What's Happening from Environmental Building News
Boulder County Limits Energy Use for Homes
Boulder County, Colorado, has seen a surge in the size of its homes: the median size of a new home has risen from 2,881 ft
2 (267 m
2) in 1990 to 6,290 ft
2 (584 m
2) in 2006, while the overall median home size has risen to 3,100 ft
2 (290 m
2). But both the County and the City of Boulder have been working on progressive ordinances to encourage green building and limit home size.
The Boulder County BuildSmart (BCBS) program, an amendment to the energy-efficiency portion of the County’s residential building code, goes into effect on May 1, 2008. It requires better energy efficiency for bigger homes: a 1,000-ft
2 (90-m
2) home must have a HERS Index of 85 or lower (also the threshold for Energy Star), while a 5,001-ft
2 (464-m
2) home must earn a HERS Index of 10 or lower (lower numbers in the HERS Index mean higher energy efficiency). If an old home is torn down to make way for a new one, the square footage of the demolished one is added to that of the new one to calculate the energy-efficiency requirements. Homes larger than 3,000 ft
2 (280 m
2) must offset at least 50% of their energy use through an onsite renewable energy system in addition to meeting the HERS requirements.
BCBS also requires water-efficiency measures, including high-efficiency (1.3 gallons per flush; 4.9 liters per flush) or dual-flush toilets, low-flow showerheads and faucets, and water-efficient appliances. The program encourages, but does not require, advanced framing techniques and environmentally preferable materials as well as indoor air quality measures and outdoor water conservation. According to Ben Pearlman, a Boulder County commissioner, these recommended measures are intended to broaden the reach of the program: “We know the impacts of structures go far beyond their energy use,” he said.
The City of Boulder has passed a very similar ordinance, updating the Green Points program, creating green building requirements for new residential construction (see
EBN
Vol. 7, No. 3). The program requires all homes to earn points for green building strategies, with larger homes subject to more stringent requirements than smaller homes. New to the program is a stepped energy-efficiency requirement (above and beyond the Green Points requirements) similar to that enacted by the County that requires all new homes to be at least 30% more efficient than required by the international code.
While BCBS and Green Points could increase the cost of larger homes by requiring better performance from them, the Expanded Transferable Development Rights (TDR) ordinance being voted on by Boulder County in May 2008 would put a direct price on home size. The ordinance would require new homes over 4,500 ft
2 (420 m
2) to purchase development credits from the County.
Property rights advocates argue that the County does not have the right to regulate home size, however, and environmentalists have expressed concerns about a one-size-fits-all solution for a complex problem. Alison Ray, an assistant project manager for Ecofutures Building in Boulder, says that the BuildSmart program in the county and the Green Points program in the city, with their stepped energy requirements, are a much smarter way to encourage environmentally sensitive building. Ecofutures specializes in energy-efficient and net-zero-energy homes that are often large—a recent project totaled 7,000 ft
2 (650 m
2)—but use environmentally preferable products. According to Ray, a home-size limit is more about controlling the look and feel of a neighborhood or region than it is about limiting environmental impacts. Ray added, “I also worry that TDRs will be difficult to allocate and manage,” sapping strained County government resources.
A similar ordinance is under consideration in the City of Boulder and is also meeting stiff resistance. The City Council was considering an interim ordinance limiting the ratio of a building’s floor area to the site area, the
floor-area ratio, but the city’s planning board opposes it, and the City Council has agreed to reconsider it. Like broadly limiting home size, limiting floor-area ratios citywide would not take neighborhood variations into consideration and could decrease density, which is usually considered good for the environment.
– Allyson Wendt
For More Information:
Boulder County Land Use Department
Boulder, Colorado
303-441-3930
www.bouldercounty.org/lu/
City of Boulder
Boulder, Colorado
303-441-3388
www.ci.boulder.co.us/
May 1, 2008
DISCUSSIONS
Reader-contributed comments related to Boulder County Limits Energy Use for Homes - EBN: 17:5. Comments are listed with newest at the top.
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Photo: Ecofutures Building
More comments
The BuildSmart code enacted by Boulder County, Colorado, is unreasonable, impracticable, over reaching, and is going to be very costly to home buyers and home owners. New housing in the county will be available only to the rich; remodeling, updating or expanding existing homes will be an option for the most affluent – everyone else best look outside the county to live. The existing housing stock is where the greatest gains in energy efficiency can be made, yet this code by its very high standards will in all likelihood discourage those normal and needed upgrades in existing homes that typically lead to energy improvements. In its abundant enthusiasm and will to be leaders of the righteous kind, the county commissioners have even cast a wide net around “exterior energy uses” - even outdoor kitchens will only be allowed if their energy use is offset by onsite renewables. Ridiculous. They’ve sent builders scrambling to figure out how a home that can actually be sold can be built, and home owners will soon find that simple upgrades to their current homes are anything but simple, let alone affordable.