Founded in 2004, CEDARS is a nonprofit corporation that envisions a day when both development and natural resource stewardship are interwoven to improve our quality of life. Collaborative partnerships work to blend social, financial and environmental values that achieve the best results for our communities.

Vision:
Communities incorporate ecological needs that balance with land use, development and business approaches.

Mission:
To provide collaborative programs and demonstrations that help show communities how land use, development and commerce are enhanced through design principals and business approaches that conserve the natural resources that sustain our standard of living.

Objectives:
Through applied science and common sense approaches, demonstrate how federal, state and local officials, regulators, landowners, special interest groups, and the business community can work together to:

• Create financially sound residential, commercial and industrial developments that preserve and/or enhance natural resources
• Develop and implement approaches for use of renewable natural resources that diversify local economies and reduce dependency on imports
• Demonstrate the bottom-line for conservation of water and energy
• Reduce transportation and other public and private infrastructure costs
• Establish mutually beneficial environmental mitigation for unavoidable use and development impacts
• Conduct environmental reviews that help move demonstration projects forward