My friends over at Sensible City recently offered me the opportunity to interview Eric Corey Freed. It’s not everyday I get to interview someone who was just interviewed by the New York Times so I jumped at the chance. Even better, Eric is an "organic architect" and studied under a former student of Frank Lloyd … Continue Reading
It may surprise you to learn that I have a real job. Seriously, I do and I love it! I am a construction litigator and I am currently involved in a major construction delay claim. I have been preparing a motion the last few days, hence the late filing of today’s post. There is a … Continue Reading
While we have all (or at least I have) been focusing on the federal stimulus and its effect on the green building industry, an interesting development occurred in Virginia that may impact the future of a statewide green building regulation. In past posts, I highlighted Governor Tim Kaine’s attempts to pass a statewide green building … Continue Reading
Last week, I had the pleasure of testifying before the D.C. Council regarding green building policies in the district. As mentioned in my post last week, the focus of my testimony was the Green Building Act’s “performance bond” requirement. Before my testimony, I had the opportunity to hear George Hawkins, Director of the District Department … Continue Reading
[Today we are interviewing Joan Kelsch, an environmental planner for the Arlington County Government. I first met Joan when she agreed to sit down with me and discuss the Arlington County green building bonus density program. I really appreciate the green building incentive program put in place by Arlington County. To learn about changes to the … Continue Reading
I am very excited for an event taking place today: the Public Oversight Roundtable on Green Building Practices hosted by the Council of D.C. Committee on Government Operations and the Environment. As you may recall, Green Building Law Update has repeatedly discussed the "performance bond" requirement of the D.C. Green Building Act . As currently … Continue Reading
Well, that wasn’t much time to get prepared. The Department of Energy has released the first installment of funding for the Weatherization Assistance Program and the State Energy Program. "To jump-start job creation and weatherization work, the Department of Energy is releasing the first installment of the funding – about $780 million — in the … Continue Reading
One of the first real conversations I had through Green Building Law Update was with Erica Bannerman. Erica was kind enough to ask me a loaded question about Virginia municipalities mandating green building while complying with Dillon’s Rule (turns out, municipalities can’t mandate green building). I soon found out that Erica is a Senior Environmental Specialist … Continue Reading
I have been working with the D.C. City Council recently on revisions to the D.C. Green Building Act of 2007. In particular, I have been looking for an enforcement mechanism that can be used to ensure compliance with LEED certification requirements for commercial buildings. The problem is that the current Green Building Act requires a … Continue Reading
As promised, below is the slideshow from last week’s "Green in the Stimulus" presentation as part of Rutherfoord’s Trends in Green Building seminar. Unfortunately, I have not figured out how to synchronize audio files with a slideshow – maybe next time. I had two goals when I created this presentation: (1) Explain the green building … Continue Reading
[GBLU Note: Awhile back, I had the pleasure of hearing Darren Prum speak at the William & Mary symposium, "It’s Not Easy Building Green." Darren’s presentation regarding Nevada’s problematic green building legislation was fascinating. I asked Darren to write something up for Green Building Law Update on the topic. Darren’s post is very timely. State and … Continue Reading
Update: For a rundown of green building provisions in the stimulus pacakge, see this post. Thank you to everyone who attended Rutherfoord’s "Trends in Green Building" seminar yesterday and listened to my "Green in the Stimulus" presentation. It was great to recognize so many faces in the crowd. If you came up and spoke to … Continue Reading
Update: For a rundown of green building provisions in the stimulus pacakge, see this post. I am wrapping up my "Green in the Stimulus" presentation for tomorrow and wanted to provide more information that may benefit your company as you seek out green stimulus projects. As you prepare to bid federal and state projects, relationships … Continue Reading
