Atlanta green building ordinance tabled — yet again
September 20, 2009 at 11:23 pm by Thomas Wheatley in NewsFor months, eco-minded advocates and Atlanta’s real estate and development industries have locked horns over the city’s proposed green building ordinance.
But last Tuesday, city councilmembers gave both sides a Sept. 29 deadline to strike a compromise over the ordinance that supporters say could help Atlanta meet carbon reduction footprint goals, reduce wasteful consumption of energy and water, and become one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the nation.
The ordinance, which would cover all new construction except low-rise residential, has been in the works since June 2008. Put simply, it’s a helluva bill that encourages less water and energy use and encourages buildings designed to save energy. Sustainable Atlanta, the nonprofit group that’s been tasked with drafting the complicated legislation, tweaked and modified the provisions after Atlanta’s real estate and development community raised concerns.
Two months after the proposal was tabled because of those concerns, Sustainable Atlanta released a revised ordinance that included such non-monetary incentives as expedited permitting, city council recognition and a phased-in compliance date. (To view other revisions, some of which are complex, download a PDF of the changes. If any stand out as particularly surprising to you energy-efficiency gurus, send me a line or leave your thoughts in the comments.)
At Tuesday’s Community Development/Human Resources committee meeting, both sides aired their grievances and gave a peek at what sources have told CL has been a heated bout of policy making.
Developers, pointing to the city’s high ranking when it comes to the number of LEED-certifed buildings, said they support sustainability. But they’d prefer any green building ordinance be voluntary and include a laundry list of incentives. (Their talking points, courtesy of the NAIOP Georgia chapter website, offer a glimpse at some of their ideas. You can check them out here.) Mandates, industry representatives said, could hinder future growth and environmental efforts at a time when sustainable building has caught on among the city’s developers and builders. They asked councilmembers to delay a vote and allow them more time to review the revisions.
“We’ve got the train rolling and we want to get more people to jump on board,” Jeffrey Dehner, a land-use attorney who’s assisted the International Council of Shopping Centers, said, referring to Atlanta’s status as a green building leader. “We’re not opposed to sustainability. We’re not necessarily opposed to an ordinance. But are we opposed to [the current version of this ordinance]? Yes.”
Townsend Bailey of Sustainable Atlanta, however, said that Atlanta’s number of green buildings are misleading, as many of them are on college campuses that have pursued their own sustainability programs. He also said that some buildings bestowed with green certification have only satisfied some energy-efficient requirements. Bailey said the ordinance would guarantee that Atlantans living on low incomes would enjoy the same healthy and energy-efficient buildings that usually have been the dwellings and workplaces of the more affluent.
Environmental advocates including the Georgia Conservancy and Environment Georgia spoke in support of the ordinance and urged councilmembers to support it.
Sally Bethea of the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper urged councilmembers not to drag their feet on the issue. She pointed to a July 17 federal judge’s ruling that gave Georgia three years to receive Congress’ OK to use Lake Lanier for drinking water.
“Given [the judge's] decision this summer, we have no choice but to do everything we can to be as efficient as possible in the use of water,” Bethea said. “This sustainable building ordinance goes a long way towards making some really important improvements. Atlanta could be a leader in this and we urge you to move this forward as quickly as possible.”
She doubted the effectiveness of an ordinance that was voluntary.
“Incentives and mandates will get us out of this water crisis we’re in,” Bethea said. “Voluntary programs aren’t going to get us out of this. If that’s the goal of the development community, I think that’s totally inappropriate.”
Councilmembers expect a final version from city officials and Sustainable Atlanta consultants several days before the Sept. 29 committee meeting. At that time, the committee is expected to give an up-or-down vote on the measure. (For a full list of deadline dates and how to add your comments to the discussion, visit Sustainable Atlanta’s website about the ordinance.) If approved by committee, the ordinance would still have to face a full council vote.
September 21st, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Why is it that politicians claim to support the environment until it comes time to do something and then they freeze?