Better Buildings Incentives Program

General information

Do you have a Major Siting Project or planning a big development project?

Choose to use best management practices (BMPs) into your design plans. Get awarded a discount on your DCRM permit!

To promote sustainable development in the CNMI, DCRM is incentivizing the use of best management practices (BMPs) in major siting developments. These BMPs are GOOD for you and your structure. They intend to improve your development project’s resilience to climate change impacts, especially flooding, and energy efficiency. They also help minimize new developments’ environmental footprint on seagrasses, corals, and wetlands. See the “Quick Table of DCRM’s ‘Better Building’ Incentives” below!

 

On the left, a stormwater management BMP is a rain garden with plants that soak in runoff from the road. The middle is a climate adaptation BMP using aluminum foldable storm shutters to protect the inside from strong winds and rain. The far right is an energy efficiency BMP using solar panels to generate energy for the building and create shade for parking lots, as modeled by the 360 building.

 

Why “better buildings”?

Development in the CNMI, like elsewhere, adds pressure on the natural environment. We can build differently and better to incorporate our natural environment. Natural components can benefits us! In addition, we need to better prepare for climate change impacts such as:

  • Increased heavy rainfall events that increase runoff and erosion OR seasonal drought (dependent on ENSO)
  • Stronger storms
  • Rising sea levels
  • Hotter temperatures
On the left, high rain events caused flooding at impermeable surfaces, such as roads and building tops. In the middle, the aftermath of strong winds by Typhoon Yutu caused damages to infrastructure and produced trash. On the far right, an eroding shoreline coupled with sea level rise may spell trouble to adjacent infrastructure.
On the left, high rain events caused flooding at impermeable surfaces, such as roads and building tops. In the middle, the aftermath of strong winds by Typhoon Yutu caused damages to infrastructure and produced large trash. On the far right, an eroding shoreline coupled with sea level rise may spell trouble to adjacent infrastructure.

 

Coastal hazards (such as flooding, typhoon winds, etc) have damaged building structures and continue to pose higher risks under climate change. These smart BMPs intend to address these on-going problems so that the development would be built to last under these conditions.

DCRM is providing incentives to encourage developers to consider these sustainable, low-impact development practices before and during the siting phase because they are:

LEARN MORE and HOW TO APPLY

quick table of DCRM’s “Better Building” incentives:

Instructions for easy reading: Each row is a different incentive and the columns provide additional information.

  • Best Practice Category is the practice type.
  • Tier reduction is the level (from low to high) of the incentive. The higher the incentive, the higher the discount price.
  • Fee reduction is the percentage (%) of your permit cost that will be deducted. Ex.: A major siting project gets approval for using the incentive of “Stormwater Management, Tier 2: Project implements and maintains 50% or more of pervious surface area or green infrastructure elements.” They earned a 10% fee reduction. Their initial cost of the permit was $2,000 but they will only get charged $1,800.

View Table

read our guidebook

Better Buildings Practices in the CNMI: Addressing Coastal Hazards Through Responsible Development and Resiliency provides guidance for how developers can incorporate “Better Buildings” practices into their project design and avail the incentive. The Executive Summary section of the guidebook, page ii – x, is available in Korean, Chinese, and Japanese.

Physical copies are free and available at the DCRM Permitting Office.

View and Download PDF