Think of Shaker Heights – dis-tinguished older homes and tree-lined streets come to mind. Now add energy efficiency and green-building techniques. That is the new direction being taken by the City of Shaker Heights. Over the past two years, the City has put together a number of programs designed to save homeowners money and make homes healthier while preserving natural resources.
Believing that everybody can make a difference, the City of Shaker Heights encourages movement toward a more sustainable region by offering a smorgasbord of options for homeowners and other green-minded citizens:
• Make your house more energy efficient
Begin with a complete energy audit. The audit identifies exactly where the home is losing heat and/or air conditioning and recommends how to correct it – even prioritizing the repairs by dollars saved. Shaker's Go Green Rebate Program provides rebates to homeowners who complete both the energy audit and the recommended repairs. The program has reduced utility consumption in participating homes by as much as 40 percent. Most home repairs involve air sealing and insulation, and the average cost is around $3,000. Find more information about energy audits at www.shakeronline.com or www.odod.state.oh.us/cdd/oee for state-certified “Home Energy Raters.”
• Find strength in numbers
A resident advisory board helps Shaker's leadership by brainstorming ideas about the efficient use of resources. It has advised on educational campaigns, recycling for schools and large and small city initiatives. These residents also work with their counterparts in other communities interested in creating similar groups.
• Use native plantings in landscaping
Plants that are native to Ohio require less water and tending because they are meant to thrive in this climate. Partnering with the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, Shaker Heights offers help to property owners who use native landscape plans. Shaker landlords are also able to receive free landscape plans if they use native plantings. The Nature Center can assist homeowners throughout the region and can be reached at (216) 321-5935.
• Use paint and cleaning products that do not emit harmful fumes
After the City of Shaker Heights passed an ordinance encouraging green building and sustainable practices, it reduced use of paints and cleaners containing volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) in some of its public buildings.
• Recycle
Shaker has long been a recycling community. In addition to the co-mingling of glass, aluminum and Number 1 and 2 plastic containers, the City participates in a cooperative, which recycles a large assortment of paper and cardboard products.
• Talk to city officials about improving community parks and other assets rather than building new
Shaker's citywide recreation process revealed resident interest in better connectivity between parks in the form of walking and biking trails. This preference superseded interest in construction of new recreation facilities, which would require far more environmental and financial resources.
• Encourage your city to make sustainable/green building information and resources available to residents
The City of Shaker Heights provides information on a variety of green resources on its website,
www.shakeronline.com.
• Encourage your friends to choose established communities over urban sprawl
Shaker has demonstrated that even historic homes can be made energy efficient. Urban sprawl is encroaching on existing farmlands, a movement that is not sustainable for our environment or for our region.
Shaker Heights was one of the first cities in the Cleveland area to embrace green-building philosophies. Now, more and more cities are jumping aboard the green bandwagon. Citizen involvement helps to ensure the success of this growing movement which promises to save us all money and valuable natural resources.
Two beautiful green demonstration homes were completed recently in Shaker Heights. The new homes provide significant fuel-cost efficiencies and healthy-home environments within an established neighborhood blessed with mature trees and inviting sidewalks. Shaker's efforts demonstrate that green-building technology can be incorporated into new as well as existing housing while maintaining the architectural integrity of the city's neighborhoods.
To schedule an appointment to tour the demonstration home, call (216) 431-7700. Architectural plans for nine additional new, energy-efficient homes designed with green-building features can be purchased at a discounted price for those interested in building in Shaker Heights. For more information, call the Shaker Heights Department of Neighborhood Revitalization at (216) 491-1373.
For additional information, contact Jayme Lucas, a planner for the City of Shaker Heights Department of Neighborhood Revitalization, at (216) 491-1373 or jayme.lucas@shakeronline.com.
