May 17
2011
The Reality of Implementing Green Buildings in Cities Webinar is the First in a Series of Educational Webinars Hosted by BasicGov
In this complimentary webinar, attendees will learn from green building experts, Chris Cheatham and Robert Kobet, about how to establish an effective approach to planning and implementing green buildings in your municipality. Speakers will discuss the International Green Construction Code, LEED-based regulations as well as best practices for implementing a green building code.
Webinar Title: The reality of implementing green buildings programs in your city
Webinar Date: Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 11 am PST / 2 pm EST (1 hour)
This green buildings webinar will highlight these areas:
- Green building standards – How LEED and the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) relate.
- What other local governments are doing with green buildings and what’s the right approach for your city
- Best practices for implementation to ensure green building code regulations are met
About Webinar Speakers
Chris Cheatham and partner Bob Korbet work with government agencies in planning, management and implementing green building practices effectively, while adhering to regulations and avoiding pitfalls.
- Chris Cheatham: Chris is a Green Building Construction Consultant and Attorney and publisher of the acclaimed Green Building Law Update, a blog www.greenbuildinglawupdate.com/ dedicated to emerging legal and regulatory issues in the green building industry. He has advised multiple municipalities regarding green building regulations and he is a frequent speaker on the topic.
- Bob Kobet: Bob is LEED Faculty, and CEO of The Kobet Collaborative. Bob’s impact on the built environment spans several decades over a wide area of influence. His green building and sustainable community development projects around the world range from small non-profit endeavors to multi-million dollar developments. www.bobkobet.com
May 17
2011
As we lead up to an educational webinar scheduled for February 23 about implementing green buildings in your municipality, we will have a series of blog posts discussing this area. We’ll also incorporate blog posts from industry expert, Chris Cheatham and Bob Kobet, guest speakers on our green building webinar.
Government agencies (federal, state and local) are providing incentives and more demanding building codes for construction of new, green buildings, or renovation of existing, non-green buildings.
Some of the existing incentive programs include:
- Expedited review for permitting processes which lower the amount of time it takes to receive a building permit.
- Density bonuses which allow green buildings to stand out from regular buildings by exempting them from some permitting laws. This can include an increase in floor area ratio or the height of the building, allowing more space to be rented out.
- Tax credits and abatements may be made available to allow the owner of a green building to be able to lower taxes or be exempt from paying taxes for a certain amount of time.
At the state government level, here are some examples of incentives in action:
- Hawaii recently passed a bill requiring faster permitting processes to LEED buildings certified at silver or higher.
- Maryland, New Mexico, New York, and Oregon all have tax credits available at different amounts corresponding to different levels of LEED certification.
- Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Washington offer grants that correlate with the LEED certification level mainly for schools but also for the construction of new homes and renovation of existing homes.
- 34 states have LEED requirements for their government buildings.
- Many states also provide economic incentives to the private sector to encourage green building construction.
Examples of incentives in action in local governments:
- Nearly 200 cities in the U.S. have adopted LEED standards for their government buildings. Many cities offer economic, government funded incentives for the construction of green buildings.
- Oakland, California is providing technical assistance, building guidelines, and promotion for free to green buildings.
- Many other cities are supporting green standards such as Arlington, Virginia’s Green Building Incentive Program, Austin, Texas’ Energy’s Green Building Program, and Portland, Oregon’s Green Investment Fund.
Watch for next blog post about green buildings and some of the challenges for government agencies.
If you are interested in attending our green building webinar, register here https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/674916328
And if you want to see a basic definition of green buildings, click here www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/
Click here to see source for some of this information.
