In support of the City’s progressive environmental consciousness, the document requires all buildings to be “green and sustainable”, and be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council or the Florida Green Building Coalition, Inc. This planning requirement showcases architecture that is based on function rather than style.

The City’s goal is to be the first City in the State and Country, to have a contiguous certified green building project. The Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association (FAPA) granted the "MainStreet Design Standards" an Award of Excellence in planning for the project’s innovation, transferability, quality, implementation, and comprehensiveness.

On December 9, 2004, the City Commission adopted the MainStreet Design Standards document, which establishes the vision for a mixed-use, downtown development in the center of Coconut Creek, bound by Wiles Road to the north, Lyons Road to the east, Sample Road to the south, and State Road 7 to the west. The document promotes the development of a pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use community, organized around substantial, centralized and contiguous recreational open space. Fundamental criteria includes: