Seasons Greetings to all our friends!

Congratulations 2012 HBADE Board

Congratulations to all our clients and friends that were officially sworn in last Saturday night as the new Officers and Directors of the Home Builders Association of Delaware. Everyone looked sharp as tuxedo's were the call of the evening for gents, formal gowns for the ladies.

Special congratulations to Fred Fortunato of Benchmark Builders as the new President for 2012. This is a special honor for us since Fred joins the list of second generation families to serve as President. Steven L. Fortunato, father of Fred and this blogger, was President of HBADE in 1970.

It is an honor to be part of HBADE, an association of builders and associate members looking to further the interests of housing in Delaware.

J.S. Hovnanian Wins at MAME Awards

Our client J.S. Hovnanian and Sons won big at the recent MAME awards, held this month by Builders League of South Jersey.

Stephen Hovnanian won the coveted Builder of the Year Award, and the firm won the Commitment to Excellence Award. This is truly an exciting award because it is based on homebuyer satisfaction surveys and input.

Read more: http://www.hovhomes.com/about/news_display.php?id=110

Congratulations to J.S. Hovnanian and Sons! We are proud to serve their green-minded home building at Roesville, as they continue to build homes certified in the National Green Building Certification Program.

Ted Williams Joins College of Fellows of ACEC

Ted C. Williams, P.E., FACEC, principal and EVP of LandmarkJCM, has been inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Council of Engineering Companies, an elite group of engineers who have made significant contributions to the engineering profession through their experience, knowledge and networking abilities.

Ted (second from right) was reconized by (from left) David Raymond, President and CEO of ACEC, Everett Cowan, Chairman of the Committee of Fellows, and Terry Neimeyer, Chairman of ACEC, during their Fall Conference held October 19-22, 2011 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ted currently serves as ACEC Chairman-Elect and will succeed Terry Neimeyer, who began his one-year term as ACEC Chairman in March, 2011.

ACEC is the voice of America's engineering industry. Council members – numbering more than 5,000 firms representing more than 400,000 employees throughout the country – are engaged in a wide range of engineering works that propel the nation's economy, and enhance and safeguard America's quality of life. The Council's mission is to contribute to America's prosperity and welfare by advancing the business interests of member firms.

Halloween at LandmarkJCM !

A few of us took time out to get in spooky costumes yesterday to celebrate Halloween. Kind of takes you back when you were a kid and all that candy was a huge treat. For some of us, it still is...

Pictured left to right: Megan Zelano, Morgan McGee-Solomon, Brent Sulecki, Amy Nazdrowicz.

When sustainable land planning, engineering and environmental sciences have you spooked, contact LandmarkJCM. In costume or not, we can help.

Kent County Courthouse Grand Opening

Following its grand opening in June, the Kent County Courthouse sits in the heart of the historic City of Dover's Capitol Complex and will serve as an expansion and modernization of the justice system for Central Delaware.
LandmarkJCM performed the Site Engineering services for this project which was completed ahead of schedule and under budget. Areas of design included stormwater management, sanitary sewer systems and a pump station with force main. With offices in Dover, New Castle, and Georgetown, LandmarkJCM is well positioned to provide engineering, environmental and surveying services statewide.
Solomon McCloskey, P.E., Project Engineer

Green for Green Helps New Homeowners

Ted Williams and Howard Fortunato were honored today to help Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County and Home Builders Association of Delaware present SEU-sponsored Green for Green rebate checks to two new Habitat homes at Terrace Green in Wilmington.

Habitat and the homeowners built the homes to achieve Silver Certification in the National Green Building Certification Program which means their homes were built to be 15% more energy efficient than other new homes built to the State energy code. Plus not to mention all the other features of certified green homes - water efficiency, improved indoor air quality, etc. To achieve certification, LandmarkJCM performed the Verification Inspections. Pictured are Kevin Smith of Habitat, Jen Casey of Home Builders, Ted Williams, Geneva Wilson homeowner, Maurice Boddy homeowner, and Howard Fortunato

Bestfield Homes Celebrates 57 Years

Congrats to Bestfield Homes. They are celebrating 57 years in the homebuilding business!



Bestfield Homes began its roots in 1954, when Mr. DiEgidio built his first community on Boxwood Road in Wilmington, the community of Bestfield.



Since then, the company has transformed and today has several partners. Tony DiEgidio and Dan Martelli are the "main men", with strong support by Construction and Sales Scott Bradley and Guy Waites.



Bestfield has built more than 4,000 homes. For the last few years, we have been privileged to help them obtain green home certifications in the NGBS Program! More importantly, they give back to the homebuilding business by remaining active with the Home Builders Association of Delaware and the Green Building Council.



Way to go Bestfield!

Schell Brothers Launches Extreme Home Makeover

Yesterday morning, the Dunning family in Sussex County Delaware happily learned they are the recipient of the latest Extreme Home Makeover:

http://www.joinextreme.com/delawarefamily/-dp1

The Rehoboth based homebuilding firm Schell Brothers is spearheading all of this, and has been in a whirlwind of activity these last several weeks to prepare. Certainly, other builders that have done these can relate to all the emotions Schell's staff is experiencing. I witnessed the intense planning behind the scenes, during our meeting last week to coordinate timing of our green verification inspections to yield a certified green home! Of course, our Accredited Verifier Joe Gordon is likely to do his first inspection before sunrise later this week as this will be a green certified home under the NGBS program.

Congrats to Schell Brothers for taking on this monumental task.

New Brownfield Task Force formed in Cecil County

John Gonazalez, PE and Kevin Hansen, PG, LEED AP, of LandmarkJCM, on August 2, 2011 were named to a new Cecil County Brownfield Task Force.

The Brownfield Task Force members, selected by Cecil County's Commissioners, will consider draft ordinance for Brownfield overlay zoning and make recommendations to the Commissioners based on their review.

As a resident of Cecil County and branch manager of LandmarkJCM's Havre de Grace office, John Gonzalez says he's

"very interested in seeing the County have a tool to help get economic development going." He says "this type of ordinance can help redevelop sites within the growth corridor, and the County can get properties back on the tax roles."

Kevin Hansen, Director of LandmarkJCM's Science Division, brings years of knowledge and experience in remediation of Brownfield sites and says he is

"excited to have the opportunity to share my experience in helping the County find ways to encourage owners to clean up sites that are contaminated."

The outcome of this Brownfield Task Force can be a Win-Win for all!

I-95 High-Speed Recovery

LandmarkJCM's Ted Williams was present at the July 25 rededication of the newly completed I-95 Newark Toll Plaza and its Highway Speed E-ZPass Lanes as a member of the Delaware Council on Transportation.

Transportation Secretary Shailen Bhatt hosted the ceremony, which included speakers Governor Jack Markell, U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Christopher Coons, U.S. Congressman John Carney, and Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez offering comments about the $32 million project which was fully funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Delaware-based A-Del Construction Company, of Newark, beat the projected 479 calendar day contract by over a month. Congratulations and thanks for the speedy completion, A-Del!

Great News from Delaware General Assembly!

The Delaware 146th General Assembly recessed on Wednesday June 30, 2011 for the year.

A highlight came on June 28, 2011 when the HBADE represented by Mark Grahne, Steve Bomberger and Fred Fortunato were recognized on the floor of the House as House Concurrent Resolution #24 sponsored by Representative Brady was passed. This Resolution Recognizes and Proclaims June as "New Homes Month".

In addition, the Delaware Green for Green Program received additional funds to extend it through 2012 and hopefully into 2013 with an additional $500,000 set aside for rebates for homebuyers of Green certified Homes!

Congrats Mark, Steve and Fred! And thank you Jen Casey for your advocacy to help Delaware provide this successful funding for such a wonderful program! Of course it goes without saying we thank our State officials to provide the funding!

Happy Fourth of July to all!

First Master Certified Green Professionals at HBADE!

We are proud to congratulate and announce Dave Blackwell and Don Yoos as the FIRST Master Certified Green Professionals that are members of the Home Builders Association of Delaware!

Dave and Don are with J.S. Hovnanian and Sons. Not only are they the first Master CGP's, they are a member of our HBADE Green Building Council. We at LandmarkJCM are proud they are our client in the National Green Building Certification Program, which is powered by the NAHB Research Center.

The Master CGP goes beyond the standard CGP and is available exclusively to experienced builders and remodelers. The Master CGP curriculum digs deeper into green building science and methods and strategies for selling green. This is a brand new designation which just became available this Spring. Don, Dave and J.S. Hovnanian are early adopters!

Congrats once again to Dave and Don!

Schell Brothers Unveils New Systems for Home Comfort

Schell Brothers Homebuilders held the EXPOsure event this past Saturday at their Independence Hall in Millsboro.

The event showcased introduction of the new Schellter advanced building science construction program and all it's component parts. It gave the 200-300 attendees a behind-the-walls view of the systems related to advanced framing, insulation, air sealing, tankless water heaters, and much more. We were happy to be there to talk with the attendees about the NGBS green certification program, and of course the Green for Green $3,000 homebuyer rebates.

It was a great day, the prospects were fun to talk with, and the Schell staff were enthusiastically courteous. We look forward to participating next time they hold this event.

Philadelphia's Green City Stormwater Solutions

Philadelphia recently kicked off an initiative to help solve their stormwater system problems by incorporating use of porus pavement and rooftop gardens. See this link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110601/ap_on_re_us/us_philadelphia_water_2

Addressing creative solutions to stormwater management and low impact development is what LandmarkJCM is all about. For incorporating such measures in your project, contact Keith Rudy, head of our Water Resources Division, 302-323-9377.

Mick's Critters Demonstrate LMJCM at Milton Festival

Mick, our Senior biologist and critter expert, and his band of critters - local snakes, toads, frogs and turtles - delighted attendes at Saturday's Horseshoe Crab / Shorebird Festival in Milton Delaware.

Under ideal spring weather conditions, an estimated 1500 people stopped by to look at, learn, ask questions and even hold a live snake. It's always fun to see how some people, initially squeamish about snakes, quickly become fascinated to learn and feel that they are indeed not slimy.

Joining Mick to answer the more involved science questions was fellow envirnomental scientist Amy. The easier questions were fielded by fellow LMJCM'ers Bob from Dover office, his wife Bonnie, and Howard from New Castle office.

We even had a handful of visitors who asked about LMJCM, and we were able to tell them about our other services - pond management, engineering, sciences, and green building. We even impressed one volunteer with the League of Women Voters, when we explained how we helped improve land use decisions for the private sector and govenment bodies. She take special note of us and our services.

As always the case, it was a fun volunteer day to help the cause, and have a pleasant day meeting the public while making additional contacts in the community.

Habitat for Humanity New Home Dedication

This morning, Habitat for Humanity held a dedication and key ceremony for 6 new homeowners at Terrace Green in Wilmington.

An audience of 50 or so watched as remarks were made by local and State officials, and then the 6 new homeowners officially received their key to their new home. The site, formerly an auto repair and cab company, has transformed into a home place these individuals will soon call home.

We were happy to be there to participate in the celebration, as these homes are almost completed and are on track to be certified Green under the National Green Building Certification program. Rick Burritt of LandmarkJCM is the Accredited Verifier that has helped these homes become certified.

Congrats to the new homeowners, and also to Habitat for Humanity as they continue their mission of affordable homeownership.

Home Appraisers Starting to Appreciate Green

Looks like the appraisal industry is putting in place guidelines so that appraisers can properly value green homes.

See this article: http://www.nbnnews.com/NBN/issues/2011-05-16/Front+Page/3.html

We are working to get further and emerging details about this. If you have any questions about it call Howard Fortunato at LandmarkJCM at 302-323-9377

New Wetlands Guidance

EVERYTHING IS CHANGING……

……AGAIN!

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA have issued Draft Guidance that would, once again, change which wetlands and waters are considered Jurisdictional.

Where does your project stand?

What do you need to do to protect your value?

Call Jim McCulley at LandmarkJCM for more information and look for our breakfast seminar coming up in June.

(302) 323-9377

www.LandmarkJCM.com

Family Activity Fun this Sunday

Make plans to stop by the North Coventry Woods Festival, this Sunday May 22, 2011 starting at 1pm and running to 5pm.

The Festival is near Pottstown, PA and will include informal demonstrations and lectures about native critters - by our own Environmental Scientist John Phelps and Senior Biologist Mick McLaughlin. They really know their stuff and the kids will be fascinated to get up close with the frogs, turtles and other critters.

See the link for more info: http://www.northcoventry.us/

Free food, games and fun for the entire family. While you're there say hello to John and Mick!

Triple Net Zero - Energy, Water & Waste

That is the goal of 2 new planned commercial buildings in Portland and Seattle. Interesting read of sustainable green off the charts!

Take a read:

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/05/17/green-wars-two-living-buildings-battle-for-sustainable-supremacy/

Thanks to our engineer Solomon McCloskey in our Dover office for providing this link.

Happy 24th Anniversary LandmarkJCM!

LandmarkJCM is celebrating its 24th Anniversary today.

The Delaware firm was founded on May 18, 1987 by five civil engineers. LandmarkJCM has successfully grown to 58 registered and graduate employees that range from surveyors and civil engineers/designers to environmental scientists, biologists, hydrogeologist, GIS and green building specialists...doing business in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Congratulations to principals Tom Prusak, Bruce Tease, Ted Williams, Joe Charma, Jim McCulley, Mark Parker and Keith Kooker.

Keep up the good work, guys!

Congratulations to our Regal Award Winning Clients!

LandmarkJCM congratulates all of the 2010 Regal Awards winners at the Home Builders Association of Delaware's 19th Annual Regal Awards ceremony on May 6, 2011 at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino!

LandmarkJCM's NGBS Accredited Verifiers are ecstatic to have worked with these builders on their green-built home projects!

Congratulations on your Regal Awards:

Benchmark Builders
Building A Brighter Future, LLC
Echelon Custom Homes
J.S. Hovnanian & Sons *
Insight Homes
LC Homes
Schell Brothers *
Zero Energy

* Congratulations to staffing award winners

LandmarkJCM was happy to win a Regal Award for the Best Associate Logo!

For a listing of all of the winners - including our clients and those we'd like to work with - and their spectacular projects and efforts that won Regal Awards, click: complete listing.

Federal Wetlands Guidance Out for Comment

It took a little over a year to get the guidance from the Federal Government after the Rapanos Case was heard in the Supreme Court. This guidance addressed the Rapanos case as well as the earlier SWANCC case and gave us all complicated but clear rules about what waters were regulated by the Federal Government and which weren't.

We have been hearing the rumor for over a year now that the Obama Administration was going to release their new guidance because the "Bush era" guidance didn't regulate enough waters. That day is finally here and the guidance is out for comment (see link at bottom of this blog).

The new Draft Guidance appears to try to grab more waters as jurisdictional, especially isolated waters that were clearly excluded by the SWANCC case and the subsequent guidance. Jim McCulley of LandmarkJCM will be meeting with leaders from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA next week in Washington DC to discuss this guidance and to get clarification.

LandmarkJCM will be scheduling a breakfast seminar in June to discuss what this guidance means to our clients.

Guidance Here: http://www.usace.army.mil/CECW/Documents/cecwo/reg/nwp/cwa_wous_guide.pdf

The Sage Report - What Will it Cost to Clean Up the Bay

What will it cost to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and more importantly, will it work?

Most people have now heard that the Chesapeake Bay TMDL is the law of the land in six States and DC. Many new laws, policies, regulations and initiatives are being developed and are all memorialized in the State Watershed Implementation Plans or WIPS.

The Sage Policy Group has evaluated the WIP in Maryland and has issued a very informative report. The highlights:

1. It will cost $11 billion between 2012 and 2017 for Maryland alone (conservatively).
2. The cost does not include broader impacts to the State economy, including the loss of 65,000 jobs in Maryland and the associated $2.8 billion in lost wages.
3. The target score for the Bay is 70 (with 100 being a pre-colonization Bay condition). In 2010 the score was 31, better than the 2008 score of 28 (the worst Bay score in the early 1980s and was 23).
4. New development will be responsible for 70.6% of the costs, New emissions rules will account for 26.7% of the cost and changes to agricultural rules and policies will account for 2.5% of the cost.

It is clear that the Chesapeake Bay TMDL will bring significant costs and may not come close to achieving the goals of cleaning up the Bay. It is imperative that we set the goals and then let the free market system address the issue in order to reduce costs.

We can clean up the Bay and we can do it a lot cheaper than what is being proposed.

Transportation Trust Fund

The TTF Task Force submitted its report to the Governor and General Assembly on the 31st. The report provided over 90 different revenue options to be considered to fully fund the shortfall in revenue needed to address all projects identified in the current Capital Transportation Plan.

New Wetland Guidance Coming

The new guidance for Federal Jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act is expected to be released soon. It is expected that this guidance will greatly increase the acreage of jurisdictional lands. For details see:

http://www.martenlaw.com/newsletter/20110311-federal-jurisdiction-over-wetlands

but:

A lawsuit was just decided in which the courts gave less weight to agency guidance, see details here:

http://www.martenlaw.com/newsletter/20110311-cwa-jurisdiction-dispute

NAHB Research Center Announces 2,000th Certified Project

The NAHB Research Center announced last week their 2,000th Green Certified Project in the Nation. Certified projects are almost all single family homes, but they also include remodeling, multifamily projects and site certifications such as this one. Congrats to the NAHB Research Center and the developer of this project in Cecil County Maryland. The link to the article is below.

We are happy to see the National Green Building Certification Program explode, a worthy accomplishment which is helping to support the housing economy. Of course here in Delaware, we have a lot of green to brag about. Our HBADE created the Green for Green homebuyer rebate program in conjunction with State DNREC officials. Delaware ranks #1 on a per-capita basis for the number of certified green homes in the nation. And while our many fine builders and clients in Delaware are embracing green, just last April Bestfield Homes in Delaware achieved the 1,000th certified green home project in the nation.

LandmarkJCM is happy to help all our clients build green, we are the most experienced Accredited Verifiers in Delaware. We're always happy to tell you about it, call Howard Fortunato at 302-323-9377 for information.

2,000th Green Certified Project link: http://www.nahbrc.com/news/pressreleases/rc_20110214.aspx

Delaware's First Certified EMERALD Home!

Our friend and client Lance Manlove of Zero Energy Homes just completed the first home in Delaware to receive the highest green home certification possible - Emerald!

The custom home in Lewes, Delaware, certified under the ANSI approved National Green Building Certification program, was awarded Emerald certification for including numerous green features. Not only is this home energy efficient, it received an eye-popping HERS score of 35 (the lower the better, 100 is code, 80 is energy star), it contains a partial green vegetated roof, solar electric and hot water heating panels, a rooftop rainwater collection and distribution system, and many other features. LandmarkJCM's Joe Gordon was the Accredited Verifier of record.

Our congratulations go out to Lance once again, and we are pleased to have partnered with Lance to build the first Certified Emerald home in Delaware!

Delaware Leads the Way in Green Certified Homes!

According to just published statistics by the Research Center of the National Association of Home Builders, Delaware has the largest number of green certified NGBS new homes in the nation, 123, based on a per-capita basis. Although North Carolina, Tennessee and Indiana have more certified homes on an absolute basis, we are proud of our per-capita accomplishment considering we are a small state!

We at LandmarkJCM are pleased to help Delaware be a national leader in green certified new homes. Our experienced staff has verified 90% of all green certified homes in Delaware. If you would like any further details, please call Howard Fortunato at 302-323-9377.

Delaware's Kevin Kelly Elected to NAHB

Kevin Kelly, President of Leon N. Weiner & Associates, was elected last week as Third Vice Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Home Builders. In this position, Kevin will serve on a multi-year leadship ladder, becoming the Chairman of NAHB's Board of Directors in 2014.

This is a huge accomplishment for Kevin, his firm, and Delaware. NAHB, with nearly 200,000 members, is the voice of housing for our nation.

We at LandmarkJCM are pleased to congratulate our client Kevin on this much deserved honor. We wish him the best of luck!