Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett announced the new Green Infrastructure Plan Framework to add green space to streets, schools and parking lots throughout Milwaukee. The plan, announced Sept. 26, set a series of goals designed to change the city’s regulatory framework to increase use of green infrastructure in order to capture storm water runoff and increase sustainability.

According to the Milwaukee Independent, the plan includes a new requirement that developers for properties an acre or more must design properties to capture the first .5 in. of storm water in green infrastructure. Furthermore, the plan lowers the regulatory requirement for a storm water management plan from .5 acre of impervious surface area to .12 areas.