their bids.”

As one of the largest property owners in St. Petersburg,the city understands these environmental impacts aswell as the cost savings that can be achieved throughenvironmentally sensitive design. Since the 2008Executive Order, the city has three major projects associ-ated with certification for LEED (Leadership in Energyand Environmental Design).

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The LEED Essentials

Site-plan for sustainabilityl Control erosion/sedimentationl Evaluate solar accessl Mitigate stormwater on-sitel Preserve/restore vegetationl Evaluate multimodal accessibilityl Design for longevity

Improve energy efficiencyl Holistic design of building systems to

limit energy consumption

l Design for natural light

Conserve materialsl Use recycled building materialsl Reduce Construction and Demolition wastel Reduce occupant waste through

comprehensive waste management

Improve air qualityl Reduce CFCs in HVAC equipmentl Improve air quality inside the built

environment by establishing standards for indoor air quality

l Improve outdoor air quality by venting cleaner air and controlling environ-mental tobacco smoke

Safeguard waterl Control/prevent run-offl Capture rainwater and condensationl Reuse gray waterl Reduce use (low-flow toilets, etc.)

Source: Creech and Musselwhite, 2008Water Resources Administration’s LEED-certified building

LEED Certifications of City Buildingsin St. Petersburg The impact of buildings on energy use, urban air quality, and the environment is significant.According to the U.S. Green Building Council,buildings in the United States account for:

l 65 percent of electricity consumption,

l 36 percent of energy use,

l 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions,

l 30 percent of raw materials use,

l 30 percent of waste output (136 million tons annually), and

l 12 percent of potable water consumption.

When factoring all the costs associated with buildingconstruction, the impacts are even greater. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the emission of greenhouse gases from buildings approaches48 percent when the energy to extract, process, andtransport building materials is considered.

These environmental and economic costs can be over-come by efficient, whole-building design. According to a study by Deloitte and Touche and Charles Lockwood, a contributing columnist to “Urban Land”, the averagebuilding certified as green using the U.S. GreenBuildings Council’s (USGBC’s) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system uses 32 percent less electricity and saves 350 metric tons ofCO2 emissions annually.


St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue Lake Maggiore Fire Station No. 8

ate it prior to it being boarded up over a decade ago. The project was awarded LEED Silver Certification bythe U.S. Green Building Council in 2010.

Fire Stations: The city plans to renovate or replaceeach of its 13 fire stations. Fire Station No. 8, the latest station to be replaced, was built to LEED

Certification Gold standards with many of the same design and operational features as the WaterResources building. The building opened inSeptember, 2011 and is expected to be the firstLEED Gold fire station in the state of Florida.

Water Resources Administration Building: This20,000-sq. ft. building, completed in 2009, serves notonly as an office building but also as an additional facili-ty for disaster-related emergency operations. It receivedthe Gold Certification from LEED. LEED related featuresinclude energy efficient lighting and HVAC systems,water and energy conservation measures, use of recycledmaterials, recycling programs and landscaping measures.

Jordan School: The circa-1928 Jordan ElementarySchool, a historic African-American education facility,was renovated to LEED standards in 2009. The build-ing will use a fraction of the energy required to oper-

Solar Hot Water at Water Resources Adminstration

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Jordan Elementary School


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Transportation

Transportation is Florida’s second largest energy use sector, comprising more

than one third of the total energy consumed. Consequently, the transportation

sector is also a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in Florida,

accounting for about 46 percent of CO2 emissions statewide according to

the Governor’s Action Team on Energy and Climate Change (2007).

Installation of a Diesel Particulate Filter

DPF Regeneration Panel

DPF Cleaning Chamber

EPA Diesel Retrofit ProgramFuel ConservationFleet Operations and Maintenance: In addition tothe transportation investments in alternative fuels andhybrids already mentioned, the city maintains its fleetvehicles for maximum efficiency and the lowest possibleemissions. Other advances include initiating an innova-tive EPA-funded Diesel Retrofit Program, inflating fleettires with nitrogen, recycling waste oil, antifreeze andother materials, and using environmentally friendlycleaning solvents.

Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF) have been installed on 15 highway vehicles and 30 off-road fleet vehicles.The retrofit was funded by a grant from the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), DieselEmissions Reduction Program.

Using the EPA Diesel Emissions Quantifier, city officialsestimate that installing DPFs on select vehicles willresult in the long-term reduction of 4.75 tons per year of particulate matter (PM), 6.86 tons per year of hydro-carbons (HC), and 29.33 tons per year of carbon monoxide (CO) over the life of the vehicles and willreduce the black smoke exhaust that typically is visiblefrom older diesel engines. Fleet reduction has also beena priority for the city over the last several years.


Traffic Signal Synchronization: There are more than300 signalized intersections in the city. More than 85percent of these signals are synchronized, allowingmotorists traveling the speed limit to drive through theintersections. This avoids idling, starting and stopping –and costly fuel consumption. The annual operating costassociated with personnel, hardware and software tooperate the synchronization system is approximately$180,000. Estimated annual fuel savings to localmotorists are estimated to be in excess of $27 million.

Alternative FuelsBio-diesel Fuel: The majority of the city’s diesel-engine fleet of more than 600 vehicles is powered by bio-diesel fuel. The fuel cost is essentially the same asregular diesel, but greenhouse gas emissions are reducedby five to 10 percent.

Ethanol: The city’s entire gas-driven fleet – more than1,170 vehicles - is running on a 10 percent ethanol/gaso-line mixture at no increased cost and results in a similarreduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Hybrid Vehicles: The city has 24 hybrid vehicles in itsfleet. The average additional cost of purchasing a hybridvehicle is $6,000 per vehicle. However, the city hasdetermined a favorable payback period of eight yearsbased on the difference between fuel savings versus theadditional incremental cost of the electric drive/batterysystem in the hybrids.

The city and Progress Energy have partnered on a pilotproject to convert a conventional hybrid to a “Plug-InHybrid Electric Vehicle” (PHEV). A PHEV is a regularhybrid vehicle with a large high-capacity battery bankthat can be re-charged by plugging in to normal house-hold current as well as using the on-board charging capability of a normal hybrid.

The “Plug-In”Advantage:

While standard hybrids require a combination

of regenerative braking and energy from the

engine to recharge the batteries and propel

the vehicle, PHEVs can operate as electric

vehicles with an internal combustion engine

backup

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Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle

To complement its hybrid fleet of vehicles, the city haspurchased and placed into operation seven off-road vehi-cles for the Parks and Recreation Department and six on-road vehicles for Parking Enforcement. The relativelylow-cost vehicles emit zero pollution and utilize lessthan one-third the equivalent cost of unleaded fuel.

In addition, through a grant from the U.S. Department ofEnergy, the city will be deploying ten electric vehiclecharging stations downtown in an effort to ready thecity’s infrastructure for electric vehicles.


Transit and Multimodal Transportation: In addition to using low-carbon content fuel and increas-ing fuel efficiency, reducing vehicle miles traveled isanother way to reduce CO2 emissions from automobiles.Therefore, transit and multimodal transportation optionsare a key element in reducing petroleum reliance andlimiting greenhouse gas emission.

St. Petersburg has an urban form – vibrant downtownand other activity centers, older mixed-use neighbor-hoods, and well-traveled and redeveloping commercialcorridors that encourage mass transit use. In addition tobus service offered by the Pinellas Suncoast TransitAuthority (PSTA), the city also has a downtown trolleyservice, and is currently working with PSTA to developbus rapid transit, and other regional transit alternativesincluding light rail.

City Trails: In 2003, the city adopted its CityTrailsBicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. In 2011, there weremore than 107 miles of bicycle facilities installed withanother 5 miles of facilities in design or construction.These facilities include marked bicycle lanes, markedshoulders for bicycle use, and shared-use trails. Whenfully constructed, CityTrails will include more than 134miles - and is lauded as the most extensive trails net-work in the southeast. Through its bicycle safety, plan-ning and construction efforts, St. Petersburg has beendesignated as a “Bicycle Friendly Community” by theLeague of American Bicyclists.

Bus Rapid Transit: Since the early 2000s, the city,Pinellas County, and Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authorityhave been actively working to develop the Tampa BayRegion’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, whichwill connect downtown St. Petersburg with its northernGateway employment center, the Tyrone Mall, the GulfBeaches and Clearwater.

Downtown Trolleys: The St. Petersburg Trolley servesas the transportation alternative for residents, employeesand visitors to downtown St. Petersburg wanting to“park once” while shopping, working or dining. TheLooper has existed for 13 years as a partnership betweenthe city of St. Petersburg, the Downtown Partnershipand PSTA.

Downtown Waterfront TrailSt. Petersburg Trolley

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Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority:In 2007, the Florida Legislature created the Tampa BayArea Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) toplan and implement a multimodal transportation systemthat will connect the seven counties making up thegreater Tampa Bay region. The authority can finance,construct, operate, maintain, and manage the transporta-tion system it develops. In 2011, the multimodalRegional Transportation Master Plan was amended toincorporate the full spectrum of transportation in theTampa Bay region, including freight, airports, seaports,air quality, roadways and emergency evacuation.


Active ParksThe city's park system includes active recreational parkslike ballfields and athletic facilities, playgrounds and tot lots, dog parks, skateboard parks, and even a Jai Alaicourt. Citizens can also take advantage of the recreation-al opportunities offered by the city’s extensive pedestri-an/bike (CityTrails) and canoe/kayak (BlueWays) trailsystems.

St. Petersburg and Pinellas County have miles of beauti-ful shoreline providing paddlers along the BluewaysTrails with a variety of opportunities and experiences asthey explore the coastline and the rich array of marineand estuarine ecosystems that make up Pinellas County’swaters. Within St. Petersburg are scores of sites, includ-ing Weedon Island, Fort DeSoto, Lassing Park, CoffeePot Bayou, Big Bayou and Bay Vista, where interestedkayakers experience a diverse, thriving ecosystem.

Since the early 1900s, the city has had one of the finestwaterfront park systems in the Southeastern UnitedStates, if not the entire country - a design feature ensuring downtown St. Petersburg’s enduring charmfor future generations.

Nature PreservesBoyd Hill Nature Preserve is a 245-acre park on theshores of Lake Maggiore that offers more than threemiles of trails and boardwalks, five ecosystems, includ-ing hardwood hammocks, pine scrub, pine flatwoods andlakeshore, and interpretive programming. The Preservealso offers an Environmental Study Program andEducation Center. A major cleanup of the lake bed in2004-2005 improved its water quality and habitat.

Clam Bayou Preserve is located in southwest St.Petersburg offering hiking, canoeing and kayaking. The Clam Bayou Marine Education Center will be thesite of a demonstration project focusing on the environ-

Weeki Wachee Property is 430 acres of environmen-tally sensitive land in Hernando County once owned bythe city of St. Petersburg. The city sold the land to theSouthwest Florida Water Management District in theearly 2000s under the condition that it be maintained itas a preserve.

mental and economic value of creating and maintaining a native Florida landscape. Components of the restora-tion include planting native, drought-resistant plants,creating footpaths of porous materials, producing plantidentification guides and developing an educational cur-riculum.

Weedon Island Preserve is owned by the state ofFlorida and managed by the Pinellas County ParksDepartment under a lease agreement with the state. Theisland was included on the National Register of HistoricSites in 1972 and purchased by the state in 1974 withfunds from the state's Endangered Lands Program. Thepreserve offers a cultural and natural history center tointerpret the thousands of years of human habitation inPinellas County.

Boyd Hill Nature Preserve

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Parks, Preserves and Estuaries

St. Petersburg offers more than 2,300 acres of public land dedicated to parks and

recreation. Parks, open space and preserves are vital parts of a community,

providing public health, aesthetic enjoyment, recreation and environmental

services such as water retention, filtering and recharge, noise buffer, air filter

and carbon sink. Preserves also provide refuges for native flora and fauna that are

threatened by continuing urban development.


EstuariesTampa Bay is the largest estuary in the state of Florida,encompassing 400 square miles of open water and 2,300square miles of highly developed watershed that sup-ports industry, agriculture, and a diverse population inexcess of 2.4 million people. Estuaries like Tampa Bayare among the most diverse and productive ecosystemsin the world. More than 70 percent of all fish, shellfish,and crustaceans spend some part of their lives in theprotected waters of estuaries like Tampa Bay. Residentsfrom the Manatee River to Clearwater Harbor and fromHillsborough Bay to the Gulf of Mexico depend onTampa Bay for commercial and recreational activities.

St. Petersburg has nearly 300 linear miles of shorelinethat rims Tampa Bay and Boca Ciega Bay – more thansome U.S. states. Protecting them from point and non-point pollution will enhance those resources for environ-mental and recreational use for future generations tocome. The city has developed a list of projects that focuson reducing nitrogen in order to improve our bay waterquality.

These include:

l Lake Maggiore restoration effort (completed in 2008)

l Mirror Lake pretreatment facility

l Jungle Lake pretreatment facility

l Booker Creek Lake pretreatment facility

St. Petersburg’s downtown streets are swept once aweek. By removing the debris that collects in our streets,the city collects it before it becomes mixed with stormwater runoff and ultimately discharges into oursurrounding bay water.

Tree City USAThe city has received the Tree City USA award from theNational Arbor Day Foundation for the past 25 years.The city has an ordinance to protect trees and to planttrees. Since 2000, the city has planted more than 27,500trees. In addition to ongoing tree planting in its parks,the city also plants trees along its rights-of-way andinterstates, and offers a Memorial Tree Program and aFlowering Tree Program.

MaintenanceThe city’s routine park maintenance activities are per-formed at a high standard. Only chemicals, such as her-bicides, pesticides or fertilizers that have been deemedsafe for the environment are used by the city. The cityalso uses only trained licensed professionals in the appli-cations of these materials. The city Parks and RecreationDepartment also uses water conservation practices aswell as reclaimed water and observance of establishedwatering restrictions.

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Weedon Island Preserve


ConservationIn 1986, the city’s “average yearly water demand” was 41million gallons a day. By 2010, demand had dropped tonearly 27 million gallons, a 34 percent reduction. In1990, the city’s daily gallons per capita was 117 gallons;in 2010, it was 82 gallons – a 30 percent decrease.

The city of St. Petersburg meets its water conservationobjectives through a variety of programs including a low-flush toilet rebate program, indoor/outdoor waterconservation kits, sprinkler system efficiency, educationprograms and watering restrictions.

Ultra Low-Flush Toilet Rebate Program acceleratesthe voluntary replacement of older, high flush fixtures.Participants can save up to 10,000 gallons a year foreach toilet that is replaced. Since 1997, the program hasreplaced 31,000 toilets at nearly 26,000 locations, withan estimated annual water savings of over 251 milliongallons.

Indoor and Outdoor Water Conservation Kitsprovided by the city include low-flow showerheads,faucet aerators, toilet leak detection tablets and hoseshut-off nozzles. The city aggressively promoted the kits from 1993 to 1997 by going door-to-door installing143,000 kits. A give-away program since 1998 has distributed an additional 5,000 kits. The city estimatesthe program saves almost one million gallons of waterper day.

Sprinkler System Efficiency is important to the citybecause outdoor irrigation can consume up to 50 percentof total household water use. Since 1996, the city hasgiven away more than 6,000 rain sensors to combatwater waste. These devices can save up to 17 percent ofwater use by preventing sprinklers from coming on dur-ing or after a rain event. In addition, the “SensibleSprinkling Program” focuses on improving efficientwater use at commercial, industrial and residential prop-erties. Irrigation specialists perform on-site evaluationsand install rain sensors where necessary. Customers areprovided a detailed efficiency report, educational materi-als and an automatic shut-off hose nozzle. Since 1997,the city has performed more that 1,500 evaluations andinstalled 1,200 rain sensors.

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Water Conservation and Supply

Since the late 1980s, the city of St. Petersburg has aggressively implemented

water conservation measures, which has led to St. Petersburg seeing significant

reductions in total and per capita consumption over the last two decades.

Gray Water Cistern at Water Resources AdministrationBuilding

St. Petersburg’sMr. Sparkle


Water Pricing and Billing: The city also encourageswater conservation through an inverted rate structureand informative billing.

Inverted Rate Structure: St. Petersburg was one ofthe first public water utilities in Florida to establish awater-conserving rate structure in 1985. To encouragecustomer awareness of the resource, water becomesincreasingly more expensive as the customer uses morewater.

Informative Billing allows customers to comparemonthly consumption to the previous year on each utili-ty bill; provides web access that tracks previous yearsand displays monthly consumption comparison in bargraph format.

Alternative Water Sources Even with its effective demand reduction strategies, thecity of St. Petersburg as well as other communities indrought-prone Florida continue to diversify water sup-plies to meet current and projected growth. To that end,St. Petersburg has been a leader in alternative watersources such as reclaimed water and desalination.

Reclaimed Water is a product of recycled and treatedwastewater. In the 1980s, St. Petersburg was the first inthe nation to provide reclaimed water for non-agricultur-al irrigation use. Currently, more than 10,500 consumers(10%) of the city’s utility customers use the systemwhich has an average daily supply capacity of 35 milliongallons. Through this program, the city became the firstutility in the nation to achieve zero discharge of waste-water into adjacent waterways.

Tampa Bay Water is the region’s wholesale supplier of182 million gallons of potable per day. It provides inno-vative water supply alternatives through its SeawaterDesalination Plant and Regional Reservoir. The pioneer-ing Desalination Plant is the largest plant in the nationand provides up to 25 million gallons of water a day forthe Tampa Bay area. The Regional Reservoir opened in2005, and captures and stores surface water to augmentthe regional water supply during the spring dry season.It can hold up to 15 billion gallons of water.

By implementing these efficient sprinkling

programs, it is estimated that more than

500,000 gallons of water are saved each day.

Drop Savers Youth Education Program educatesSt. Petersburg’s elementary school students, who oftenbring home the message of water conservation to friendsand family. The program reaches more than 7,000 ofthese future decision-makers each year.

Watering Restrictions have been in place in St.Petersburg since 1989, brought about by several years of drought in the 1980s. Customers are currently limitedto watering twice weekly. City staff enforces the restric-tion, with a strong emphasis on educating water usersthrough informational postcards, reminders, and warn-ing notices prior to citation. The city’s reclaimed watersystem (described below) is also subject to restrictionsby authorization if demand during the dry seasonexceeds supply.

Industrial, Commercial, and InstitutionalCustomers are offered audits for indoor and outdoorwater use. The program includes a restaurant spray valve replacement program, which is a dish-rinsingdevice that could save food service customers up to 50 percent in their water usage. The city estimates a savings of 150,000 gallons of water per day.

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Water Conservation’s Driplet


St. Petersburg’s Planning HistorySince the 1920s the city of St. Petersburg has been aleader in urban planning in Florida and the UnitedStates. Planning began in St. Petersburg in the 1920swith John Nolen, noted city planner of the period, whoseplan for the city reinforced the importance of its parksystem, civic buildings and wide boulevards, whichretain their significance to this day. City-wide planningcontinued in the 1940s with the Harland BartholomewPlan, which continued and strengthened development ofthe street grid pattern. The Bartholomew Plan set thegroundwork for the development of the automobile ori-ented commercial corridors throughout our city today.

Another city-wide planning effort consisted of TheConceptual Plan of 1974. The Conceptual Plan reflectedthe desire to alter many of the negative constructionpractices of the 1950's era such as the small, poorly con-structed, mass-produced housing stock built shortly afterWorld War II. This planning effort reinforced the quality,suburban style neighborhoods of the south, west andnorth edges of the city.

More than half of the U.S. urban landscape is

now developed in a pattern that suits the car,

but also makes transit use or walking almost

impossible. Not only do these landscapes

increase the amount of energy required for

transportation, but they are also linked to a

30 percent premium on the average cost of

heating and air conditioning buildings when

compared to buildings of similar uses in denser

urban areas.

Patrick Condon, “Planning for Climate Change” Land Lines (Lincoln Institute of

Land Policy), January 2008.

Because communities have regulatory control over theland development process, they can substantially affecttheir urban form and help reduce reliance on the auto-mobile and its resulting impact on oil dependency andemissions of greenhouse gasses. The city of St. Peters-burg has taken large strides to develop in a transit-sup-portive way that provides residents with transportationchoices and the opportunity to live, work and play with-out reliance on the automobile.

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Land Use Policies and Sustainable Development

There is an inextricable link between a community’s transportation and land

use policies, its reliance on the automobile and the emissions of greenhouse

gases. Since the end of World War II, Americans have become a suburban nation,

living in single-family neighborhoods dependent on the automobile for much of their

daily activities such as shopping, work and recreation. The Lincoln Land Institute

finds that:


Re-focusing Development Policy with Vision 2020The city’s most recent planning effort is the citizen-basedVision 2020, which recognized the city’s need to developin an “urban” manner to both capitalize on its assets,including a vibrant downtown, strong neighborhoods,and quality transportation system, and offset its geo-graphical limits as a built-out, peninsular community.

The resulting “Vision” was codified by com-pletely rewriting and adopoting the city’s landdevelopment code and comprehensive plan. The plan adds to the city’s Green City plan by:

l Increasing permitted development densities and intensities in many areas of the city;

l Focusing infrastructure and transit improve-ments in employment and activity centers;

l Preserving historic buildings and neighborhoods from demolition and blight;

l Revitalizing commercial corridors to provide for increased densities and mixed-use development, including residential; and

l Redeveloping downtown to promote residential development as well as employment, and sup-porting quality of life uses such as restaurants, parks, galleries, museums and shopping to ensure “24/7” activity.

Historic Renaissance Vinoy Resort

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The city’s efforts in solid waste management focus onproviding fuel for Pinellas County’s waste-to-energy facil-ity; encouraging private efforts though city-run drop-offsites, curbside recycling and recycling of construction/demolition debris and sanitary waste sludge.

Pinellas County’s Waste-to-Energy Plant Nearly 85 percent of all garbage collected in St. Peters-burg is converted to electricity at this facility whichemits significantly less greenhouse gasses than otherfacilities providing our electricity. Metals are separatedat the facility with magnets and are recycled also.

City Curbside Recycling ProgramThe implementation of a subscription - based curbsiderecycling program has provided thousands of residentialcustomers the opportunity to recycle fibrous, plastic andglass waste at a very low cost. As this program grows inpopularity, the city’s waste stream diminishes and theCounty’s landfill life increases. City Drop-Off Sites for

Recycled MaterialsFlorida’s environmental agency (FDEP) estimates that upto 11 percent of the total waste stream is comprised ofmaterials such as newspaper, plastic bottles, glass, alu-minum and steel cans which can be recycled by resi-dents. To manage this waste stream and encourage recy-cling efforts by its citizens, the city’s web site provides acity-wide map identifying the 22 city facilities and morethan 130 private facilities throughout St. Petersburgwhere residents can drop off recyclable materials. Theyare located near parks, churches, schools, apartmentcomplexes, and other places so residents do not have tomake an extra trip to deliver these materials.

Earth-Friendly Recycling

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Earth-Friendly Recycling

St Petersburg is among the leading communities in Florida in the amount of tons

recycled, and in the pro-active approach to improving the environment.

St. Petersburg’s public-private recycling effort has resulted in its recycling

more material than any other of the 25 communities in Pinellas County in

terms of total amount of recycled material. St. Petersburg also ranks as the

third highest in the state of Florida in terms of amount recycled per capita.

In 2010, the city began offering curbside recycling to its residents. Pinellas

County ranks 11th of the 67 counties in the state as it relates to recycled material per

capita.

Buying and WorkingGreen

By placing the emphasis on

buying green, the city is making

great strides to reduce its carbon

footprint and fuel the growth of

businesses that produce green-friendly

products and services.

The city's Environmentally Preferable PurchasingProgram is patterned after the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency's model and focuses on reducing theeffect on human health and the environment of productsand services the city uses. Employees from various citydepartments, or "Green City Liaisons," meet quarterlyand represent their departments in this effort. Theirwork includes promoting office recycling, establishingtoner recycling programs, using green supplies andchemicals in city work, reducing energy, and reducingpaper use through scanning and opt out programs.

In 2010, 22 department liaisons successfully completedthe IFAS/Pinellas County Extension Green Star TrainingProgram, and became Green Star certified. Latest effortsinclude involvement in a printer reduction study and itspotential effects on the city's carbon footprint.

More than 100 paper recycling programs are active atprivate businesses throughout the city and the city alsoprovides containers and recycles approximately 2,500tons of cardboard per year. An even greater amount ofcardboard is recycled at private locations each year.

Mulch, used by city operations, residents and the agri-cultural community is made from more than 40,000 tonsof recycled tree and plant clippings annually

Construction/Demolition Debris andWastewater SludgeThe FDEP has estimated that 24 percent of the wastestream is comprised of construction and demolitiondebris. City operations have taken a lead in this area byrecycling almost 22,000 tons of roofing tiles, asphalt andconcrete each year.

At city water reclamation facilities, wastewater sludge isconditioned and recycled by spreading the material onagricultural lands as fertilizer, at the rate of 35,000 tonsper year.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s2005 Annual Report on Municipal Solid Waste,Americans recycle 533 pounds per capita of solid waste.Through the various methods described above, each per-son in St. Petersburg, on average, recycles in excess of930 pounds or 75 percent more than the national aver-age. These figures do not include 250,000 tons per yearof St. Petersburg solid waste burned at the CountyWaste-to-Energy Facility for re-use as electricity.

Restoration of Lake Maggiore

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St. Petersburg has been ranked:l Florida’s First Green City

l A “Tree City USA”

l A “Bicycle-Friendly Community”

l “America’s Most Livable Community”

l A “Florida’s Most Walkable City”

l A “Most Playful City USA”

Contact Information

For more information, visit:www.stpete.org/green

This program is funded through a National Clean Diesel Program grant from the USEPA.

Documents

G ee S . Pe e b g P g a - St. Petersburg, Florida · p. 16 l Construction/Demolition Debris and Wastewater Sludge ... the quality of life in St. Petersburg. ... the methane gas and