Richardson, TX: A City that gets it Right?

I have been a Richardson resident nearly all of my life.  Since I have never really experienced another city, for any length of time, I had trouble understanding what was so great about Richardson growing up.  However, because my folks live here, I decided to purchase my first house in Richardson, 8 years ago.  As you grow in age the actual benefits a city has to offer become more apparent.  I can honestly say I have never been more proud to say “I reside in Richardson, TX”.

The leadership, in Richardson, is responsible for maintaining the continued desirability and sustainability of Richardson.

With the economy in shambles and the housing industry in desperation to find traction, it will take a collective strength to get through it.  Richardson has selected these kinds of people to work for and with the city in efforts to keep Richardson on the top of the charts.

In 2008, Richardson was ranked as the 18^th best place to live in the US by Money magazine.  This also made Richardson the 4th best place to live in Texas.

To outline a few reasons’ Richardson impresses me:

Tree the Town

Richardson began April 18^th, planting 100 out of the 50,000 tree goal.

“The trees are being located along community trails and thoroughfares which could use more shade for hikers and bikers, or could use more trees to improve the landscaping along roadways. Some project locations are at: Central Trail south of the Galatyn Plaza and Routh Creek Parkway near the Spring Creek Nature area; medians on Arapaho Road west and east of Plano Road; medians on Campbell Road east of US75; and Duck Creek Linear Park west of Yale Boulevard.

In the “Tree the Town” program, the City identifies planting opportunities and private sponsors fund the trees. A sponsorship may be provided by a large corporation, small business, neighborhood association, civic group or individual. Texas Trees Foundation manages and coordinates the plantings and then maintains and waters the trees for the first year, after which the City is responsible.”

–City of Richardson website

The value of these trees will take years to actually measure.  However, take a drive in a heavily treed area in Dallas and you will be instantly enamored by its charm.  Give us 20 years, and Richardson will be the next best thing.  Looking to make a solid investment, while it’s still affordable?  Call me and buy now! 

Arbor Day Foundation gives examples of

The Value of Trees to a Community

“The planting of trees means improved water quality, resulting in less runoff and erosion. This allows more recharging of the ground water supply. Wooded areas help prevent the transport of sediment and chemicals into streams.”—USDA Forest Service

“In one study, 83% of realtors believe that mature trees have a “strong or moderate impact” on the salability of homes listed for under $150,000; on homes over $250,000, this perception increases to 98%.” —Arbor National Mortgage & American Forests

“A mature tree can often have an appraised value of between $1,000 and $10,000.” —Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers “The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day.”—U.S. Department of Agriculture

“Landscaping can reduce air conditioning costs by up to 50 percent, by shading the windows and walls of a home.” — American Public Power Association

“If you plant a tree today on the west side of your home, in 5 years your energy bills should be 3% less. In 15 years the savings will be nearly 12%.” —Dr. E. Greg McPherson, Center for Urban Forest Research

$1 Million in Energy Improvements to Save Tax Dollars

Per the July addition of Richardson Today:

The City of Richardson has received $1,036,000 through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program.  The money will be used to reduce emissions and energy expenses in City facilities by upgrading lighting and HVAC systems. Enhance the new Huffhines Recreation Center with energy saving upgrades and renewable energy-producing features and to help monitor current energy usage trends to identify future saving opportunities.  The new program is expected to save about $300,000 annually once fully implemented.

“The City is embarking on these environmental sustainability projects because it makes sense from both a financial and quality of life standpoint,” City Manager E.A. Hoppe says.

Bond Proposal Passed:

Prop 1

Street Improvements
$24.71 Million

Prop 2

Park & Recreational Facilities
$22.645 Million

Prop 3

Municipal Public Buildings
$10.495 Million

Prop 4

Neighborhood Vitality Projects
$8.15 Million

Behind the Tile- Improved cement backer boards add much needed durability to walk-in tile showers and baths. By Matthew Power

It’s a well kept building secret that walk-in showers rarely live up to their durability potential.  They’re torn apart and thrown into landfill decades before their potential lifespan is over.  To understand why, you have to look at why tiled bathorooms are demolished.  When you do, you’ll see why we think the use of better tile backers might extend the functional life of that expensive tile job.

One reason bathrooms change, of course, is that Americans are fickle.  Many people remodel their bathroms as often as they move or get divorced (about every seven years).  But another major cause for tearouts is poor maintenance.  Cement grout has to be waterproofed on a regular basis.  If it’s not, it gets saturated, then moldy, and the old grout has to be ground out and replaced.  Often, a contractor tells the owner it’s best to trash the whole wall panel and start over.

That doesn’t have to happen with any shower built from this day forth.  Cement tile backer boards have made the cost of re-pointing grout well worth the labor.  Newer board such as PermaBase have improved in both performance and workability. Their product is stable, consistent, and absorbs very little water.  They also redigned the matting so that you can drive a fasterner close to the edge witout shattering the board.  Another key feature: execelent mold resistence- so when you grind out old grout and start over, you’re not just covering up the problem. You’re fixing it.

GreenBuilder March 2010

Masco Home Services launches WellHome, a new program offering home assessments and comfort and energy efficiency home improvement services for existing homes.  The WellHome services is launching in seven cities- Austin; Dallas; Orlando; Phoenix; Tucson; Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Nashua, N.H.-and plans to expand to multiple other cities before the end of 2010.

WellHome plans to become the first national provider of home performance services, including whole home comfort and energy efficiency assessments, recommendations, and project implementation.  The program provides homeowners with a Whole Home Energy Savings Limited Guarantee on their energy savings resulting from the improvements.

“Millions of homeowners across the country are living in homes that are not comfortable or energy efficient as they could be”, notes Larry Laseter, president of WellHome.  To date, our assessments show that homeowners can see energy efficiency gains between 20-50%  by choosing our solutions, which also supply comfort and air quality benefits.”

GreenBuilder Magazine March 2010

Housing demands and population growth compels us to multiply the total number of buildings on the planet over the next generation. We clearly must find a way to provide safe housing for all, while protecting the planet’s natural resources

According to National Eco-Systems surveys housing accounts for a quarter of the world’s wood harvest. Until the house building industry adapts to new and safe, non-wood materials to erect housing for all, wood will continue to dominate the world’s construction materials. Of course it is economy that drives the building industry, not conserving the global ecosystem. It is foolish in a capitalistic society to expect builders to be more concerned about depleting the planet of trees, than about increasing profits. The polarized positions of environmentalists- versus- capitalist may never reconcile, but there is a third alternative to the either-or building materials problem.

While environmental scientists work on the problem of replacing wood as the main building material for constructing houses, individual builders and the building industry at large should consider flame retardants as an alternative for safe housing material. Flame and fire retardants reduce the possibility of losing a building to fire.  There are many good reasons for fire retardants to replace non-treated wood in the housing industry.

Fire and flame retardants are economical compared to losing a building to fire. It costs builders an average of $240,000.00 to replace a 2000 sq.ft. home destroyed by fire. Fire retardants applied to the same house would have saved at least 80% of that construction, thus saving homeowners, insurance companies and or builders about $192,000 in reconstruction costs. That is tremendous savings. Consider what this could mean to the housing industry,  the insurance industry, and the entire financial marketplace. An average wholesale cost of fire and flame retardants is about $1,000.00 for a 50 gallon drum which will cover four 2,000 sq.ft. homes. One can easily justify that when compared to the alternative.

Fire and flame retardants are usually eco-friendly. Many are chemicals derived from natural earth-producing products and manufactured under environmentally sound principles.

Fire and flame retardants are safe to use when selected from companies that produce only environmentally safe products.

The power of flame protective products can be seen in a demonstration one company provided me:  a burn test performed at Louisiana State University Fire Safety School. (see video) using the company’s  fire retardant product.

Clearly, the technology exists to build safe houses when the housing industry adapts to fire and flame retardants.  From the video provided by LSU we learnt that fire doubles consumption every five minutes. This means that if a fire and/or flame retardant was used in building a house, occupants have fifteen to twenty minutes to get everyone safely out, compared to less than five minutes in non-treated homes.  If it costs the builder an additional $1,000.00 to apply fire retardant to the building as it is constructed, and if that cost is passed on to the consumer, what is the homeowner’s increase over a 30-year mortgage? Less than $2.75 added to their monthly mortgage payment. This ought to be a no-brainer. Shouldn’t legislators insist on mandating that fire and flame retardants be added to lumber before it is sold to building wholesalers? Shouldn’t every house be required to have fire retardants applied before it can be sold?

This article is courtesy of Ellis Hackler of Green Globe Industries.

Only a few of the green builders said that an appraiser had ever solicited information on the energy features of one of their homes or that one of their customers had ever been offered an energy efficient mortgage (EEM) or energy improvement mortgage (EIM).

A point of discussion was that builders have the misperception that they are not even allowed to talk to appraiser these days.  But they were told, as long as they are not unduly trying to influence the valuation, the can voice their concerns through the lender and Appraisal Management Company.  Builders were briefed on Fannie Mae  guidelines specifically advising lenders not to assume that an appraiser is competent, and therefore of their right to ask for an appraiser that has appraised a green home or has knowledge in energy efficiency.  As part of the third-party verification process, they were encouraged to obtain a residential energy report form from the HERS (Home Energy Rating Systems) rater to provide copies to the lender and appraiser, as documentation that the home is qualified for an EEM or EIM.

One of the instructors was hopeful that one day Fannie Mae’s Uniform Residential Appraisal From (Form 1004) will have a box at the top for information such as the HERS rating and its certification.  In the version of the form that exists today, towards the bottom of the front page there is one line provided for additional green features, such as energy-efficient items.  Moving away from appraisals based on comparable sales made nearby and recently and instead using a cost approach would be another move to open the door to green building.  Finding suitable comps has been difficult enough for traditionally  constructed homes in a down market, but even more problematic for innovative homes with features that are not commonplace.  “Marshall &Swift Green Building Costs” was a recommended resource that builders can hand out or refer to appraiser and lender to make them more knowledgeable about the value of green.  The publication includes the costs of the most common green items for new construction and retrofits, including labor and other factors.  About 1,500 items were recently added to the list.

Multiple Listing Services have begun to include information on green features, and a Green MLS Tool Kit is now available to educate Realtors® about gathering data on green homes so that true comparables will be possible.  While this is a positive step, it is estimated 20 to 40 of the 850 MLS’ in the U.S. have started tracking green so far.  Also, a disproportionate number of new green homes are not listed because they are a custom built.

Mortgages recognizing energy savings remain mostly an idea whose potential has been largely unrealized.  For example, Federal Housing Administration’s 203(k) enable cost-effective energy-saving measures to be financed as part of the mortgage and enables the buyer to qualify for a larger loan amount by considering the monthly savings on energy and allowing higher qualifying ratios.  The actual amounts are based on the HERS report.

Another ongoing challenge is that the concept of green housing is, not well understood by the general public, conference panelists said, and a significant share of prospective buyers are actually turned off by it.  In general, the majority of home buyers are reluctant to pay more for certain items unless they can be shown how these will pay for themselves through  lower operating and maintenance costs over a reasonable period of time.  Green builders were advised to market the specific benefits of their homes rather than selling green, and to avoid providing too much technical information, which can quickly go over heads of buyers and discourage them.

Article courtesy of: Greater DFW Metroplex Building Savvy Magazine: Vol 4 2010 page 12

Thanks for the article, Building Savvy!  Good job Collin County!

Collin County has been named the fastest growing county in Texas, and one of the top growth counties in America.  E.Republic’s Center for Digital Government named Collin Count’s website one of the best in the country.  Four of Collin County’s five largest cities- Frisco, Allen, Plano and McKinney- are nationally ranked in the top 100 wealthiest cities, more than any other urban area in Texas and the Southwest.  And now Collin County tops out on yet another list.

The overall health status of Collin County residents has been named the best of all Texas counties, according to a new report from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.  Collin County is ranked first in health factors, which are what influences the health of a county, and ranked second in health outcomes, which represent the current health of a county.

“We in Collin County are fortunate to have diverse and excellent medical providers and facilities serving our residents.  As a county government agency we appreciate that it takes all of Collin County’s medical providers working together to build a safety net of care.  Identifying and analyzing community healthcare needs are only starting points.  We need to continue to work hard to improve access to care and continuity of care by building on our current partnerships with our hospitals, community leaders, low income clinics, non-profit organizations, health care providers and patients to improve health care access for all Collin County residents,” states Cindy Blair, Collin County Health Care Director.

The Population Health Institute’s report ranks all the counties within a state according to a number of factors affecting health outcomes (length of life and quality of life) and health factors (health behaviors, access to and quality of healthcare, social and economic factors, environment, and programs and policies).

Under health outcomes:

Collin County Ranked first in mortality, which is based on the length of life as a measure of premature death, or the years of potential life lost prior to age 75.

Under heath factors:

Collin County ranked first in health behaviors, which includes measure of smoking, diet, exercise, alcohol use, and risky behavior.

The county also ranked first in social and economic factors, which measures education, employment, income, family and social support, and community safety.

The county ranked third in clinical care, which measures access to care and the quality of care.

Texas is made up of 254 counties, 221 of which were included in this study.  Due to data coverage limitations, not all Texas counties were included in the analysis.  The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute’s County Health Rankings report, underwritten by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, allows counties across the country to get a picture of their residents’ health as a comparison to other counties within their state.  For more information about the institute and this project, visit www.countyhealthrankings.org.

-Greater DFW Metroplex Building Savvy Magazine: Vol 4 2010

This Hillcrest property was designed by O’Neil Ford.

“Considered one of the nation’s best unknown architects, Ford created designs in a vernacular style that lacks the cutting edge innovation that could gain him international notice. With quiet, well-crafted architecture, Ford attempted to consider several possibilities in order to achieve the best total design. He successfully resolved user needs and environmental requirements with a humane, non-pretentious design ethic.” -Great Building

“Ford’s ‘Texas vernacular’ style of architecture is similar in concept to that of his renown peer Frank Lloyd Wright in that both are artists who possessed the fascinating ability to design a structure not just ‘in’ its natural setting but ‘into’ it.  A prime example is the Little Chapel, perhaps his most famous architectural feat. Though Ford died on July 20, 1982, his work is still winning new fans. In early 2009, the Little Chapel came in at number 6 on ‘The 10 Best Buildings in Texas’ list, Texas Monthly’s rendition of a Texas Architectural Tour.” – Denton Live

Take a look at what TexEnergy Solutions found:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Solar powered electrical generation relies on heat engines and photovoltaics. Solar energy’s uses are limited only by human ingenuity. A partial list of solar applications includes space heating and cooling through solar architecture, potable water via distillation and disinfection, daylighting, solar hot water, solar cooking, and high temperature process heat for industrial purposes. To harvest the solar energy, the most common way is to use solar panels.

Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute solar energy. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.”

Wikipedia. August 19th, 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energy 

Solar light and lighting products have made it a long way. Though we’d love to see more cost friendly solar options, some companies are paving the way to lower prices by taking advantage of supply and demand at lower rates.

SOL Inc, who focus on solar light and lighting solutions, donated over 130 solar lights for Haiti recovery and rebuilding efforts after the devastating earthquake in January 2010: http://www.solarlighting.com/

Please call Jules Dylan Stuer, at (214)802-7369, of http://www.advancedluxury.net, for more information about Dallas, TX based company: http://diezenergysolutions.com/, SOL, Inc. installations in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas, that are tailored to fit your unique needs.