City of Portland Proposed High Performance Green Building Policy

http://www.portlandonline.com/osd/index.cfm?c=45879&

High performance green building presents one of the best solutions to improve environmental performance while strengthening the local economy and keeping buildings affordable in the long term. Recognizing the many benefits of green building, in 2007, Portland City Council directed the Office of Sustainable Development to develop policy options to improve the environmental performance of commercial and residential buildings community-wide. The resulting proposed High Performance Green Building Policy also addresses City Council's goal to identify steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050.

The proposed High Performance Green Building Policy seeks to accomplish the following goals for buildings and the sites they occupy in the City of Portland:

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
• Maximize energy efficiency and cost savings.
• Keep housing and commercial buildings affordable over time.
• Decrease consumption of potable water, especially during summer months.
• Increase on-site stormwater management.
• Reduce waste during construction and operation.
• Improve indoor environmental quality, occupant health and productivity.
• Increase the number of local living-wage jobs.

The proposed policy provides incentives and technical assistance for projects that incorporate advanced green building measures as described below:

• For new commercial and multifamily construction projects, the policy proposes a green building "feebate"-a market-based instrument that combines a fee for conventional construction, a waiver option for moderate green improvements and a reward for high performance green building projects.

• For new single-family residential construction, the policy proposes a performance target for a percentage of new homes that are built to green building standards. If the target is met, no new regulations will take effect; if the target is not met, a feebate similar to that for new commercial construction will come into effect.

• For existing commercial buildings, the policy proposes disclosure of building performance in the areas of energy usage, water usage and stormwater management. The building performance measures would identify buildings that have the greatest potential to improve performance and could help prospective buyers and tenants make informed decisions.

• Disclosure of building performance measures was also considered for existing single-family residential buildings, but stakeholder input highlighted the need to develop much better financing options for homeowners than are currently available. As a result, no requirements are proposed for existing homes at this time, and instead OSD is exploring options including the development of a large-scale fund to accelerate green building upgrades to existing buildings.

We will present the policy proposal to the general public on:

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

3:00 - 4:30 p.m.

Portland Building Auditorium, 2nd floor,

1120 SW 5th Avenue, Portland

A detailed policy proposal, fact sheet, Q&As, economic assessment report and press release are available.  After reviewing these materials, please submit your comments here. We look forward to your comments on the High Performance Green Building Policy proposal. If you have any questions concerning the content of the policy proposal, please email gbpolicy@ci.portland.or.us.

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