The implementation of this Sustainable Development Strategy will require a major infusion of public and private resources. Some of these resources can come from the creative reallocation of public expenditures which would otherwise be spent on less sustainable strategies; some can come through creative new financing instruments; some can come from the target area offering valuable "environmental services" to a broader area; still others can come from the creative use of federal funding, particularly transportation funding.

A. Water Infrastructure Crediting

The goal of water infrastructure crediting is to secure funding for sewer and stormwater infrastructure from the South Florida Water Management District by demonstrating that alternative, community-scale technologies can achieve the District's water management goals at a competitive cost. This would divert funding from conventional water management methods such as canals and pumping stations into community improvements that produce a comparable environmental benefit.

Action 30: Develop a Mechanism for Financing a Community-Scale Stormwater Infrastructure System.

The project will work with the South Florida Water Management District to determine which alternative technologies can achieve its objectives and then develop the financial model which will permit the project and the District jointly to "score" the performance of those alternative technologies compared to conventional methods in order to verify their eligibility for funding.

B. Location Efficient Mortgages

The Location Efficient Mortgage7 (LEM) is an innovative mortgage product for low- and moderate-income borrowers who are interested in buying homes in densely populated neighborhoods that are served by public transportation.

The LEM recognizes that when families rely on public transit, rather than automobiles, for their travel needs they spend less on transportation. Transportation is typically a family's second largest expenditure after housing. Families also save money when they "live locally," when they shop, work, recreate, socialize, learn, and participate in the resources of their local community. The LEM converts these savings into access to a larger home mortgage by adjusting the underwriting guidelines, thereby "stretching" family borrowing capacity. To reinforce this reliance on transit, the LEM mortgage also includes a family pre-paid discount transit pass.

LEMs are not yet generally available; they will be test marketed in Chicago this summer in cooperation with local mortgage lenders and underwritten by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae). They are likely to become available around the country in the next few years.

Action 31: Assess the Feasibility of a Location Efficient Mortgage Program in the Target Area.

The project will develop a computer model of location efficiency in Miami-Dade County that will determine the feasibility of implementing a LEM program.

C. Federal TEA 21 Innovative Financing

Under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21), the recently enacted federal transportation law, the US Department of Transportation has wide latitude to participate in the financing of transportation projects through a variety of so-called "enhancements," including letters of credit, loan guarantees, etc. The 79th Street Corridor Sustainable Development Project is the type of project which TEA 21 is intended to support. The project needs to take full advantage of this new financing option

Action 32: Assess the Feasibility of Utilizing Federal Innovative Financing for the Project.

The project will assess the feasibility of using innovative federal financing to enhance the project.

D. Aggregation of Emissions Reductions

Today, the 79th Street Corridor, like other urban areas, is a major source of emissions into the environment. Some of the emissions are "ozone precursors,' gasses and particulate matter which cause ground level ozone. Other emissions, particularly CO2, contribute to global warming and climate change. This Sustainable Development Strategy will decrease these harmful atmospheric emissions in several ways:

* Automobile use will be minimized, decreasing both gasoline use and tailpipe emissions.

* Sustainable housing technologies will minimize the need for air conditioning and hence the emissions from electric generation.

* Sustainable stormwater strategies will decrease the electricity needed for pumping and hence the emissions from electric generation.

The cumulative amount of these emissions can be significant.

Action 33: Model the Emissions Reductions from the Sustainable Development Plan.

The project will develop a model that shows the amount and type of emissions reductions from the Sustainable Development Plan and assess their potential value within current and proposed emission credit trading programs.

Action 34: Identify Mechanisms for Aggregating Small Scale Emissions so their Value can be Captured.

The project will identify mechanisms that take advantage of existing organizational networks and transaction mechanisms to aggregate the many small emissions that will result from this Sustainable Development Plan so that their value can be captured and traded as a revenue stream for the community.