Green Infrastructure Incentives Study, City of Houston, Chief Resilience Officer, Houston, Texas
Houston,TX
RG Miller | DCCM interviewed peer cities to identify best practices for encouraging private sector developments to use green stormwater infrastructure (GSI). RG Miller | DCCM interviewed developers to better understand and evaluate the financial models used in making development decisions and to identify potential “triggers” that could be used to incentivize more use of GSI by the private sector. RG Miller | DCCM conducted an economic analysis of various incentives and programs to determine the potential public benefits and developer benefits that would arise. RG Miller | DCCM then prepared a final report which summarized the work effort, the findings, provided an overview of GSI techniques, and recommended four incentive programs the city should implement to expand the use of GSI by private land development interests. The report recommended tax abatements, awards, expedited permitting, and harmonized regulations and design provisions related to landscaping, parking, and stormwater management. The city adopted the tax abatement incentive in December 2020.