Scottsdale's Green Building is voluntary with few incentives for the
builder, and has not fully ramped up yet for commercial building. However,
it is a city funded operation, meaning they have a couple city employees
dedicated to the program. www.ci.scottsdale.az.us/greenbuilding.
The
incentives are getting your plans "fast tracked" thru their plan review, which
is supposed to cut approval time in half. Unfortunately, it's one of those
Catch-22 things - if the program gets too many green building plans, it can't
fast track them because there's nothing to push ahead of.
The
mayor approved another incentive plan recently also. The city raised
building permit fees, but has held the old fee schedule for green
buildings.
As I
see it, the biggest problem, at least here, isn't getting through the planning
process because both city employees are building professionals and do their best
to stay on top of various building systems. However, the holdup is
in the field - the inspectors aren't as up on these systems. And some of
these systems apparently don't have ICBO numbers. To cite an example that
one builder recently mentioned - he builds with Thermasteel. Somebody has
a stucco that uses nylon mesh instead of chicken wire, but he was told he
couldn't use it because the ICBO for stucco says you have to use chicken
wire. I can't confirm that one at all, and it sounds weird given you would
just apply stucco to a block wall, but I'm out of my element
here.
I am
also finding that at least in Scottsdale, if you want to build with an
alternative building system, the GC's are charging at a
minimum $100/sq ft to build because they're building a custom
home. The average guy sometimes has a tough time affording
that.
Hope
this helps a bit.
Dear Green Builders,
The importance of encouraging green-building is
unquestionable. Unfortunately builders who look to alternatives are often
confronted with a host of legal and regulatory barriers, and very few
incentives.
I am a third year law student at the University of Victoria,
on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. In conjunction with West Coast
Environmental Law (a non-profit, public interest law shop based in Vancouver)
I am working on a paper outlining barriers facing green builders, and
suggesting solutions to facilitate better building practices. I would be
interested in hearing your input as to barriers that you have faced (e.g.
problems getting code approval, insurance problems etc.) and possible
solutions you foresee.
My paper is aimed at being rather comprehensive, so feel
free to think broadly. The paper will look at both large scale and small scale
green building. I will also be touching on a lack of positive incentives, such
as tax breaks, for green building. Input from everywhere is welcome, but
Canadian experience is particularly encouraged.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Take Care,
Rodney Wilts
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