Flexible green building guidelines and highly creative diversified planning, zoning and tax incentives have encouraged building in, out and up to allow all kinds of housing communities to emerge. We committed to the basic guideline - "A Home for Every Heart". Clustering, cooperatives, integrated cottage industries and decentralized neighborhood focused services and commerce have reinvigorated neighborhoods and encouraged diversity. New approaches to creating a variety of types of rentable spaces increased low cost, clever, and delightful shelter. Custom green building design and construction requires a lot of skilled workers. Most of the older houses have been energy audited and retrofit, cutting total housing energy use in half.

A reinvigorated Coast Building Commission worked with county, city and state agencies to construct guidelines for new and retrofitted green buildings. They aggressively utilize every possible financial incentive from governmental agencies, the construction industry, and private grant sources to maximize housing efficiency at the lowest possible cost to owners. The Commission operates a center showcasing the latest materials and techniques for comfortable, efficient buildings and mechanical systems, and provides hands on design assistance free to all residents. Ingenious local inventors and designers have responded by creating a lively range of new enterprises, exporting ideas, goods and services prototyped and installed first here on the coast.