Green Building Task Force

Approved 3/20/13 GREEN BUILDING TASK FORCE (GBTF) February 20, 2013 – Meeting #5 Greene County Public Safety Center 330 West Scott Street 1:30 p.m. PRESENT: Task Force Members: Jason Hainline, Ronda Headland, Jennifer McClure, Zach Miller, Michael Nesbitt, Jared Rasmussen, Jeff Barber, King Coltrin, Technical Resources: Barbara Lucks, Jason Bekebrede, Vanessa Brandon, Matt O’Reilly, Cara Shaefer, Chris Straw, Paula Brookshire, EXCUSED: Task Force Members: Lisa Drew-Alton Technical Resources: ABSENT: Neil Brady, Melissa Cox, Emily Fox, Brad Kielhofner, Joel Thomas GUESTS: Harry Alper – Missouri Sierra Club; Isaac Elnecave, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance; Bruce Brown, Liberty Bank; Rich Caraway, Caraway and Company; Shane Schoeller, HBA STAFF: Fred Marty, Deputy City Manager -- City of Springfield; Carrie Lamb, Sara Garretson, Kimberly White – City of Springfield -- Greene County Welcome and Introductions Barbara Lucks, Facilitator, opened the meeting at 1:40 p.m. in the Café of the Greene County Public Safety Center, 330West Scott Street, welcoming task force and community members in attendance. Self introductions were given by all attendees. Jennifer McClure announced her upcoming retirement and introduced Shane Schoeller, who will be her replacement on the Task Force. Harry Alper introduced Isaac Elnecave who will be presenting a program later this evening in the Ozarks New Energy Board’s Energy Café series. Approval of Minutes The minutes of the Green Building Task Force Meeting #3, held December 12, 2012, were approved as corrected (removal of Jared Rasmussen from the list of Task Force members present). The minutes of the Green Building Task Force Meeting #4, held January 16, 2013, were approved as distributed following a motion by Jeff Barber and second by Jared Rasmussen. Response to Questions from January 16, 2013 Meeting In response to discussions/questions at the January 16, 2013, Task Force meeting, brief presentations were made by invited guests Bruce Brown, Liberty Bank, representing the lending component and Rich Caraway, Caraway and Company, an appraiser. Discussion followed the presentations relative to the issues of additional cost of green building practices, the considerations weighed during the lending and 1 appraisal processes, the role of the final loan underwriter, comparable sales, and the need for market demand for the green practices and increased education/awareness of the benefits of green practices throughout the construction/sales/appraisal/lending processes. Discussion on Energy Chapter of the 2012 Building Code Discussion was held regarding the role of the Task Force relative to the review/acceptance of the Energy Chapter of the 2012 Building Code. The following draft recommendation was prepared by consensus of the Task Force: The Task Force acknowledges the importance of the Energy Chapter of the 2012 Building Code relative to green building practices and recognizes that existing work is underway to study, adapt and ultimately arrive at an acceptable Energy Chapter for adoption. The Task Force expects regular reviews (subsequent to the issuance of Supplements to the Code) by a group facilitated by City staff to be created for that purpose that shall mirror the representation by groups on the Task Force: HBA, SCA, AIA, MSPE, DIIG, GBTF, OGBC, EAB, APA, CSI plus representation from an agency that is familiar with the challenges facing low-income home owners/renters. OACAC was suggested. Note: Other preliminary recommendations are included in this document for reference purposes. Discussion on Small Groups There being no other requests from the Task Force for additional staff or other technical information, the Task Force will return to the small groups at the March 20, 2013, meeting. Discussion was held to review the make-up of the small groups. One change was made – the revised list of groups/members is included in this document for reference purposes. Task Force members were reminded to take the time between today’s meeting and the March meeting to be gathering information supporting practices, policies, etc. that they would like to bring to the small groups for discussion. Specifically, if there are practices from other cities, they are asked to please bring that information to be shared and discussed. Meeting was adjourned at 3:15 p.m. Next Meeting Date Wednesday, March 20, 2013 – 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Café of the Greene County Public Safety Center Reference Information 2 Small Group Discussion held at the December 12, 2012, meeting Issues for small group discussion that were identified in previous meetings included: Process, Energy, Stormwater, Codes and Residential. These were reviewed by the task force and it was agreed that the issue of “codes” should be included in the discussions of all groups, rather than as one separate group topic. Task Force members, technical resources and staff members formed the following four groups for discussion and research relating to green building, according to their expertise on the subject. (*denotes technical resource/staff). Process/Policy Ronda Headland Lisa Drew-Alton *Matt O’Reilly Emily Fox Jeff Barber *Jonathon Gano Structure Jason Hainline *Cara Shaefer Brad Kielhofner Joel Thomas *Chris Straw Site/Stormwater Neil Brady Melissa Cox *Carrie Lamb Jared Rasmussen King Coltrin *Kevin Barnes Residential Jenifer McClure Jason Bekebrede Zach Miller Michael Nesbitt *Chris Coulter *Vanessa Brandon The groups were given three categories to discuss and research per issue – change, instruction, and benchmarks. Attendees re-grouped for further discussion of issues, per group, at approximately 3:20 p.m. Items included in these preliminary discussions included: Structure Energy Code • Update the code • How to go beyond the code • Define “beyond the code” Baseline standards = Minimum Standards 3  • Incentives to encourage going beyond minimum • Impact on developers and enforcement Policy/Process o Establish Guiding Principles o Minimize City/County resources required o Acknowledge Third Party Rating Systems o Incentives/Trade-offs o Process Tools  Check lists, etc.  Path for innovators o Consider local needs for Green Building Community o Encourage recognized innovation o Policy can include low hanging fruit o Identify obstacles o Identify sustainability officer for community o Encourage renewable energy o Position Springfield (with CU) as leader o PACE o Legislative process o Tax incentives  Personal Property Tax abatement  Enhanced energy zones Site/Stormwater o Identifying issues to study  Complete Design Standards – include incentives  Keep track of Stormwater Task Force progress  Hard to show Return on Investment o Will look at other desired requirements, such as habitat preservation, etc. Residential o Funding needed for City/County staff training o NAHB Certified Green Professional training o Incentives might include tax abatements, etc. o Current process working well o Work with lenders, appraisers – offer education/training Overall – from group when they reconvened o Enforcement of existing codes needed before new codes are adopted o Make this (enforcement) a disincentive for bad behavior o Review fines/fees as a method of funding enforcement efforts Reference Information 4 Preliminary Recommendations from discussion at January 16, 2013, meeting • Homeowners Education o Benefits of green building features o How to maximize the benefits of the green building features (how to operate them) • Education for appraisers and lenders regarding the financial value of green features • Affordability and cost/benefit analysis are essential • Education of City/County staff regarding new products/practices • Must maintain competitiveness with other areas • Triple bottom line (social, economic, environmental) • Codes are the minimum standard – LEED and others are not minimum • Acknowledge current efforts • Collect, maintain for reference and distribute information on existing resources, practices, etc. – Environmental Resource Center function, perhaps • Include indoor features (ex.: indoor air – smoking ban) • The Task Force does not intend to recommend the use of any identified third-party standard (ex.: LEED), but rather will focus on the various practices, processes, results • Building Code – City on 3 year cycle; County on 6 year adoption cycle • Consumer choice and budget factor • Value of quality of life • Ongoing sharing of information/efforts and results – ex: Partnership for Sustainability • Identify and remove barriers to green building efforts • Encourage green building efforts • Because the overall Building Code is on an ongoing review cycle, the Task Force recommends supporting an annual review of the progress, particularly of items that may not be up to the most current code requirements, utilizing a work group made up of staff and community experts to identify those areas and recommend strategies to keep these efforts moving forward 5