January 28, 2008

New York town to make LEED mandatory

Proposal calls for refundable deposits from developers

MONROE, N.Y.

Local politicians want this Hudson Valley town’s buildings to be the first in the area to make the leap to green.

Riding a wave of concern about global warming and high energy costs, councillors are proposing a measure that would require all new residential and commercial construction to meet national green building standards.

The proposal marks one of the first attempts in the county to make green building mandatory at the local level, creating a test case for other towns and villages.

The law would require that plans for new housing meet Energy Star building standards.

Those standards require a rigorous energy audit to ensure that a home is 16 per cent more energy efficient than the current code requires.

The law would also require new office, commercial or apartment construction over 4,000 square feet to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards for new construction.

LEED is the rating system of the United States Green Building Council, a leader of the national green building movement.

Builders will have to submit a LEED rating checklist and pay a fee of US3 cents per square foot up to US$15,000. The amount paid would be returned if the developer achieves LEED certification, which is based on how well the design and construction of the project can demonstrate energy savings.

If the building fails to achieve certification, the money would go into the town’s general fund.

Orange County is relatively late in adopting such proposals, as high energy costs prompt towns, counties and states across the country to adopt green building initiatives.

DCN News Services

Print | Email | Comment