City Council Study Session Agenda and Packet 2008 06 24

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Page 2 of 4 hopefully provide them with the incentive to buy more such light bulbs in the future. 3. Next, we will support the efforts of City Staff to implement a City-administered program for more efficient residential trash collection and improved waste recycling. It was former members of LRCAB who studied this issue in great detail five years ago, and who made a recommendation at that time, that the City adopt such a program. Many of the factors that led LRCAB to make its recommendation then, remain the same today. And since the City of Lafayette adopt- ed its own city-administered trash & recycling program during the past year, some factors related to trash-hauling within this City have changed, particularly with one hauler attempting to commit its Louisville customE;rs to long-term contracts, despite its opposition to exclusive contracts five years ago. LRCAB members are ready to assist City Staff in whatever manner which may be requested. We can host public meetings to discuss the topic if Staff believes that will be helpful, or attend other public meetings at which the hauler-contract issue is discussed to express our individual and collective support. 4. Another topic has come to our attention recently, one which our members may be particularly suited to study. It seems our current city ordinances that deal with weed and yard-waste control may not adequatf:ly consider residents' maintenance of compost containers for their disposal and reuse of such waste. And what may or may not be allowed as `acceptable' compost containE~rs may depend too much on the personal interpretation by individual code-enforcemE:nt officers. We can review this matter to see if it may require any changes to the applicable city ordinances. 5. Next is probably the most important topic for LRCAB members at this particular time. We strongly recommend that the Louisville City Council direct City Staff to adopt a Residential-Construction "Green-Points" Program, based on the programs currently in effect for the Cities of Longmont and Boulder, and recently adopted by Boulder County. We recommend that City Staff take steps necessary to have such a Program take .effect by 1-January-2009. We recommend that City Council appropriate such funds as may be necessary to implement such a Program, based on reporting prepared by City Staff establishing the need for such funds, and as compared to the annual costs incurred by the neighboring Cities and County to administer their Programs. Any building code establishes the `minimum' standards required at that time. And by setting `minimum' standards, there will always be opportunities for improvement in those building standards. And building codes do not necessarily change as quickly as advances may be made in building materials and processes. Nor can it be assumed that a city will always adopt the most recent code versions established by the International Codes Council. There may not be sufficient changes -either in numbers or in improvements - to warrant the costs to adopt new codes as they become published. The various `green' building programs which LRCAB reviewed claim to provide 15% to 25% improvements over current building codes. Such improvements can be in better initial site and structure planning, reduced wastage of materials during construction (and demolition in remodel projects), use of more efficient and long-lasting materials, increased energy efficiency -- in short, a more economical and efficient structure to maintain over its lifetime.