Green Building Law Update : Green Building & Construction LEED AP, Lawyer & Attorney Chris Cheatham : Washington DC, Virginia, New York City

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Every year, as the calendar turns over, a host of new regulations take effect.  In California, January 1, 2011 marked the introduction of CALGreen, the California green building code.  The California government has produced a guide to CalGreen, which I found informative:

“The 2010 California Green Building Standards Code is a code with mandatory requirements for new residential and nonresidential buildings (including buildings for retail, office, public schools and hospitals) throughout California beginning on January 1, 2011. The code is Part 11 of the California Building Standards Code in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations and is also known as the CALGreen Code.”

If you are interested in a more thorough review of CALGreen, I would recommend Imad Naffa’s post on the subject.  Here are some quick thoughts I have on CALGreen:

• Whenever I read about new building codes, I always wonder whether code officials will be prepared to enforce them.  This question is specifically addressed in the guide: “Chapter 7 of the CALGreen Code provides a guideline for minimum inspector qualification criteria.”

• I noted that CALGreen requires commissioning of new buildings.  Commissioning involves calibrating the building’s systems to make sure they are running as designed.  Commissioning is often cited as one of the more expensive aspects of a green building; but it can also ensure a green building works properly.  It will be interesting to see how the California real estate industry responds to mandatory commissioning. 

• California is often a bell-weather state for new green building trends.  Will statewide building codes become more common?