Archive for the 'Green Living' Category

I don’t generally have a lot of time to watch television; being a New Jersey Realtor means being “on call” day and night. I am determined to make time for Designing Healthy Communities, though. This is a four-part series airing soon on WLIW  (and other public television stations) which looks at the links between our built environment (urban sprawl, concrete jungles) and public health issues like obesity and asthma. I’m especially interested in the first episode, called “Retrofitting Suburbia.”  In this episode, Dr. Richard Jackson, the series host, looks at communities in Colorado and Georgia that have taken steps to encourage mass transit and bicycling as legitimate forms of transportation. The series runs on February 2 and 3;  it should make for valuable, and fascinating, viewing.

As a New Jersey Realtor, I am a member of the National Association of Realtors, and I regularly read its publications. Recently I came across one that I found interesting and worth sharing.

In March of this year, the National Association of Realtors commissioned a market research firm to conduct a survey regarding Americans’ housing and community preferences.  Over 2,000  randomly selected adults took part in this updating of a 2004 survey. In both cases, a significant portion of adults indicated that living in a community where they could walk to shops was either “important” or “very important.”

The economy  has seen big ups and downs over the past seven years, and people’s housing priorities have changed in certain areas. I was interested to see that 66% (two-thirds) of the adults  polled this year said that being within an easy walk to places in their community was important to them.

Clearly, walkable suburbs are still seen as very desirable places to live. I’d love to show you some of New Jersey’s finest.

I’ve always liked the idea of solar energy: it’s non-polluting, infinitely renewable, and available domestically. Now, thanks to a 30 % federal tax credit  and the ability to sell SRECs (solar renewable energy certificates) to power companies, it’s also financially feasible. So I am having solar energy panels installed on my roof.

As part of the solar panel system, I also needed to install 3 inverters in my home. Inverters convert the solar energy produced into usable voltages; Call me weird, but I really enjoy going down to my basement to watch them count up the kilowatts of energy being generated.

The panels are just about done; once I have the final approvals in place, they will generate around 1/3 of the electricity I need to run my house. This project has not been cheap, but I expect to recoup the cost in around four years. After that,  it will provide me with an annual cash flow of several thousand dollars. Putting solar panels up is a win-win situation: I will ultimately save money while I do my small part to save our planet. It’s something that anyone with a south facing roof can do – There are even free options if you don’t have the cash to pay for the panels.  If you’d like to know more about it email me or read more on the piece from Baristanet.

As a New Jersey Realtor,  I could theoretically help a client buy or sell a home anywhere in the state. Practically speaking, though, this would be, well, impractical. I don’t know a whole lot about the South Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia, for instance. I do know a lot about Essex County real estate, however.  And one thing that really impresses me about Essex County is how many of its towns have received certificates of sustainability.

Sustainable Jersey is an organization founded in 2006 that helps communities foster environmental awareness and responsible economic growth, which lead to a higher quality of life in the long term. Communities interested in becoming certified are required to take steps such as ensuring environmental justice in planning and zoning. Once they have earned their certification, they can apply for cash grants: Wal-Mart has since 2009 partnered with Sustainable Jersey in awarding grants to towns for sustainability projects. Last year, for instance, Montclair was awarded $25,000 to install charging stations for electric cars, while West Orange received $10,000 for water conservation education initiatives.

Other local communities that have received certification include Bloomfield, Glen Ridge and Maplewood. It’s probably not a coincidence that these are also very walkable suburbs; walkability has a lot to do with sustainability.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve certainly noticed a pattern and apparently, so has the mayor of Montclair. In yesterday’s Montclair Times, mayor Jerry Fried observes “In so many things green, Montclair has been there first”.  What is it about this town that fosters green innovation and attracts so many like minds? Fried attributes the phenomenon to two factors: The shared values and the physical characteristics of the town.

Perhaps the desire for diversity, education and tolerance attracts people with a certain mindset – according to Fried it’s the key to evolutionary and biological resilience as well as sustainability.  These same people seem also to appreciate Montclair’s layout – a sensible, tree-lined grid of streets with neighborhood commercial zones that evolved around the 6 train stations.  The walkable streets of Montclair, where housing is integrated in many areas with shops, restaurants, parks and public gathering places makes it a model for vibrant community living.

In honor of Earth Day, here now, a partial list of Montclair’s green accomplishments:

• $750,000 grant for NJ’s first Safe Routes to School program
• $100,000 grant for Bike/Pedestrian Plan
• NJ’s first “Boltage” program at Edgemont School, (a trip-logging system for walkers/bikers)
• First community to adopt a Complete Streets policy
• Streets Are For Everyone program (SAFE)
• Tour de Montclair bike tour sponsored by Bike/Walk Montclair
• First municipal electric car charging stations
• Montclair State University’s Institute of Sustainability Studies
• A designated EPA Climate Showcase Community
• NJ’s only  National Wildlife Federation Certified Community Wildlife Habitat
• www.OurPowerMontclair.org website
• www.SafeLawnsMontclair.org

I wanted to share this link to home design trends for 2011, which I found on the “Greenhouse” blog on usatoday.com.  This Montclair Realtor is happy to report that among the trends listed is a growing interest in urbanism, and correspondingly, walkable suburbs.

The New Urbanism movement originated back in the early 1980s as a reaction to suburban sprawl; now it appears to be going mainstream.  According to Jenny Sullivan, a senior editor at  Builder (a construction industry publication), “suburbs are starting to feel more like little cities as planners and developers find ways to weave density and walkability into existing hot spots.”  Obviously I’m a huge proponent of walkability, so I find this development very encouraging. A walkable suburb provides more opportunities for exercise and interaction with one’s neighbors, not to mention less air pollution from car exhaust fumes.

Another major trend is a push for environmentally friendly homes. According to Sullivan, today’s homebuyers want to “extend their wellness equation to where they live.” As a result, they are increasingly demanding low-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints, stains and sealants, as well as cabinets and furniture made of  sustainable natural materials such as bamboo and eucalyptus. For more on 2011 home design trends go to the Greenhouse blog on the USA Today website.

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2011.

I had a lovely client who along with her partner wanted to rent a house on a big property so their dogs could run.   We found her a great place, and the lease was signed.  She paid all the fees and deposits. And then days before the move in date, she had to back out of the deal because she lost her job.  She was a project manager on the ARC tunnel project planned to link NJ to NY with an additional rail tube across the Hudson river.  She had been working on it for eleven years. And then it was over. Her job was just one small casualty of the Christie administration’s cancellation of a major project that would have provided a vital additional link between New Jersey and New York.

As any commuter knows, our single tunnel just isn’t enough.   And the easy access of our state to one of the biggest economic center’s in the western world has always created enormous opportunities for New Jersey’s own economy and its citizens.   As reported by The New York Times,  the tunnel would have shortened commute times and linked additional communities.

As any New Jersey Realtor will tell you, one of the single most effective ways to boost property values is to offer a quick commute to Manhattan.  Bigger property values equals bigger tax revenues for the state.   One non-profit research group estimated that home values within two miles of the rail station would have risen by $19,000 and by $29,000 for homes within half a mile.  Given the estimated $18 billion increase in property values, NJ would have immediately started raking in an additional  $375 million in tax receipts per year.

Consider too the additional jobs that would have resulted directly from the tunnel project and indirectly from easier access to other business markets. And let us not forget the benefits to our environment and to our communities that always follow from better public transit and increased walkability.  We all know that Governor Christie inherited one of the most difficult fiscal situations since World War II.  And we know that the budget needs to be balanced. No one would deny that these are tough economic times, but axing the ARC midtown direct tunnel project was penny wise, pound foolish.

After closing on their bank-owned Colonial in Verona, one of the first “improvements” Bil and Ashli made was to add a vegetable garden to their backyard. They are predicting a prolific harvest of beans, onions, tomatoes, and Chinese sweet potatoes, of which they only eat the greens.

With 40,000 shade trees in Montclair, some gardeners have found that the backyard is just too shady to grow vegetables. A front yard flower and vegetable patch, however, is always an option, and can even replace the entire front lawn, giving the house a verdant and functional appeal. Robin of Glen Ridge has replaced her front lawn with a beautiful and bountiful combination of flowers and edibles. In her garden of Eden she grows rhubarb, cucumbers, beets, lettuce, squash, and herbs.

Montclair resident and food writer Laura has a front yard garden that is bordered by stones and integrates flowers and vegetables in the European fashion. This design, which runs along the path to her front door, works especially well because it welcomes visitors into her pleasant home and busy kitchen.

As for me, I have also established my raised-bed garden in the front yard, the only place that gets consistent sun.

The NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection has begun a new program in which old refrigerators or freezers that are not energy-efficient can be traded in for a $50 rebate. NJ residents must meet the criteria (listed here), which includes being a customer of a commercial, not municipal, electric utility company (Most Essex County residents use PSE&G). A new, more energy-efficient fridge or freezer can save you more than $100 a year on your electric bill, and is better for the environment. This handy little calculator tells you how much your current fridge or freezer costs to operate now, and how much you could save with one that qualified for Energy Star. Trading in your fridge or freezer is better for you and better for your town, and now comes with a $50 bonus! Why not?

What Is Your Community Walkability Score?

walking in Montclair neighborhood

I’m a big fan of the rating website, www.walkscore.com, but its algorithm relies mostly on the proximity of a house to stores and community resources.  But to find walkability rating, it’s not just about distance — it’s also about the quality and ease of the walk.  Factors like wide sidewalks, shade trees, good lighting and flat topography matter a great deal in determining a walkability rating.  I downloaded this walkability checklist from www.walkinginfo.org and walked through my own Watchung Plaza neighborhood in Montclair.

Here’s what I found, both good and bad.

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