ZONING ORDINANCES AND EXTERNAL CONTROL DEVICES IN URBAN BUILDINGS.

Recent activities in the area of commercial building design have demonstrated that external control devices can significantly reduce energy and power consumption as well as enhance the enjoyment of indoor space. Despite the publication of notable examples that successfully utilize exterior control devices, the building industry as a whole does not seem to be adopting such a strategy. One of the reasons for this is that most zoning ordinances handicap the design of buildings that use external controls because the area that these devices occupy are included in the building's volume, thus depriving the building owner of rentable area. Individual communities can take steps to encourage energy savings in building operation by changing local zoning ordinances to allow the encroachment of external controls into the public space. This paper presents an argument for municipal governments to take such action.