What's New?
1.
AltBuild Expo
Come to the 5th Annual AltBuild Materials
and Design Expo at its new location, the Santa Monica Civic Center
Auditorium!
2. Green Building
Ordinance approved by Council
On April 8, 2008, by
a vote of 5-2, the City Council introduced for first reading on
ordinance proposing changes to the City's green building program. Read a summary of the proposed changes
here. Also
approved was a proposal to expand the City's
Green Building Grant program to residential projects certified under LEED for Homes. (staff
report)
3. Expedited Permitting for LEED Buildings
The City
of Santa Monica has long tried to encourage green building practices.
Now, in addition to financial incentives for green building, the city
has passed an ordinance that will allow expedited plan checks for LEED
registered projects. This expediting process may take weeks off of
the approval process. For more information contact Greg Reitz,
Green Building Advisor (310) 458-8549.
4.
Residential
Green Building Guide
The new Residential Green
Building Guide is now available online. Use it to help you learn
more and set green building goals for your new construction or home
improvement project.
Download it
here (2.9 MB).
5. Green Building
Grants
The City of Santa Monica offers a grant program to encourage construction of LEED™ certified buildings and implementation of Innovative Green Building Technologies. Grants for LEED™ certified buildings will range from $20,000 to $35,000 depending on the level of certification. Innovative Technology Grants will cover 50% of project costs up to $5000 for new construction or renovation projects that involve cutting edge energy efficiency or urban runoff mitigation technologies.
LEED™ Green Building Grants
Program Details
Innovative Technologies
Grants Program Details
Innovative Technologies Grant -
Performance Levels
Grants Application
6.
GSA LEED Cost Study The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)
commissioned this ground breaking study, completed in October 2004, to
estimate the costs to develop "green" federal facilities using the U.S.
Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
Building Rating System, Version 2.1. The report provides a detailed and
structured review of both the hard cost and soft cost implications of
achieving Certified, Silver, and Gold LEED ratings for two GSA building
types, using GSA's established design standards as the point of
comparison.
http://www.wbdg.org/references/ccbdoc.php?i=280
7.
Green Building
Resource Center. 2218 Main Street, Santa Monica. (310)
452-7677. The Green Building Resource Center is operated by Global
Green, USA with the support of the City of Santa Monica. The
Center is open to the public Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday from 10 AM -
3 PM and Thursday evenings from 3 PM - 8 PM. The Center has
numerous samples of environmentally preferable building materials,
informational resources such as books and magazines, referral lists of
green architects and consultants, and knowledgeable staff to answer
visitors' questions. Regular monthly seminars will also be hosted
at the Center. Drop by during the Center's hours of operation to
learn more about green building!
8.
Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings Do you want to build
green but are concerned it costs too much? The most comprehensive study
of the costs and benefits of green building yet, produced by the
California Integrated Waste Management Board, shows the real financial
implications of green buildings. On average, LEED certified buildings in
California cost 2% more to build but payback that amount 10 times over
20 years.
9.
NRDC Building
The Natural Resource Defense Council recently completed their West
Coast Headquarters in the downtown area of Santa Monica. It is designed
to qualify for the extremely difficult to attain Platinum rating under
the LEED certification program.
10.
Public Safety Facility The City recently inaugurated the new
headquarters for the Police and Fire Departments. Link to the highlights
of this highly sustainable building.
11.
Green Building Affordable Housing Checklist The City of Santa
Monica strongly encourages the use of green building practices in
affordable housing projects. This checklist was developed by Global
Green to encourage developers to incorporate such practices wherever
possible.
