DECEMBER 2007: AROUND THE STATE
Green building
fee battle
PORTLAND At
November’s Greenbuild International Conference in
Chicago, Portland city commissioner Dan Saltzman unveiled a
mandatory carbon fee plan for new construction in Portland.
Back at home, builders rolled out the first draft of their own
voluntary plan to encourage green building practices. Some say
they were surprised about Saltzman’s announcement.
Proposed by Saltzman’s Office of Sustainable Development,
the mandatory plan calls for new buildings to exceed
Oregon’s energy efficiency requirements by 30% (about
equal to LEED gold certification) by 2010 or be fined. The
revenue would be used to reward businesses that exceed
standards by 45% (LEED platinum certification). Existing homes
for sale would require only an energy efficiency assessment
which would be disclosed to buyers.
A third aspect of Saltzman’s plan provides for technical
assistance, training and outreach by the city in the first two
years. Saltzman says the goal is to not have to charge the fee,
in which case incentives could come in the form of discounted
system development charges. “We see [these standards] as
achievable.”
“We’ll do anything possible to stop a mandatory
program,” says Jim McCauley with the Homebuilders
Association of Metropolitan Portland. McCauley has been working
with the Development Review Advisory Committee (DRAC) in the
city’s Bureau of Development Services, overseen by city
commissioner Randy Leonard, on a plan he says will be just as
effective but won’t result in extra costs to the
consumer. “And you’ll see a lot more success [with
a voluntary program],” McCauley says.
DRAC includes representatives from all city committees that
affect builders and outside groups like Earth Advantage. It
aims to streamline permitting and reduce costs for developers
who get third-party energy efficiency certification, but it
does not set a specific standard in its draft plan.
McCauley alleges the OSD mandatory plan is about image building
and was kept under wraps until its Chicago announcement.
Saltzman says voluntary standards don’t guarantee the
needed results. He doesn’t view the DRAC plan as
competition and points out the OSD plan is still being refined;
he expects the two will be meshed as the public weighs in. Both
proposals are being polished this month before formally going
to the city council in early
2008.
AMBER NOBE
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