CALGreen Consulting for Local Governments and for Design and Construction Professionals

Its 2011...is your local enforcement agency or building company ready for CALGreen?

Introduction

The State of California has led the way in terms of environmental regulations. The story is no different when it comes to the consideration of 'green buildings' as the state was one of the first to mandate that all state-owned buildings achieve a LEED Silver rating from the USGBC. But California has not stopped at just mandating green buildings for state-owned projects.

On January 1, 2011, the California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen) went into effect which mandates minimum green building measures for all residential and nonresidential buildings built in California. Now all building enforcement agencies and builders in the state will need to understand the minimum provisions of this code to implement these measures on their building projects.

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Background

The California Green Building Standards Code, or CALGreen, actually makes up Part 11 of the California Building Standards Code (Title 24). Title 24 consists of 12 parts that stipulate mandatory requirements for California buildings such as electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and energy requirements. Since its implementation in the late 1970's, Title 24 has put California ahead of the nation in terms of building energy efficiency among other characteristics.

In July 2007, the California Building Standards Commission (BSC) started working with the CA Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to develop green building standards for both residential (HCD) and commercial (BSC)buildings. Since 2007, several state green building bills passed the legislature only to be vetoed. Then, during the 2008 updates to Title 24, the California Green Building Standards Code was included as Part 11 and was strictly a voluntary program. Finally, in January 2010, Title 24, Part 11 was adjusted to include BOTH voluntary and mandatory measures and it was dubbed, CALGreen.

The implementation of CALGreen is intended to encourage more sustainable and environmentally friendly building practices for the health and safety of our future. The requirements defined in the code place limits on substances that can cause harm to our environment, encourage conservation of our natural resources, and promote the use of efficient materials and equipment.

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Mandatory Measures

CALGreen includes mandatory measures for both residential and nonresidential buildings in California. The residential mandatory measures were created by the CA Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) while the nonresidential mandatory measures were created in conjunction between the CA Building Standards Commission (BSC), the Division of State Architecture: Structural Safety (DSA-SS), and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD). For both the residential and nonresidential mandatory measures there are five (5) main categories which are as follows:

1. Planning and Design 2. Energy Efficiency 3. Water Efficiency and Conservation 4. Material Conservation and Resource Efficiency 5. Environmental Quality

Within each of these five categories exist specific individual measures that must be achieved on building projects in California. The Planning and Design category includes measures such as storm water pollution prevention, surface drainage, bicycle storage, and light pollution reduction. The Energy Efficiency category requires compliance with Title 24, Part 6 (CA Energy Code). The Water Efficiency and Conservation category includes measures for both indoor and outdoor water use such as meters, low-flow fixtures, and reduction of potable water for irrigation. The Material Conservation and Resource Efficiency category includes measures such as construction waste diversion, occupant recycling, and building commissioning. Finally, the Environmental Quality category includes measures such as finish pollutant control, filters, indoor moisture control, and outside air delivery.

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Installers, Special Inspectors, & Verification

Qualifications for equipment installers include several acceptable programs such as HVAC system installer certification as well public utility training, manufacturer-sponsored training, among others.

Enforcing agencies can also require that the building owner employ one or more 'special inspectors' to verify compliance. Qualifications for CALGreen Special Inspectors can vary by enforcing agency and may include green building accreditation, HERS training or other similar programs. Also note that Special Inspectors need to be independent entities with no financial interest in the project.

Verification of compliance with CALGreen includes (but is not limited to) construction documents, plans, specifications, builder or installer certification, inspection reports, or other methods acceptable to the enforcing agency which show substantial conformance. Where specific documentation is necessary to verify compliance, that method of compliance needs to be specified in the appropriate section (or identified in the checklist).

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Compliance Forms

Chapter 8 of the CALGreen Code includes a number of compliance forms and worksheets that are intended to be used during the tracking and verification process. Enforcement agencies can use these forms and worksheets or they can adopt their own for compliance verification. Included are the following:

* Baseline Water Use Calculation Table
* 20% Reduction Water Use Calculation Table
* 30%, 35% or 40% Reduction Water Use Calculation Table
* Construction Waste Management Plan Sample Specifications
* Construction Waste Management Material Worksheet
* Construction Waste Management Acknowledgment

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Voluntary Measures

In addition to the mandatory measures described above, CALGreen also includes a number of voluntary measures for both residential and nonresidential building projects. The voluntary measures are included in the same five (5) basic categories as the mandatory measures but the voluntary measures are much more in depth.

Within the voluntary measures for both residential and nonresidential buildings are two (2) tiers (Tier 1 & Tier 2) of achievement. Each tier stipulates a number of voluntary measure prerequisites as well as electives from each general category which can be adopted by any local jurisdiction to create a green building standard that is more stringent than the CALGreen mandatory measures.

For example, let us assume that a jurisdiction has adopted the Tier 1 CALGreen standards for residential buildings. For simplicity, we will only explore the Energy Efficiency category requirements. Under these assumptions, this jurisdiction would need to mandate that all new residential buildings perform at 15% better than the CA Energy Code (Title 24, Part 6) since this is the Tier 1 prerequisite for the Energy Efficiency category. In addition, Tier 1 for residential buildings requires that four (4) electives are chosen from a list of over twenty (20) voluntary measures in the Energy Efficiency category. If this same jurisdiction were to upgrade to the Tier 2 requirements then all new residential buildings would be required to perform at 30% better than that CA Energy Code and six (6) electives from the list of voluntary measures would have to be selected.

This same concept applies to all of the basic categories, in that, prerequisites would need to be achieved within each category depending on the specified tier. In addition to the prerequisites for each general category, electives would also have to be chosen within each general category. This allows local jurisdictions to create a voluntary green building standard that is unique to that jurisdiction and that can, in some cases, match or eclipse the requirements of existing voluntary green building standards (i.e. LEED and GreenPoint Rated) which require a fee for certification. A Tier 1 or Tier 2 CALGreen voluntary green building standard would not require a certification fee.

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CALGreen Consulting Services

C. R. Taylor Green Consulting understands that this new statewide green building code requires some orientation and understanding to be successfully implemented by California's various local enforcement agencies and by the state's many building professionals.

This is why C. R. Taylor Green Consulting offers several professional services to assist your local enforcement agency or your design/construction firm with gaining a proper understanding of CALGreen and how to ensure a smooth transition into 2011 and beyond. Services include the following (click on the links for more information):

-CALGreen Orientation for Building Officials
-CALGreen Orientation for Builders
-Green Building Code Development
-CALGreen Project Management
-CALGreen Special Inspections


Contact C. R. Taylor Green Consulting to schedule a CALGreen orientation and/or a green building code development session today!

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