City Council Study Session Agenda and Packet 2008 06 24

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PAGE EIGHT SUBJECT: DISCUSSION -BUILDING CODE BOARD OF APPEALS -GREEN BUILDING DATE: JUNE 24, 2008 Certification Levels LEED for Homes Certification Level Points Required Certified 45-59 Silver 60-74 Gold 75-89 Platinum 90-136 Total Available Points 136 Cost to C/ienf: The Price of a consultant Construction Cost to Project. Significant 5 to 15% Summary There are many options for contractors and homeowners to gain a'Green' home. The question to consider is ~~how does the City of Louisville wish to administer a green building program?" The City of Louisville does not issue a large number of residential permits every year. With North End and Takoda coming on line we are going to be issuing more single family dwelling (SFD) and multi-family construction permits. Takoda has yet to choose builders for the build out of their project. However, Markel is the builder for North End and is a certified Built Green Colorado contractor. We requested that they provide us with their Built Green Points Summary for a typical single family dwelling. The total required by Built Green Colorado is 75 points; Market's typical home at North End scored 135 points, well above the Built Green minimum requirement. Green building continues to market well to the home buyer. The general home buying public is becoming more educated and socially conscience concerning Green construction specifically the energy efficiency component. There is not a commercial green program in force in the surrounding area. The LEED program for commercial buildings version 2.2 is available but not used primarily because of the high cost of land. The land to construction cost ratio of a project in this area for investors demands that any possible construction cost savings is made to insure profitability of the project. However, the Building Safety Division and the Board of Appeals believe this is a higher priority for the City of Louisville than the residential green building program. A large portion of the Building Safety Division resources go to the permitting of commercial construction in Louisville. The current 2003 International Energy Conservation Code is limited on the commercial construction building envelope energy requirements. Commercial buildings use more energy than homes and are much more inefficient in energy conservation. Remodels, additions and retrofits Hof existing homes in our community of Louisville are also an area of concern. With the upgrading of older homes and with the number of scrape- offs in old town increasing every year wE~ see this as a higher priority than new construction. This is also the most difficult area to enforce some type of green building.