Steamboat's GREEN This Fall???

With the autumn color change to predominately yellow and orange, it’s nice to know there are still signs of green in our community. No, I’m not talking about those straggling aspens that refuse to turn, I’m talking about the City of Steamboat Springs having two buildings earning certification for green practices.

It seems that when John Q. Public starts to see signs of sustainable practices stemming from such widely used buildings as City Hall and Centennial Hall, the general mantra of “green” living in reinforced community-wide. Both buildings have been credited with instituting sustainable practices in both structure and use. This is a positive sign of more good to come.

In recent news as well, the Steamboat Springs Planning Commission voted in support of a development plan for Inspiritu Verde (when translated, means “Inspired Green”). Though the proposed downtown project is much larger in scale than the surrounding buildings, the commissioners have reasoned that the benefits outweigh the concerns. Commissioners are obviously impressed that developers are striving to make this the first project to earn “gold” Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. This clearly denotes the idea that more positive “green” changes are sure to follow within and surrounding our community.

In other news, participation in the city’s alternative transportation program increased by 12% this summer. The program dubbed “Tran-Spur-Tation” encourages city employees (and others, of course) to either walk, bus or bike to work in efforts to decrease our daily carbon footprint. I for one am proud to live in a town that encourages such practices and firmly believe that initiatives like these will surely increase property values over the long-run.