SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

EVERYBODY WINS WHEN FLORIDA’S 

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NAR Sustainability Grants, available up to $5,000, provide funding assistance to state and local Realtor associations to aid in implementing a sustainability program, event, plan or update for their members, and to encourage the ongoing awareness of sustainability in real estate: nar.realtor/sustainability/narsustainability-grant

PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) allows property owners to receive upfront financing for a variety of energy-related home improvements, then repay the debt through voluntary assessments on their property tax bills.

PACE, which can be used by residential and commercial owners, exists in many districts in Florida: floridapace.gov/about-pace

SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

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ClimateCheck, displays the risk of flood, heat, fire, drought and storms by individual address, ZIP Code and city.

A Redfin report found nearly 50% who plan to move in the next year are relocating because of extreme temperatures or natural disasters, and 80% of those surveyed are hesitant to buy a home in places with increased natural disasters: climatecheck.com

Realtors Property Resource (RPR®), a nationwide, property database available only to members of the National Association of Realtors®, delivers parcel-level data to Realtors® to share with their clients and customers, assisting them in the process of buying, selling or leasing of both residential and commercial real estate: narrpr.com

 

SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

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WHAT CAN FLORIDA REALTORS DO TO ADDRESS SUSTAINABILITY?

Get to know your local elected officials.

Encourage them to create master plans that protect valuable property and natural resources.

Following Hurricane Idalia’s nearly $4 billion in damage, the City of Crystal River hired Dover Kohl & Partners Town Planning.

The result is a master plan that supports rebuilding and future growth—embedded with techniques to mitigate flooding in ways that preserve a beautiful, walkable coastal community.

By partnering with government entities and promoting resilient building practices, real estate professionals can make a significant impact on the environment and their communities.

With proactive engagement, education and community involvement, everyone wins when Florida’s natural environment is protected.

 

SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

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WHAT CAN FLORIDA REALTORS DO TO ADDRESS SUSTAINABILITY?

Create your own event.

Learn about native, hardy trees and landscaping that do not require heavy watering.

Work with a local brokerage, team and your local association/board of Realtors to organize an event.

A simple tree planting can restore shade canopy and make neighborhoods cooler.

Understand the issues.

Learn about local and regional issues related to Florida’s hot summers and major storm events.

Most large counties have resiliency and sustainability offices.

They can be a great resource for ideas on hardening residential and commercial properties against flooding.

They can explain loan programs to pay for home improvements that improve energy efficiency.

 

SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

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WHAT CAN FLORIDA REALTORS DO TO ADDRESS SUSTAINABILITY?

Get involved locally.

Consider serving on your local planning, zoning or parks board.

Advocate for planning that balances growth with protecting our white sandy beaches, the emerald coastline and crystal-clear freshwater springs.

A healthy environment is key to a robust Sunshine economy.

Join a cause.

Each year, primarily in the month of July, Florida Realtors® and community partners come together to clean up our lakes, rivers, streams, bays, Intracoastal Waterway, gulf and ocean. Find out about efforts in your area by contacting your local association.

Check out: floridarealtors.org/events/cleanup-florida-waters-about

SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

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WHAT CAN FLORIDA REALTORS DO TO ADDRESS SUSTAINABILITY?

Support legislation. In its more than 100-year history, Florida Realtors® has supported numerous member-driven initiatives pertaining to the environment and the preservation of Florida’s natural resources.

Get to know these advocates who represent you in Tallahassee and make sure they approve legislation that protects Florida’s unique environment.

Learn how to get involved here: floridarealtors.org/advocacy

SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

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Though Miami Beach’s permanent population is only about 80,000, its total taxable value has soared above $50 billion.

With a land mass of less than eight square miles, it is walkable, densely populated, but only four feet above sea level.

Some of the most valuable residential and commercial real estate in the U.S. is vulnerable to both sunny-day tidal flooding and paralyzing flooding simply when it gets heavy rains.

 

SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

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In Pasco County, Starkey Ranch’s master plan avoids tract housing and strip center retail while using 95% native plants in the 2,500-acre development.

Dix.Hite+Partners designed a community that connects people to nature. Boardwalks and pedestrian bridges float through nature without disrupting the land.

Rather than huge suburban lawns that require intense watering and chemicals to maintain, the community’s greenery is focused on a permanent wilderness preserve donated by the Starkey family.

SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

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In Central Florida, which has plenty of waterways, but an elevation much higher than Florida’s coastal communities, a team of planners, developers, horticulturists, universities and nonprofits is looking at suburban building patterns that conserve land and water, while protecting nature and creating sustainable landscape practices.

 The Outside Collaborative, a proactive nonprofit group in Central Florida, promotes resiliency subdivision by subdivision.

Knowing that the combination of rapid growth, chemical runoff and saltwater infiltration threatens Florida’s sustainable freshwater supply, the collaborative has created a pattern book filled with designs that minimize or eliminate irrigation, fertilizer and pesticides.

 

 

SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

EVERYBODY WINS WHEN FLORIDA’S 

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Monroe County, which has a Resilience Officer, commissioned a roadway vulnerability assessment for the 311 miles of county-maintained roadways.

They addressed ways to protect property in the face of rising water during king tides and other sea-level-rise events.

The estimated cost to elevate roads and add a stormwater system is upwards of $4 billion.

But the Keys do not have a large tax base.

While leaders lobby for state and federal dollars, they understand the concept Adam Smith shared at one of NAR’s Sustainability Summits.

“We can’t afford not to champion sustainability.

Adaptation can cost billions, but doing nothing comes at a much more staggering cost,” said Smith, a leading climate expert at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information

SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

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In the Florida Keys, water is both a blessing and a curse. 

The narrow land mass—a 120-mile-long string of tropical islands with coastline on each side of it—has created a fun in the sun gold mine where nearly 50% of Monroe County residents work in the tourism industry.

But the 80,000 people who call the Keys home year-round are experiencing sunny-day flooding—roads made impassible by tidal activity—no tropical storm rainfall required.

Sea levels in Monroe County have risen nearly four inches from 2000-2017.

A net additional six to 13 inches has been projected from 2018 to 2040, according to Monroe County government statistics.

SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

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Protecting real estate is of the upmost importance, but when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed gray, 10- to 30-foothigh seawalls as flood barriers, the Miami Downtown Development Authority took another tact.

They commissioned a landscape architecture firm. As an alternative to view-destroying sea walls,

Curtis + Rogers Design Studio proposed nature-based solutions, such as living shorelines, natural breakwaters, nearshore artificial reefs and some raised seawalls.

The approach also would add 39 acres of waterfront, eco-friendly park land for the citizens of Miami. 

SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

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Florida’s explosive growth—rising to a population of roughly 23 million in 2024, up from 16 million in 2000—challenges planners, builders and residents as more ground is covered with pavement and rooflines, reducing the places high water can be absorbed back into the sandy soil.

The Sunshine State’s low-lying land, especially along its enchanting coastline, makes it vulnerable to flooding, rising sea levels  and saltwater intrusion.

SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

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Florida has 1,350 miles of coastline— second only to Alaska.

It also has experienced some of the most frequent and devastating hurricanes in the nation.

Many buyers factor the cost of insurance—sometimes exceeding $1,000 per month, including windstorm and flood coverage—along with the base expense of a downpayment and mortgage.

Savvy real estate professionals are learning about higher ground, sunny-day flooding and how to become active with local elected and appointed officials—to make sure resiliency is at the forefront in a state dependent on real estate.

SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

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The GRANNAN Group created a nonprofit, and their Plant Your Roots Program is a big hit in the Gulf Coast area that they serve.

“You can increase your buyer and seller pool by getting involved in green development and protecting the environment, Angela Grannan says.

“Greenscapes can filter stormwater. EDUCATION IS KEY Just as Realtors® serve customers by knowing about the market and community—they also must learn about the many programs that help keep Florida’s natural environment protected.

 

SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

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Angela Grannan noted that houses on treelined streets tend to have a higher value. For commercial properties, many tenants and investors seek an efficient building with energy savings—so green building can equal more green in terms of leasing and sales.

 “One of the things we are doing soon is a multifamily, mixed-use building. It will have a green roof for residents, with edible things that grow perennially in Florida,” she says.

In 2023, The GRANNAN Group partnered with Keep Pinellas Beautiful—a Keep America Beautiful affiliate—and various state and local organizations to launch the Plant Your Roots Program.

SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

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Angela Grannan has always been passionate about protecting the environment.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and management, and she worked as an environmental consultant for commercial real estate for more than two decades.

When she and her husband and business partner, Chad Grannan, formed The GRANNAN Group in St. Petersburg in 2022, they knew environmental stewardship would be a core part of their brokerage.

“Creating shade and building green are not just good for the environment, they are good for business,” Angela Grannan says.

“In our last couple of residential listings, we played up the big live oaks.

When buyers walked under them, they could feel the cooler temperature.”

 

 

 

 

AN OUTSTANDING & AFFORDABLE PRIVATE ROOM IN KEY WEST AT SILVIA'S -- part 10

Air B&B Host Delivers Quiet & Clean Room for Slightly More than $100 in High Season

I'm not sure if she has a car, but if she does, I think she would have raced me to the ferry dock if my car had been towed...or maybe she would have ridden me there on the back of her bicycle...or arranged a magic carpet ride to the docks -- she's that kind, efficient and accommodating.

To make time, I didn't go back to Silvia's (but knew I could return for that promised shower and change of clothes to ease my trip up the Overseas Highway).

Candidly, I also don't think I wanted to show my humiliated face to the poor airbnb host who I scared the wits out of when I couldn't find my auto!

Bottom line, Silvia's private room in Key West is perfect for every type of traveler.

I can't wait to go back with my wife and we've even invited Silvia out to a meal at one of our quirky haunts in Miami for the next time she ventures north to the big city.

AN OUTSTANDING & AFFORDABLE PRIVATE ROOM IN KEY WEST AT SILVIA'S -- part 9

Air B&B Host Delivers Quiet & Clean Room for Slightly More than $100 in High Season

Poor Silvia rushed back to her complex and was worried to death about me -- even though all I was, was 40-something old dude who got twisted around in the dark and didn't find his trusty Toyota till he hit the panic button and the beeping Corolla's horn guided me back to me sedan in time to drive to the ferry boat dock.

Poor Silvia even called me a couple times as I was boarding the ferry to the Tortugas and kept checking on my wellbeing while salving my embarrassment by telling me her condo complex is large and that people do tend to get twisted around on where they park.

I share this final story only to show what an amazing "innkeeper" Silvia is.

AN OUTSTANDING & AFFORDABLE PRIVATE ROOM IN KEY WEST AT SILVIA'S -- part 8

Air B&B Host Delivers Quiet & Clean Room for Slightly More than $100 in High Season

Turns out I slept as well as I do at home. I went to bed early, thinking maybe more time would help me get at least some quality shut eye. As it turned out, I drifted right off and zonked out for nearly 8 hours of REM sleep before my big journey the next day.

I woke, dressed and quietly left.

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but Silvia's condo complex is very large and in the pre-dawn hours, I got twisted around and feared my car was towed by her homeowners association.

I thought I'd circled the entire complex, come up with no car and phoned her (turns out Silvia had left for her morning run so quietly that I didn't know her condo was unoccupied when I tiptoed out, thinking she was sleeping in her master suite) in a bit of a panic.

It turns out that I had stupidly gotten twisted around in the darkness and on my second sweep of the complex, realized I'd parked by the west wing when I thought I was at the south wing.