With a new Mayor and new faces on the City Council, it is not surprising if Dallas takes a new direction on many fronts. Green building will be one of them.
Four years ago, newly-elected Mayor Tom Leppert made it clear to our Dallas Division that his goal was to make Dallas “the greenest city in America” and that “green building was going to be a big part of the city’s sustainable portfolio.”
As soon as that challenge was issued, a task force was formed and no fewer than 70 meetings were held as the group went down a wayward path to their eventual result. That result was mostly positive for the industry as the ordinance was divided into two phases. The first phase, effective in 2008, addressed energy (15% above code) and water efficiency. The second phase, scheduled for October of this year, was to require a choice of recognized green building programs such as Green Built Texas or LEED.
Fast forward three years and we arrive at the point where the ordinance requires the task force to reconvene and evaluate the path forward. Obviously a lot has changed since 2007 from an economic and regulatory standpoint leaving the task force to evaluate factors that could not really be contemplated or anticipated the first time around. Those include:
• The economy has taken its toll. Attrition has hit the city just about as hard as it has our industry leaving fewer building inspectors and administrative support staff.
• Energy codes are advancing. Ironically, the 2009 energy code that the city just adopted is more efficient than the 15% threshold that was in the original green building ordinance.
• Interesting legal issues have called into question a city’s ability to mandate above code performance in a manner that conflicts with federal requirements for equipment efficiency such as HVAC.
• Even the most ardent champions of the LEED program admit that it is very difficult to tie the program’s requirements to a traditional building inspection and permitting process.
• To address the previous point, the International Code Council is conceiving the International Green Construction Code (IGCC). However, the IGCC will not be available until next year and, like all codes, will still need to be vetted at the regional level by the Council of Governments.
With these factors in mind, the task force recommended the following strategies that seem to be the way the city is headed; at least for now:
• Phase 2 of the original ordinance will be delayed until at least some time in 2012 meaning that Phase 1 will remain effective for the foreseeable future with some modifications.
• Recognizing that the energy code itself is setting the bar for energy efficiency, projects will simply have to meet or exceed the 2009 code instead of meeting the 15% threshold. On paper this is not a huge change, but practically this could save multifamily projects several thousand dollars by not having to energy model to ASHRAE 90.1 (2004). COMcheck (2009) will suffice as will the Texas A&M IC3 software (2009) for single family homes.
• Along with the “choose four out of six” list or use Green Built Texas or LEED for water efficiency compliance, the modified Phase 1 will allow for other strategies that reduce water consumption by at least 20% (as compared to the base Dallas Plumbing Code).
• Green plan reviews and inspections will be handled by qualified third parties. HBA members will benefit from this as Green Built Texas verifiers will be able to provide this service that will relieve some of the burdens of city staff.
• The city will monitor the evolution of the International Green Construction Code and encourage the Council of Governments to review it as soon as possible. The IGCC covers mid-rise multifamily structures so the HBA will remain involved in its development in order to ensure that it is a feasible strategy for our region.
These changes are on track for adoption by the city council in August or September. With so much still up in the air with the IGCC, the economy, and with Green Built Texas making wholesale modifications to its programs, I firmly believe the city is taking a prudent strategy. As with most things, getting there did not come easy. There are always those who want the city to mandate a lot more, but thanks to the involvement from HBA members a good result for our industry has been achieved; at least for now.
Revised Dallas Green Building Ordinance
About Phil Crone
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