In all we do, we strive to work in concert with nature, both during and after construction.
We use sustainable materials that maintain their strength and integrity. Our homes are outfitted with the most current and energy efficient appliances and construction techniques available. Our landscaping features native plants and much of our building makes use of local reclaimed cedar.
We are concerned about the health of the community as well as the planet, and every decision we make reflects that concern. We believe that nothing is more beautiful than natural beauty, and nothing is greener than something that lasts.
Everything we believe in and strive for is outlined in our Sustainability Statement below. Please give it a read and join us in creating a long-lasting beach town while preserving the beauty of our Washington coast!
Sustainability Statement
The town of Seabrook is a unique coastal land development dedicated to preserving and promoting the natural environment. The common goal is to merge an urban resort townscape seamlessly into the natural environment and to provide a continuous system of preserved greenways, parks, and natural areas for its residents and neighbors to enjoy. The cottages built by the Seabrook family of companies have been carefully planned with a multitude of energy and resource responsible products and processes. Each Green Team department (Construction, Landscaping, Development, Design, Cottage Rentals, Town Center Businesses) is committed to doing their part to make sure they are looking out for the environment.
NEW URBANIST TOWN PLAN
5-Minute Walking principle ensures convenient access to all the daily conveniences and needs expected from living or vacationing in a classic beach town. Homes sit close to sidewalks, paths, parks, and other important public spaces to foster and “get to know your neighbor” friendliness lost in today’s hustle & bustle society.
Clustered development allows a concentrated “town footprint” to exist in a smaller area so that large preserves and buffer areas can be retained as part of a larger greenway park system connected by bike trails & hiking paths.
Pedestrian Friendly Streets occur at varying widths, character, and scale ensuring that pedestrians and bicyclists are at home with the greenest mode of transportation, feet and bikes! Diverse in design, pedestrian streets, pathways, and promenades are intentionally diverse making ones trek through town all the more enjoyable. Narrower streets mean cars have to travel slower. The bicyclists and pedestrians sure love it!
On-and Off-Street Parking creates a lively and safe streetscape that by design, slows traffic, making it easier to park your car and forget about it and leaving more time to enjoy the scenic quality of the town.
Service Lanes & Driveways are carefully situated to provide inconspicuous areas for utilitarian services such as trash & recycling pick up, utility stub-up locations, additional off-street parking, and private rear yard entrances.
Impervious Pavement Surfaces are significantly reduced by building narrower streets. By creating a smaller hard-surfaced footprint, far less water runoff is produced compared to conventionally scaled streets that only increase water volume and water speed. Less impervious surface=less water runoff=healthier, cleaner-running streams.
Down-shielded Streetlights cast light downwards onto ground surfaces where it’s most needed to help minimize the ambient light escape into the night sky where stargazing can be best appreciated.
RESTAURANT & MARKET FEATURES
Local Produce is bought and served wherever possible. Local cheesemongers, Native American seafoods, and other organically produced products outfit our markets and restasurants as often as possible.
Take-away Packages are made of biodegradable products in lieu of Styrofoam.
Walking-Based Businesses are a key component to Seabrook’s town merchant make-up. Walking to the market or shops for your daily needs is a staple of day-to-day living in our walkable town. The need for mass buying and having to commute by car is minimized and the freshest of ingredients are available for sharing the best and healthiest meals with your friends and family.
COTTAGE RENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP FEATURES
Recycling of all rental guests recyclables include but are not limited to: metal, cardboard, glass, and most plastics.
Eco-friendly cleaning products are proudly used by the Seabrook Housekeeping staff to ensure that only the safest and most ecologically sensible measures are employed assisting in saving water, plastic and overall energy usage. A specific example includes: biodegradable bleach-free and non-alkaline laundry soap products and a multitude of other cleaning products.
Energy Efficient long life light bulbs outfit most cottages.
Employees often carpool, ride Grays Harbor Transit bus system, and or walk to work to do their part in saving the environment and in their pocketbooks! Once on site, electrically operated vehicles transport the team members around town as needed.
ENERGY EFFICIENT COTTAGE FEATURES
House Tightening Measures help guarantee the home’s energy performance by reducing air penetration through the thermal shell. This is accomplished by sealing areas such as plumbing and electrical openings.
Efficient Ductwork Design and Seal: ordinary duct systems can lose up to 30% of every dollar of heating and cooling costs. By using mastic to seal all duct connections, conditioned air loss is concentrated to less than 6%. Mastic-sealed ducting also reduces air contaminants from entering the home through the ducting.
Energy Star® Dishwashers & Refrigerators save energy through reduced water usage and the heating of water.
Energy Star® rated lighting fixtures reduce energy use by 75%. The addition of dimmers and daylight photocells further reduce the amount of energy use.
HEALTHIER INDOOR AIR FEATURES
Whole House Ventilation improves indoor air quality by intermittently circulating clean air into the home and exhausting stale air.
Low VOC Indoor Paints have almost no volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) to offgas during the curing process. This improves indoor air quality equally during and after the construction process is complete.
Vents Protected During Construction can help reduce dust and debris from falling into furnace ducts during construction. Covering vents contributes to overall cleaner air infiltrating the house after construction is complete.
Granite and Tile Countertops provide a lasting durable surface that minimizes mold, mildew and bacteria while adding no chemicals to off-gas.
Integrated Fresh Air HVAC uses a fresh air duct with a mechanical damper, regulated by a 24 hour timer. This system engages the exhaust spot, the mechanical damper, and the furnace fan, bringing in fresh air while exhausting existing indoor air.
Low VOC Adhesives and/or Caulking aid in the maintenance of healthy indoor air quality by reducing the off gassing of volatile organic compounds in the home.
RESOURCE EFFICIENCY & ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBLE FEATURES
Reclaimed and Salvaged Cedar trees & stumps from the Seabrook site are often used for the shingles and siding on the walls and roofs of the very homes that sit where these resources originated. Stewardship certificates will be provided showing this process. Wherever possible, local mills are employed to cut existing recycled or reclaimed wood into wood building products. All the landscape fencing, edging, log rail fences & signs, bollards, tree stakes, and firewood is salvaged and milled for use in Seabrook.
Oriented Strand Board (OSB) uses wood chip scraps and orients them in a pressed manner creating an engineered sheathing lumber used in wall, floor and roof applications. OSB and other composite engineered wood dramatically reduce the demand on forest timber and eliminate many problems related to natural wood.
Bonus Rooms over the Garage afford more living space without increasing the foot print of the home and the impact to the neighboring landscape.
SCS (Scientific Certification Systems) Certified Particleboard Cabinet Boxes: SCS is accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) as a third party certification body, enabling it to evaluate forests according the FSC principles and criteria for forest stewardship.
Gypsum Board is comprised of 14% high post industrial waste recycled content.
Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) is a high quality composite panel product finished from chopped fiber products plus a binder. MDF uses wood fiber from sawmill waste.
Solid Waste Removal properly disposes of materials that cannot be recycled or used in any form. In several cases, these materials are hazardous wastes and demand appropriate handling.
Common Trench unifies trenching and the installation of electric, gas, cable TV and telephone lines in a single trench dug at one time to limit interruption to the construction site.
Stockpiled Dirt Protection prevents dirt and erosion throughout construction and preserves valuable topsoil for future re-vegetation of the site.
Tile or Stone Floors also prevent dirt and erosion throughout construction and preserves valuable topsoil for future revegetation of the site.
LANDSCAPE “GREEN” FEATURES
Native Preserve Areas are carefully identified, marked, and protected during the course of construction to minimize lot disturbances wherever possible. Other areas in town are set aside for natural hiking trails.
Native Landscape Areas are re-created on each building lot using native trees, shrubs, and perennials to repair disturbed areas adjacent to house footprints used for access and building material staging during the course of construction. An on-site nursery allows us to stockpile and nurture native plants to be used for landscaping. We encourage only a restrained use of non-native ornamental plants in approved locations behind walls, fences, hedges, or in contained areas and structures.
Native Plant Display Gardens exist to educate those living in and visiting Seabrook about the native flora of this region.
Grass Lawns exist only in public areas and parks where maintenance schedules are carefully managed to use only all natural and organically derived fertilizers and soil amendments to keep areas healthy. Noisy leaf blowers, lawn mowers, edging machines & small engine pollution are also minimized by prohibiting private grass lawns.
All Natural and Organic Fertilizers and amendments help reduce site contamination and needs for recurrent applications. All new landscapes and areas maintained by Seabrook Landscaping Company are treated with a combination of all natural and or organic third party certified (OMRI-Organic Materials Review Institute) fertilizers and amendments.
Bio Fuel-Operated Equipment allows discarded cooking oil from the cafe into recycled fuel for diesel powered lawn-care equipment.
Natural Path Materials like crushed oyster shell, washed pea gravel, and reclaimed shredded cedar mulch create walking surfaces that minimize water runoff and that allow rainwater to easily percolate into the ground instead of speeding up water flows that could potentially affect water qualities of adjacent wetlands and waterways.
Crushed Oystershell pathways create semi-pervious walks that filter clean water while reflecting light to make it easier to find ones way thru town while on an evening moonlit stroll. Seabrook was first in the county to have a local rock crusher create this product which has created regional interest and use expanding the counties Green industry growth initiatives.
Whole Oystershell applications allow a renewable and locally derived waste products from one-industry (the seafood industry) to be reused in innovative new ways in another. For example, oystershells are placed along the roof drip lines and porches of houses to minimize splatter and to keep erosion around house foundations to a minimum.
Selective Lot Clearing – where viable, each Seabrook lot is carefully cleared of vegetation, saving the maximum amount of natural vegetation possible for each lot. Preserve areas are carefully protected during the construction process. Areas disturbed out of necessity during construction are re-vegetated with native plant materials.
Existing Topsoil is retained on site during construction and reused as a naturally occurring soil for nutrients and absorption qualities.
Temporary Drip Irrigation systems are installed in each new landscape. These temporary systems deliver water directly to plant roots, eliminating water overspray. Since native plants are used (70-100%), irrigation can be suspended or abandoned after plant establishment.
Garden Mulch greatly increases the water effectiveness of landscaped areas by assisting the soil to retain water. Shredded leaves, wood chips, bark, and grass clippings are the organic materials used.
Habitat Creation & Management greatly enhances wildlife diversity around Seabrook. Berries sustain migrating birds. Frog bogs, created in constructed wetland areas, are real hits with curious kids tracking life systems of tadpoles to frogs.
Reclaimed cedar from the Seabrook site is locally milled into fencing, edging, signs, bollards, tree stakes, and firewood. In more rustic neighborhoods of town, National Park Style arbors and log rail fence types define preserve areas from the improved public areas.
Oceanfront Preservation is a signature aspect of Seabrook’s town planning commitment to preserving the scenic coastline. Rather than wall off an oceanfront with homes for a lucky few, we’ve created a continuous esplanade that allows everyone view the ocean & beach from atop the scenic windswept coastal bluffs. Significant areas of the oceanfront have been set aside as nature preserves, never to be developed which help protect against harsh winds.
Oceanfront Homes reflect wind-chiseled coastal trees by employing low pitched roofs. Wood cladding materials will be left natural to gray out and to allow cottages to recede into the coastal forest rather than overshadowing it. Down shielded light fixtures minimize oceanfront light pollution.
Private Lot Landscaping Individual housing lots are landscaped using primarily native plant species (70%) All landscape areas outside private walls and fences consist of 98% native plant species. Special efforts are made to preserve all existing native plants wherever possible.
Street Trees are all native tree species that are well-adapted to the windy coastal climate.
Slow-Release Herbicides & Fertilizers help reduce site contamination and needs for recurrent applications. Landscape areas are treated with all natural organic fertilizers & amendments (OMRI-Organic Materials Review Institute approved).
Prohibited Plant Species reduce potentials for introduced or exotic plant species that harm existing native plant systems. Invasive species (i.e. Himalayan Blackberry and Scotch Broom) are carefully controlled and eliminated whenever possible.
Seasonal Plant Diversity provides visual interest and habitat for local wildlife throughout the year (i.e. berries, fruit, shade, nesting areas).
Wood Preservatives – all natural wood preservatives are used to extend the life of the building materials.
Water Harvesting of roof water and site runoff is creatively captured in open swales, constructed wetlands, and other nature-inspired landscapes that slow water and allow percolation back into the ground water system.
* Subject to change without notice