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| Local builder goes green By Lewis Rutherfurd-[ lewis@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 2:03 PM PST Visitors may never notice the bamboo flooring, solar panels, fluorescent lighting and roof truss systems in a couple of new, certified "green" Coastside homes. But the sellers are hoping people will see past initial costs to another kind of green down the line. "The buyer is paying for invisible amenities - although they would be visible on your utility bills," said Judy Taylor, a Coastside Realtor for 30 years. "There is no question whatsoever that it pays off over time." But at the start, energy efficient homes built with specialized materials will have to triumph over traditional preferences for short-term bargains, said Taylor, who is working with builders to test the green market. "Are consumers really willing to pay a premium for these principles they say they believe in?" she asked. Randy Ralston of Storybook Builders started out using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system for a new Coastside home that "would not be out of place in Ocean Colony," said Taylor. But he found the commercially oriented program too unwieldy and expensive for his private homes. "It's my way or the highway with LEED," said Ralston. "We were new to this and we didn't get the sense it was a flexible program." LEED certification has long been the top environmental benchmark for large commercial projects and is becoming required in many jurisdictions nationwide for school and government structures. The program has its origins in 1994 with the Natural Resources Defense Council and is administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, a consortium of about 10,000 building and environmental organizations. But Ralston and his business partner switched to Build It Green, a leading California non-profit in residential building certifications. With more flexibility, Ralston has built two houses with features like environmentally safe paint, oriented strand board instead of plywood, tankless water heaters, recycled insulation and Energy Star efficient appliances, among other features. The exterior landscaping is done with drought-resistant plants as well. LEED is expanding into the residential realm as well, but the program has other critics as the transition develops. "LEED for new residential construction is essentially brand-new," Randy Udall, director of the Community Office for Resource Efficiency in Aspen, Colo., wrote in response to e-mailed questions from the Review. The organization started one of the country's first solar energy incentive programs and Udall is co-author of a 2005 article "LEEDing us Astray?" that critiqued LEED's paperwork-heavy expense and "Soviet-style" rigidity. "It took awhile to develop, since there are many existing residential rating programs, far more than for commercial construction." Udall said there had been some improvements to the LEED program in recent years, but that the issue of green building in general was a complicated and evolving discussion. "Green building is a confusing mix of hype and reality," said Udall. But he noted that builders deserve credit for trying and for wading into the certification process anyway. "The hour is late," Udall said. "Anything that brings attention to the need to fundamentally rethink how we design, construct and operate buildings is a good thing. Less rhetoric, more action." For Taylor, green building represents a chance to develop environmental awareness at the forefront. And the 34-year Coastside resident is scathing on the subject of those who advocate "slow growth" as a sole solution. "I've been listening to these people yapping for 30 years," said Taylor. "And they've done nothing to promote sustainability. The wealth that has been squandered in this community when we could have been an example of how to do it right - that will put my blood pressure in the red zone every time." Udall said that heedless development is ultimately unsustainable even with green methods. But he noted that growth is coming regardless. "Enough sprawl," said Udall. "But the U.S. will add 30 million people in the next 10 years, a few million of them in California. They have to live somewhere." |