Photo Courtesy of Re-Nest

The Apartment Therapy junkie in our household noticed that the RainShine house was prominently featured on AT’s sister site Re-Nest yesterday, with a bevy of interior and exterior pics of the Decatur eco-home on Wilton Drive.

In that green-vein, The Decatur Minute noted yesterday that the city of Decatur, along with friendly arch-nemesis Alpharetta, won bronze-level certifications from the Atlanta Regional Commission for efforts towards environmental sustainability.  Cobb County was the only municipality to receive a silver certification (?!).

In response to the ARC announcement, District 2 City Commission candidate Kyle Williams tweeted “Step in the right direction #DecaturGA, now let’s pass ordinances providing green building incentives.”  I, for one, would be very interested in hearing more details on this proposal.

After the jump, you can read the ARC’s announcement detailing Decatur’s green efforts to-date that led to the certification.

The City of Decatur created the Citizen Environmental Sustainability Board late last year to provide advice on the city’s environmental regulations, plans and initiatives as well as assist with implementation of city projects that impact the natural environment. The City of Decatur Sustainability Policy was adopted in April of 2009 to formalize many of the Green Communities measures already practiced throughout the city. Some of the practices articulated through this policy include an environmentally-preferable purchasing policy, an employee recycling program, a green fleet policy and green building standards. Decatur also requires new employees to sign the Lights Out/Power Down policy, and any employee who uses a city vehicle must sign the No-Idling policy. The newly constructed fire station has a cool roof and solar panels; educational materials in the building explain the benefits of these features. Another notable Decatur effort is its Safe Routes to School Program which began in January 2005. A partnership between the schools and the city, this program encourages elementary and middle school children to walk and bicycle to school and to make the trips to school safer. Other sustainable measures adopted by the city are a Pay-As-You-Throw program for trash disposal, a comprehensive residential recycling program and a Health Impact Assessment incorporated into the transportation plan.