Merrillville

BMPs, it creates a good image for businesses. A CVS that was just built on a major intersection in town already had regional detention that met typical stormwater requirements, but not the low impact development requirements. So, to meet the standard, it added a rain garden at the end of the parking lot,with signage.Now people see that CVS is environmentally con- scious and that it’s doing its part. From an economic development standpoint, the requirement has been very positive. Lake says, “When an engineer is constructing something for a new development, they look at our stormwater ordinance and see low impact development standards. Right away, they know that’s different from what they’ve seen anywhere else. That triggers them to meet with me. I serve primarily as a pre-consul- tant and plan reviewer, guiding them through the site requirements. It’s surprising how much we can save the builder, cost-wise, because we look at features that would already be incor- porated, but just tweak them a bit. For example: islands in parking lots. A lot of them are raised and curbed out. Instead of doing that, we have them put in a recess; put the stormwater drainage in those landscape islands and create a rain garden or bio-re- MERRILLVILLE, INDIANA tention area that’s good for stormwater management. They can eliminate some curbing, as well.” There are ways to save money on a development and still go green. A win-win from the developers’ standpoint, and with the BMPs in place, it’s environmentally conscious. Starbucks is a good example. They are opening a location in Merrillville and constructing an attractive rain garden along the drive-thru, with plants, land- scaping, and designated signage. People see they are trying to improve quality of life in the community. That’s really the purpose of the ordinance. Lake adds, “We incorporated other things through our Environmental Resource Committee –our ‘tree board.’ It’s a group of volunteers that reviews the town’s landscape plans.We have strict landscaping standards that tie into the stormwa- ter requirements, because if someone’s trying to meet low impact development standards, they’ll often opt for a green infrastructure approach - rain gardens, bio- swales and wetlands creation. No one wants a bunch of regulations that hinder good economic growth. That’s the key to it all –our standards are easy to attain. When we sit together with their engineer, we’re able to collaborate and find ways to incorporate BMPs in a way that accents the development.Whereas, other com- munities see these types of BMPs as incentives; maybe offer them as a reduction