Unique By Nature, Green By Design
McKinney businesses,
residents, schools and city government aren’t simply following a
trend toward green living and sustainable development – they are
leading the way.
Businesses
with operations in McKinney have led the environmentally sustainable
development movement in McKinney by building offices using green
building techniques and meeting stringent platinum standards for
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED,
certification.
 In
2006 , McKinney welcomed one of the nation’s first privately
developed LEED certified platinum office buildings,. Built by a
subsidiary of a Netherlands firm, Wereldhave,
the McKinney Green Building is a $11.4
million structure that recycles rainwater and has carpeting made
from old soft drink bottles.
McKinney is
also home to one of the nation’s two green Walmart Supercenters, as
well as the
Pat Lobb Toyota dealership – the first
automotive dealership in the nation to earn LEED certification.
 The McKinney
Economic Development Corporation has continued to encourage green
development by launching the Coalition for Renewable Energy and
Sustainable Technology, or CREST, to develop ways to make the city a
leader in sustainable technology.
McKinney
leaders have embraced green initiatives, recently hiring the city’s
first Green Program Manager, heading the Office of Environmental
Stewardship (OES) for the city. She quickly formed the city Green
Team to help develop mcKinney’s Sustainabilty Strategic Plan (SSP).
The team of 30 city staff members provides a forum to explore the
green initiatives currently under way and those that city staff
would like to consider incorporating in the future.
“Our community is
very supportive of an increasingly sustainable way of life, and we
have many opportunities to explore for even greater sustainability
throughout the city,” says City Manager Frank Ragan. “By working
together with the business community and residents to select the
right initiatives that fit our community, we can make a huge
difference to ensure McKinney residents enjoy a high quality of life
with long-term financial paybacks well into the future.”
 Education is
the foundation of any sustainability program. The staff in the
office of Environmental Stewardship focused on elementary education
and outreach, and beginning in 2009, the OES expanded its education
outreach efforts to include high school and adult audiences. In
addition to visiting schools an average of once a week, city
representatives also attend between 40 and 50 community events
ranging from Raytheon’s Earth Day to the Heard Museum’s Green Family
Festival. McKinney is gearing up to host an Earth Day event
celebrating the 40th anniversary of the holiday,
alongside community partner Heard Natural Science Museum and
Wildlife Sanctuary.
“Our goal is
to change the viewpoint from behavioral modifications to long-term
changes in living patterns.” Green Program Manager Julie Smith
says. “McKinney residents are very supportive of sustainable living
and we are working to make that an easy and attainable goal.”
McKinney also
recently received more that $1 million through the Energy Efficiency
and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG). The funds will be used to
push the existing programs to the next level, with a goal of even
more energy efficient living in McKinney.
Through
landscape watering regulations in place since drought conditions
mandated them in 2006, McKinney residents have reduced water usage
by more than 30 percent. As leader in water conservation, the city
also has partnered with Texas Agrilife Research and Extension Urban
Solutions Center, an arm of Texas A&M University, to plant hardy,
salt and shade-tolerant grass its medians, parks and around public
buildings.
 In May, the
city opened the
McKinney Green Gardens in Gabe Nesbitt Community
Park, a 1-acre garden designed by Urban Solutions to educate
children, homeowners, developers and landscapers about the how
proper plant selection can create a great-looking garden while also
conserving water.
“It’s a
collection of six small gardens that contain native plants and
grasses or those well adapted to North Texas environment,” Smith
says. “Visitors can stroll the property on winding paths, learning
about native and adapted plants that use up to 50 percent less water
and still make a beautiful landscape.
Click here for more information about
McKinney's Green Initiative
As published in The
Dallas Morning News.
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