Opposition to Portland's Scaled-Back Green Regulation
Last week, Green Building Law Update highlighted Portland's innovative green building regulation that includes a "Feebate" system to encourage green building development. According to this OregonLive article, City Commissioner Dan Saltzman unveiled a previous version of the green building program nearly one year ago at the USGBC's Greenbuild event in Chicago. The reception in Portland to the previously proposed policy was not good:
Upon returning home, however, a firestorm of resistance singed the commissioner and nearly torched the entire policy. Saltzman retreated, forming committees -- adding the Realtors and homebuilders who were left out of initial discussions -- to rework the policy.
The final Portland green building program removed regulations for owners of existing homes. Despite the removal of residential requirements, opposition still remains:
The policy has already laid bare a rift among the larger Portland real estate players, mirroring a division apparent nationwide. The nation's biggest commercial developers have caught onto the green-building trend and often brag about their energy efficiency strides and certification plaques. . . .
But Earth-friendly standards for homebuilders have been slower to develop. Certification programs are more varied, and the residential industry remains hostile to government requirements -- even if the rules promise rebates for compliance.
Dave Nielsen, chief executive officer of the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland, said Saltzman is rushing to impose new rules without assessing their potential impact. Buyers of new homes might or might not recoup the higher price they pay for energy efficiency measures, Nielsen said.
"They have no clue in terms of what the costs are to do this and what the value will be, to the consumer or the value of the home," Nielsen said. "They're just trying to be first to something, and it's crazy."
Based on Mr. Saltzman's quotes, residential developers are concerned about the additional costs associated with "green" homes. As suggested by the CoStar Group Study published in early 2008, commercial green building projects result in increased profits and sales. The residential "green" market has not developed to the extent of the commercial "green" market. As a result, governments wishing to create a market for "green" residential projects should create incentives for green home developers. Whether Portland's "Feebate" is the proper incentive structure for such a program remains to be seen.
Related Links:
- Saltzman offers scaled-back green building policy (OregonLive.com)
- Portland's Battle To Legislate Green Building (Green Building Law Blog)
- A Tale of Two Cities: Portland's Feebate (GBLU)
Some home builders have a lot to lose from the sustainable movement, since some of them reap enormous profit margins from building as cheaply/poorly as possible; and environmental regulations and standards will surely negatively affect those that use this business model. Traditional methods of home building and subedevelopment creation are also very closely tied to unsustainable practices particularly regarding deforestation, land degradation, water use and runoff, and many other land development issues.
Nevertheless, some builders are already on-board with the green movement and they will probably be the ones most likely to be in the best business positions in the "new economy", once we manage to get ourselves out of the fiery ashes of this one.
Jason,
As always, thanks for the comment.
Does anyone want to estimate how far behind the green building residential sector is behind the green building commercial sector? I was noticing definite signs of LEED for Homes picking up prior to the economic downturn.
Chris