I'm not familiar with Lucente; is there anyone on-list who knows what kind of people are running the development, what they care about, what kinds of developments they favor? Does anybody know someone who knows them? If you're serious about action the key is finding a way to get them listening and motivated to make the change.
We would also need specific information about the development to create a viable alternate design. What solutions would work best depends on a lot of details. I vaguely recall someone saying there was a 100+ unit elderly housing development planned for Lansing (tho I also vaguely recall someone saying the lots weren't selling well.) Is this the same one? Is there someone who'd be willing to go talk to a real estate person up that way, to find out how it's being marketed and get a copy of the offering plan? If it's true that the lots aren't selling well, that could create an opening to convince the developer to shift to a different set of features (assuming it's not too great a change to the offering plan.) Stu is claiming renewable alternatives aren't cost competitive, but new pipelines are seriously expensive. It seems likely to me the only reason the numbers are coming out in favor of natural gas is that the developer expects to be able to pass that part of the cost on to the taxpayer/ratepayer. This is one of the policy changes we're going to have to make, in the long haul, in order to make renewables more appealing to developers. If we could prevent taxpayer/ratepayer funding in this instance, it would create a strong motivation to use a different heat source. Focusing on cost competitiveness also assumes that the sticker price is the homebuyer's first and/or only priority. Whether that's true depends on who the development is being pitched to -- for example, housing developers include all kinds of expensive features when they want their product to appeal to the high-end housing market. If the developer imagines the customer might be eco-conscious and willing to pay more for green features, we could have an opening. If the developer imagines the customer might be willing to pay a higher price to eliminate the risk of price shocks on future utility bills, we could have an opening. - Marty For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom Shelley, at [email protected].
