Eco-friendly redeveloping may help bay

ENGLEWOOD - This community built around the water plans to transform its downtown into a statewide model for urban redevelopment that puts a stopper on polluted storm runoff.

Rooftop gardens, permeable driveways made from recycled tires and retention ponds doubling as landscaping could become the norm on Englewood's main drag, Dearborn Street, as state and local regulators look to the community to demonstrate a new type of redevelopment.

It is called low-impact design.

"If we can be the first 'green' street in Sarasota, that would be something where people would want to come and see what we've done and apply it to other places," said Debbie Marks, Englewood's community redevelopment area coordinator.

The Dearborn Street focus goes hand in hand with Sarasota County's new how-to manual on low-impact design. The manual details innovative ways to trap and cleanse the dirty storm water that spills from gutters and gushes down streets.

By the end of the year, the guide will likely become part of the county code, said Jack Merriam, a storm-water expert for Sarasota County.

"It's a perfect fit for redevelopment and throughout the county, not just Englewood," Merriam said. "So much of our development was built before the requirement of any storm-water treatment at all. Those are prime opportunities."

The Southwest Florida Water Management District, nicknamed Swiftmud, and the state Department of Environmental Protection also are likely to adopt the manual.

The low-impact concept, proven effective by the University of Central Florida's Stormwater Management Academy in Orlando, involves trapping rainwater on rooftops, in cisterns, permeable pavement and retention ponds masked as landscaping.

Unlike traditional storm-water controls, the low-impact approach melds landscape with structure to slow the flow of water runoff in the urban environment.

Instead of water shooting off roofs, it will percolate though rooftop soils and drain into cisterns.

Instead of rushing off streets and sidewalks into storm drains, water will seep into porous pavement and drain into walled retention areas that hold grasses or other hardy plants.

And instead of mounded medians full of grass or shrubs, the median will dip like a swale to trap and filter water.

Water stored in the cistern or retention areas can be later used for irrigation in the dry season.

The strategies are designed to keep pollution out of water bodies such as Lemon Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, vital resources for waterfront communities such as Englewood.

Storm-water consultant Stephen Suau and other experts are working with Englewood leaders to figure out whether downtown redevelopment with low-impact concepts can help save money.

The unincorporated town had planned to build a $6 million underground vault to hold and treat storm water.

Landscaped swales and permeable pavement would likely be cheaper, and if enough developers and businesses catch on, the vault may be unnecessary, Suau said.

Grants may also be available as Swiftmud looks for projects that can provide examples of low-impact design.

The agency has already agreed to partially fund one low-impact project called The Bridges, an affordable housing community that the Gulf Coast Community Foundation plans to build in east Venice.

Clark Hull, program director for environmental permitting with Swiftmud, said the district's shift toward encouraging low-impact development stems from dissatisfaction with traditional storm-water controls that are not curbing pollution enough.

Although Sarasota County is leading the drive to make low-impact development an easy option for builders and architects, the design will work throughout the 16-county water management district.

"We're interested in permitting some of these low-impact development practices, and we want to help folks get there," Hull said.