Egedal municipality Agenda 21 work
Development of politics on construction - Local Agenda 21
The former Stenlose municipality had an active, but not very prominent Local Agenda 21 work which before 1996 was rooted in experiments treating employment projects connected to sustainable building demonstration, a visitor’s eco-garden, organic canteen, organic gardening, etc. From here the idea originated to explore ways to adapt environmental requirements for buildings, which first manifested in attempts to provide guidance relating to environmental issues in reviews of building licenses and constructions with the municipality as developer.
Unlike many other municipalities, where employees are often located as a satellite apart from the municipality's administration, the LA21 employee in Stenlose municipality was given a more central location with reference to the management and with the authority to put forward suggestions, formulate drafts for planning documents and conducts reviews of the environmental contribution from other administrations. This led to a close collaboration between the LA21 coordinator, the mayor, the city manager and the head of planning. The LA21 coordinator through many years, Jan Poulsen, has constructional knowledge and is an early pioneer within DIY construction with regards to environment and energy.
Agenda 21 strategies in the administration e
Under the auspices of Bycirklen (cooperation between municipalities located in Frederik’s Sound finger) a joint municipal cooperation in 2000 led to the foundation of a common Agenda 21 Center in Frederikssund. The director of the centre and 7 employees cooperated with a board consisting of two politicians and a senior official from each municipality. The centre was responsible for preparing the statutory Agenda 21 strategy, which was common to the then 5 member municipalities, further development of the strategy for construction and buildings and a number of specific projects and consultancy services. Projects were carried out for the Danish Energy Agency and the Danish Ministry of the Environment and consultancy services were carried out for, among others Copenhagen municipality and Københavns Energi.
Until 2006, when the center was closed as a result of the merging of municipalities, the Agenda 21 centre was responsible for organizing energy management for Frederikssund municipality. As a registered ELO company, the centre’s energy consultant also handled the preparation of the statutory ELO reports showing the energy standards in municipalities’ existing building stock. This cooperation and LA21’s integrated position led Stenlose municipality to incorporate sustainable construction in local plans already from 2001. The aim was to coordinate reviews of building licenses, local planning, sectoral development and other policy areas.
Plan strategy with visions for sustainability
An integrated Plan and Agenda 21 strategy was developed in 2002-2003 which affirmed that “As a planning authority, land owner, developer and building authority we need to make a special effort to reduce the consumption of heat, electricity and water and avoid environmentally dangerous substances” (Plan strategy Development with consideration, 2002 - http://www.egedalkommune.dk). The municipality wishes to:
- Work as a planning authority for localization of housing and jobs and the related infrastructure, and ensure that use does not threaten biodiversity, groundwater quality and natural ecosystems.
- Set out requirements in local plans that can reduce the environmental impacts of every construction.
- As a land owner - or a seller, assess whether there are specific local environmental conditions which must be registered as easements or general claims in sales literature.
- As developer - or in operation of their own buildings - ensure that energy efficiency and environmental considerations are an integral part of the building's construction and operation. Develop a construction programme which identifies which environmental considerations to be secured in new constructions. Implement use of Life Cycle Costing to determine whether increased insulation standards and use of renewable energy should be included
- Monitor consumption of electricity, water and heat in existing municipal buildings, and investments must be considered in improvements that can reduce consumption.
- Explore possibilities, as building authority
in dialogue with private developers, for
reducing consumption of energy and water and
incorporate other environmental issues in
construction. Publish a guide on options for
environmental considerations when constructing
single-family houses.
- As developer - or in operation of their own buildings - ensure that energy efficiency and environmental considerations are an integral part of the building's construction and operation. Develop a construction programme which identifies which environmental considerations to be secured in new constructions. Implement use of Life Cycle Costing to determine whether increased insulation standards and use of renewable energy should be included.
- Explore possibilities, as building authority in dialogue with private developers, for reducing consumption of energy and water and incorporate other environmental issues in construction. Publish a guide on options for environmental considerations when constructing single-family houses.
- Som byggesags myndighed i dialog med private bygherrer undersøge muligheder for, at nedbringe forbruget af energi og vand og indarbejde andre miljøhensyn i byggeriet. En vejledning om muligheder for miljøhensyn i forbindelse med opførelse af en-familiehuse skal udsendes.
Local plan with environmental consideration n
After the local elections in 2001 Stenlose municipality decided to adopt a more active land policy and purchased 76 hectares of farmland and recreational areas, with the purpose of developing a new large residential area, Stenlose South. In the local plan from 2002 the municipality’s desire for urban development in South Stenlose was adopted in accordance with the necessary requirements for local planning, land development and sales of building plots. In the local plan 2001-2002 process, the overall points in the plan strategy was integrated to formulate a general sustainability requirement: “The City Council still wants Stenlose municipality to be an environmentally conscious municipality where development is carried out on a sustainable basis.” In addition to this a number of considerations in regard to traffic and environment and demography and social cohesiveness were formulated.
The new urban areas should be designed and placed so that they take account of and interact with the landscapes. (...) The City Council wishes to provide space for new housing for those citizens who wish to replace their single-family house with a smaller house in the municipality. The City Council also wishes to make it possible to construct alternative types of accommodation such as communities for senior citizens. Additionally, there is a need for smaller dwellings for the young. (...) Location of new residential areas close to public transport, and development of local opportunities for environmentally friendly transportation to and from stations and bus routes. Coordination with campaigns and citizen-oriented offers of carpooling and car sharing schemes.
Incorporation of opportunities for environmentally friendly behavior in daily life through building design with the aim of reducing consumption of water, reducing amounts of waste and reduce nutrient load.
In the local plan environmental considerations was thus adopted as goals and guidelines for housing: “Urban development must located close to commuter train stations - in Stenlose. (...) Ecology and environmental considerations must be involved in the planning and construction of new housing.”