The City of Aventura’s Commitment to Going Green

The City of Aventura is committed to reducing the carbon footprint we as a City make on our environment. The City of Aventura is currently in the process of becoming a Green Local Government, as certified by the Florida Green Builders Coalition (FGBC). The FGBC designates Green Cities and Counties for outstanding environmental stewardship. The program focuses on improving environmental performance through waste reduction, water conservation, air quality improvements and many other criteria. The process of becoming a Green City is an opportunity to improve existing programs, start new programs and set an example to the community in order to improve environmental sustainability. All departments within the City will be challenged to fulfill the environmental mission of the City.

This website will provide you with up to date information on the City's initiatives and provide a timeline of the efforts to obtain Green certification.

Power IT Down Day

The City of Aventura is participating in Power IT Down Day on Friday, August 27, 2010. The simple act of shutting down a computer, monitor and printer amounts to a savings of 55kWh over the weekend. We encourage all of our employees to power down their workstations every night, but this weekend we join other local governments nationwide to Power IT Down demonstrating how small changes can make a big difference.

Green City Certification

The FGBC Green Local Government Standard designates Green Cities and Green Counties for outstanding environmental stewardship. It is expected that certified green city and county governments will not only gain recognition and publicity, but also function in a more efficient manner through better internal communication, cost reductions, and effective risk and asset management. FGBC is actively working towards the availability of incentives that are based on compliance with this standard. Visit www.floridagreenbuilding.org for more information.

Aventura’s Green Local Government Practices:

Green Cleaning & Maintenance, in accordance with FL Department of Environmental Resources “Creating a Green and Profitable Workplace” guidelines. Aventura has, for years, contracted out cleaning services that use Green Seal certified cleaning products to improve air quality and reduce employee, visitor and student exposure to toxic chemicals. HVAC equipment is regularly maintained and inspected to ensure efficiency.
Green Fleet: Aventura’s Public Works vehicles are regularly maintained by Fox Automotive which practices recycling for all fluids, batteries and tires, instituted Best Management Practices for spill containment, including berms at both end of the bays, and many other techniques to minimize environmental impact.
EPA Environmentally Preferable Purchasing: For many years the City has considered the environmental impact of purchases early in the decision making process. This year the City formally adopted EPA EPP practices as part of our “Go Green Initiative”. These practices will reduce our environmental impact, energy and water use, and reduce waste and operational costs.
Green IT Policy: As part of the City’s ongoing efforts to conserve energy and reduce our impact on the environment, we have instituted Green IT policies.

These are just a few green practices recognized by the FGBC as they apply to the Green Local Government certification programs.

Green Building in Aventura:

The City of Aventura recognizes the environmental and financial benefits of going green. The City recognizes US Green Building Coalition, FGBC and green building certification programs. September 2009 the City Commission passed Ordinance 2009-18 to promote a Green Building Program for construction within the City. Green buildings use environmentally superior building materials, reduce waste generated by construction, employ mechanical systems and technologies that are energy efficient, conserve water and are designed to minimize impacts on local natural habitat. The legislation also provides incentives based on the LEED rating level that a building achieves including, but not limited to:

Expedited site plan review.
Expedited permit review.
Marketing incentives including Program article announcement on the site, construction sign/plaque to be attached to the Building designating the project.
Inclusion of Program Participants and their Building information on the City’s “Go Green” webpage and press releases.
Eligibility for Green Building award through the City of Aventura “Annual Go Green Awards Program”.
Administrative variances to allow orientation of the Building to take full advantage of available natural resources.
Lot coverage bonus, provided that a green roof and/or green rooftop amenities are provided and maintained for the common benefit of building occupants and that increased tree canopy and Florida Friendly plantings designed to calm the heat island effect.

Promoting Green to Residents of City of Aventura:

Go Green Symposium:

The City held a Go Green Symposium for residents and condominium managers to learn how the City of Aventura is going green in its operations while discovering ways to establish or enhance their own Go Green initiatives.

Go Green Initiative Awards:

The City has, for three years, recognized those businesses and condominiums that developed and implemented programs to reduce energy consumption and encouraged more recycling at our Annual Arbor Day Celebration in April. See our winners at:

These are just a few green practices recognized by the FGBC as they apply to the Green Local Government certification programs.

Air & Water Quality:

What is the Air Quality index?

According to the website Air Now, "The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you. The AQI focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. EPA calculates the AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. For each of these pollutants, EPA has established national air quality standards to protect public health.Ground-level ozone and airborne particles are the two pollutants that pose the greatest threat to human health in this country." Check out our air quality at: http://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.local_city&cityid=9

Water Quality Reports

Water is essential to life! Aventura residents are serviced by either North Miami or Miami Dade Water Utilities. To check out the drinking water quality supplied to your home please go to:

Miami-Dade Water Quality Report:
http://www.miamidade.gov/wasd/report_water_quality.asp

North Miami Beach 2009 Water Quality Report:
http://www.citynmb.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7BEB9DA5F8-97C8-4C49-A53D-C67CF450B601%7D&DE=%7B1B68C81F-B5F8-4760-BFF2-5A35AFFB1B16%7D