Policy document for the promotion of sustainable building
This policy document is a valid legal instrument to promote planning strategies and technologies, reaching higher-quality energy performances, which makes it differ from the compulsory national provisions, concerning the construction of new buildings. In 2005 the Municipality of Cesena attached this document (attachment D, page 96) to the Municipal building code. The document sets mandatory, recommended and voluntary requirements on energy performances, system efficiency and the application of renewable resources.
In order to foster compliancy, incentives were provided. For example, the 2005 policy document raised building density standards and reduced planning fees charged for urban interventions.
The relevant objectives are: improving the energy performance of the building, improving the efficiency of the heating and electric systems when they are shared among several housing units, electricity production from renewable resources, improving summer and winter comfort, use of environmentally friendly materials, reducing in-door pollutants, and reducing the exposure to electromagnetic fields.
To encourage fulfillment of the listed objectives, the policy document identifies the following areas for incentives and specific incentive solutions:
- Economic incentives: reducing planning fees up to 40%;
- Building incentives: aditional deductions for perimeter walls with a width of 40 cm or more;
- Urban incentives: raising the index of permitted future density in low density Transformation Areas.
Untill 2009, the described policy document represented the legal instrument concerning the deployment of renewable resources in new facilities built in the Municipality of Cesena. Thanks to this policy document, the beacon project presented within the PassREg project has benefited from reduced urban development costs, lowering the final building cost.
In 2009, the energy performance requirements set in the described policy document turned out to correspond with the provisions of a new regional environmental law (DAL Regione Emilia Romagna 156/2008). Therefore, the incentives were abolished since then.
