Green Building Codes

Building Codes

On July 17, 2008, the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) adopted the 2007 California Green Building Standards Code, which shall become effective August 1, 2009. The new Code addresses all building types; however, it treats homes and commercial buildings very differently. All of the proposed residential measures in the new code will be voluntary until 2010. There is a short list of mandatory commercial requirements that will be effective August 1, 2009. The State code is meant to set the minimum floor, and does not prohibit local governments from going above and beyond the standards established by the code where certain findings based on local geography, topography and climate can be made. Any proposed green building program will be designed to work with The State Green Building Code.

Title 24

Also in July 2008, the California Energy Commission (CEC) made draft changes to Title 24, Part 6, of the California Code of Regulations: Efficiency Standards for residential and nonresidential buildings, which were to be published in December 2008, and originally slated to become effective August 1, 2009, however, on June 29, 2009, the State filed notice delaying the effective date to January 1, 2010. This resulted in a delay in the launch of the new BIG 2008-2011 Green Point Rated System to January as well. Title 24 is a significant part of the BIG green building guidelines and green point system. At this time, a typical baseline for a home to be considered "green" is when it earns a total of 50 green points and meets the minimum number of points per category: Energy (30), Indoor Air Quality (5), Resources (6) and Water (9). Achieving the energy points currently requires a 15% increase, over and above Title 24 energy efficiency regulations. BIG 2008-2011 incorporated conformance with the recent Title 24 changes, and maintains the 15% above T24 baseline. Any green building program that exceeds Title 24 must be approved by the CEC, and will require an energy cost effective study energy efficiency ordinance to accommodate the green building ordinance.

AB 811

Although green building is important in reducing the carbon footprint of new construction, it is important to keep it in context with the potential for carbon footprint reductions of existing construction. New construction accounts for a small fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions relative to existing structures, so the overall impact of a green building program on carbon reductions is relatively small. Thus seeking ways to reduce carbon footprints of existing structures is also important. In July 2008, Assembly Bill 811 was approved, which allows property owners to enter into contractual assessments to finance the installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources or energy efficiency improvements that are permanently fixed to existing homes and businesses. Implementation of AB 811 may therefore provide a mechanism for dramatic energy efficiency gains and greenhouse gas reductions. In September, the Board directed staff to pursue development of an AB 811 program for Sonoma County. This program became operational in May 2009.