From Golden to Green
By Lou Ochoa
California is rapidly leaving behind its "Golden State" image and quickly going green. While "green" usually describes money, envy or even a political party, the word is now associated with the environment and the heightened awareness that is transforming the way we live our lives.
It is no surprise that California is on the forefront of this new shift and perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in the homebuilding industry in Riverside County. For decades, California's homebuilders have pushed for increased energy efficiency requirements and built generations worth of new homes that are dramatically more environmentally friendly than their predecessors.
However, the 'greening' hasn't stopped there. Three years ago, homebuilders, working with engineers, scientists and conservation specialists, created the California Green Builder Program (CGB) - now the most successful green building program in the state. To date, over 6,781 new CGB certified homes are scheduled to be built, with 1,431 already completed. These homes alone eliminate over 270,000 pounds of greenhouse gases and nearly 30 million gallons of water annually.
CGB is officially recognized as an environmentally-friendly green building design program by California Public Utilities Commission, the California Energy Commission and California League of Cities. The program's rigorous standards require participating new homes to exceed California's already strict energy efficiency standards by 15 percent and divert at least 50 percent of construction waste through recycling. It also requires that wood products be harvested from sustainable forests and significant water conservation.
In the Inland Empire water is the most precious natural resource. Like a farmer's crop, there must be water available for new communities to grow strong. Recognizing this, Riverside County BIA (BIA) became one of the first advocates for Metropolitan Water District's California Friendly water conservation program. The countywide adoption of California Green Builder bolsters current water conservations efforts and helps ensure dramatic water savings in new communities. Under CGB guidelines each new home must include innovative plumbing systems and new designs for landscaping and irrigation or participate in the California Friendly conservation program. Each new green built home must save a minimum of 20,000 gallons of water per home per year.
In addition to producing quantifiable results, CGB was designed to ensure that implementation by cities and homebuilders is seamless - a key to keeping home prices low and program participation high. Getting more homebuilders and cities to adopt CGB has been a top priority for the BIA. According to the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG), more than 400,000 new homes are needed to meet the population growth over the next fifteen years. BIA believes this is an excellent opportunity for the homebuilding industry and local government to work together to promote green building practices without sacrificing the dream of homeownership by driving up new home costs.
Together, we're already achieving success. Mayor Ron Loveridge and the City of Riverside recently became the first city in the state to create an incentive-based CGB program. In June, the city council adopted the program and provided participating homebuilders with guaranteed processing timelines, overtime inspections and priority electrical design. These incentives will expedite the process of building a green home, saving time and keeping CGB-built homes competitively priced.
Success of CGB is rooted in participation. Riverside's action was the first step in the greening of Riverside County, but it's important to adopt common, incentive-based standards throughout the county that will allow homebuilders to offer environmentally friendly homes with quality amenities at the most reasonable cost. A uniform program makes the application of green standards faster and broader because it keeps the cost of construction and design lower than under multiple standards. As a next step, BIA is now working with WRCOG and many local governments to adopt CGB as the standard for green building in Riverside County to ensure that Riverside is joined by its neighbors in promoting green building.
As the growth of Riverside County continues, the adoption of CGB by local governments will help ensure that the progress we've made together to protect the environment will continue. Through CGB, Riverside County homebuilders are leading the way in greening of our Golden State.
Lou Ochoa is the immediate past president of the Building Industry Association of Southern California's Riverside Chapter.
April 2008 Issue