The Home Builders Association of Northern California (HBANC) and the Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, along with a group of environmentalists, met this week to discuss the city’s first residential Green Building legislation.
Many are hopeful that the new legislation will have significant impacts on the city’s goal of developing 14,000 new housing units by the year 2014. While others are grateful that the new legislation will have positive effects on the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions – reportedly the equivalent of taking 12,000 cars off the road.
“The Home Builders Association of Northern California is pleased to stand with Council President De La Fuente in announcing this important ordinance,” stated Joseph Perkins, president and CEO of the HBANC. “Building green is good for our environment, good for home builders, good for homebuyers and good for our economy.”
One home builder’s latest community, Pulte Homes’ Zephyr Gate, is already built to comply with Oakland’s new Green Building Legislation. Zephyr Gate is a 130-unit housing development located in the city’s Central Station, the community exceeds the state building codes for energy efficiency and green building measures currently in place. Zephyr Gate has even earned a certification from Build It Green’s GreenPoint Rated system.
Build It Green, Alameda County-based organization dedicated to the promotion of green building and green building materials, is one proposed tools that the City of Oakland would use under the new ordinance. The GreenPoint Rated system would act as a measure for new home developments to ensure they meet the requirements for green construction.
“At a time when rising gas prices and concerns about global warming are pushing consumers to change their behavior, building green makes good business sense,” said Perkins. “Ensuring we have clear, flexible and consistent green building standards like Build It Green’s GreenPoint Rated system will enable the home building industry to continue producing green homes that are affordable for Oakland’s working families.”
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