Getting Started

If your municipality is interested in using its Zoning and Subdivision and Land Development ordinances to affect higher levels of energy efficiency and a transition to electrified, renewably powered buildings, here are some steps you might take:

  1. Decide what your municipality's policy goals are. Are you focused on greenhouse gas reduction? Do you want to encourage energy efficiency? Do you want high-quality, desirable buildings in a key part of your municipality, like a main street? If you don't already have existing adopted policy around these issues, consider strategies for adopting such policy. This could be through a comprehensive plan, the creation of a climate action plan or Energy Transition Plan, or through adopting a resolution in support of transitioning to clean energy. Consider applying to Chester County Planning Commission's Vision Partnership Program for any of these plans.
  2. Determine the design features you'd like to incentivize to achieve your policy goals. These could be LEED-certified buildings or another green building certification, buildings built to a higher standard for energy efficiency such as Energy-Star certified, buildings that use electricity for heat and cooling, buildings with on-site renewable energy, and/or buildings built with future renewable energy in mind, such as solar-ready or EV-ready.
  3. Determine what incentives are acceptable to the municipality to achieve these design features. Incentives will have to be attractive enough that applicants will want to take advantage of them.
  4. Go through the process of amending the ordinances as specified in the Municipalities Planning Code, including as much public input as possible.
  5. Let us know what you did! The Chester County Planning Commission plans to keep this guide up to date with as many local ordinance examples as possible.

Need Assistance? Contact the Chester County Planning Commission.
Rachael Griffith, Sustainability Director
rObfuscationgriffith@Obfuscationchesco.org or 610-344-6285