Green Building Program

Green Building Program

The passage by the Board of Supervisors of the Green Building Resolution on November 4, 2008 provides the policy direction necessary to create a green building program for Sonoma County that is consistent with other cities within the county, yet tailored to our specific needs. The program takes both residential and commercial construction into account using guidelines and rating systems by BIG and LEED® respectively. Additionally, PRMD has been coordinating with Sonoma County General Services Department, and the County Architect who is in the process of creating a program that incorporates green building thresholds for newly constructed and/or renovated county government buildings. The resolution directed staff to return with a green building ordinance for adoption by July 2009. On July 21, 2009, a public hearing was held and the Board approved the Green Building Ordinance, Energy Efficiency Ordinance, and Energy Cost Effective Study which will be sent to the California Energy Commission for approval before actual adoption of the ordinances can take place. The effective date for the ordinances is tentatively scheduled for January 1, 2010. Carbon footprint reductions for new construction can be made through the green building program. Green building incorporates quality design and construction achieved through the convergence of four fundamental objectives: Conserve natural resources, use energy wisely, improve indoor air quality and plan for livable communities.

Green Building Guidelines

A number of local and national systems have been developed to serve as guides to green building practices. The U.S. Green Building Council, developer of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating Systems and LEED® Reference Guide, has become a leader in promoting and guiding green building. Build it Green (BIG) is a professional non-profit membership organization that has developed guidelines based on Alameda County’s Residential New Home Construction Green Building Guidelines and are used throughout California. The Association of Bay Area Governments, in July of this year, endorsed BIG’s Green Point Rated as the verification system for residential projects. Every city jurisdiction within Sonoma County that has a green building program uses LEED® guidelines for new commercial construction and BIG guidelines for new residential construction. Basing a county green building ordinance on these guidelines will establish consistency among local jurisdictions for a green building program, and it meets the objective set forth in the County’s General Plan 2020, Open Space and Resource Conservation Element, Policy ORSC-14f.

Mandatory Program

A green building program can either be voluntary or mandatory. Voluntary programs are not successful unless there are incentives for the builder. Typical incentives are fee reductions or expedited building plan check and inspections. Some jurisdictions have an added "Energy" fee, which may be reduced based on green point thresholds as incentive. The county is not in a position to underwrite the program with a fee reduction. Of the jurisdictions that have a green building program within Sonoma County, most are mandatory. The board accepted the recommendation of a mandatory program for Sonoma County. In April of 2008, the City of Santa Rosa passed a mandatory green building ordinance using both the LEED® and BIG green building rating systems. Santa Rosa also required certification of 50 points under the applicable BIG - Green Point Rating System for residential construction and 20 points under the applicable LEED® commercial Green Building Rating System. Both plan check and inspection verification are done by a third party green rater who is certified under the applicable green building rating system. Having a third party green rater prevents an increase of workload to both plan check and inspection staff while maintaining turn-around time goals.

Plan Check

Sonoma County will use a third party for both plan check and inspection verification. In this way, fees will not need to be increased to fund the green building program to pay for additional training, certification and associated workload. Applicants will be required to contract individually with the third party green raters. The applicant will need to ensure that the plans are verified by a green rater prior to submitting for permit, and will need to have a third party inspector verify green elements have been incorporated prior to final inspection. A single family home built to meet a BIG 50 point threshold is estimated to save 1 ton of CO2 per year.