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
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
Update: For a rundown of green building provisions in the stimulus pacakge, see this post. This week, in preparation for my "Green in the Stimulus" presentation, I have been providing what I hope is interesting and useful information about the stimulus. Today we are briefly going to review a new website in Virginia, Stimulus.Virginia.gov, which … Continue Reading
Update: For a rundown of green building provisions in the stimulus pacakge, see this post. Yesterday, while preparing for my "Green in the Stimulus" talk, I came across something both hilarious and frightening. StimulusWatch.org has provided an inventory of proposed projects that could benefit from the stimulus. The list was prepared from a list of … Continue Reading
Update: For a rundown of green building provisions in the stimulus pacakge, see this post. On February 17, CNN ran the above headline after President Obama signed the stimulus bill. To me, a more perfect headline could not have been written. Ever since I read about the stimulus bill, one particular nuance has interested … Continue Reading
Update: For a rundown of green building provisions in the stimulus pacakge, see this post. Love it or hate it, the stimulus package was signed into law yesterday. In the coming months and years, $787 billion is going to be used to support new projects, developments and tax cuts throughout the country. Set aside … Continue Reading
To start this post, I want to thank Rick Fedrizzi , CEO of the United States Green Building Council. On February 12, I attended a breakfast hosted by Bisnow at which Mr. Fedrizzi was the guest speaker. I really appreciated his speech – he did not ignore the current economic climate but talked about the opportunities that will emerge from the green … Continue Reading
[Green Building Law Update is achieving another first: our first guest post! Christopher G. Hill is a Virginia construction attorney and recently started a legal blog, Construction Law Musings. I first met Chris through Twitter and I appreciate his willingness to discuss green building legal issues.] By: Christopher G. Hill Lately terms such as LEED … Continue Reading
Last week, we discussed a law in Virginia that prohibits municipalities from creating green building codes or mandates. In short, Dillon’s Rule only grants to municipalities those powers that are explicitly granted by the state. The Virginia Code has specifically granted the power to create a building code to the state; municipalities, on the other … Continue Reading
Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking at the William and Mary Environmental Law & Policy Review symposium "It’s Not Easy Building Green." The students did a fantastic job and the audience was large and engaged. In particular, Mark Pike organized an interactive web 2.0 experience for the symposium that was quite impressive. Many … Continue Reading
I hope you survived the dramatic cliffhanger from Monday. Now, time to answer the question, how do Virginia cities and counties regulate green building if they cannot adopt a building code? Such a dramatic pause for such a mundane answer: zoning ordinances. The Virginia code specifically delegates to the municipalities the right to create zoning … Continue Reading
This past weekend, I spent a lot of time preparing a slideshow for the William & Mary Environmental Law & Policy Review Symposium, "It’s Not Easy Being Green." As you may recall, I will be presenting on green building regulations in Virginia. Guess what we are going to discuss on Green Building Law Update this … Continue Reading
Today, we bring you a first on Green Building Law Update: my first radio interview. Vik Duggal, over at Konstructr, was kind enough to invite me to be a guest on his KCast interview series. Konstructr is basically Facebook for the construction industry. Some of the topics we discuss include green building attorneys, President Obama’s proposed economic recovery package, … Continue Reading
Back in October of 2008, in the midst of the economic turmoil, Green Building Law Update wrote that governments should reconsider requiring green building certification for projects. With the deepening economic recession, some governments are now supporting green building projects while specifically not requiring certification. A recent New York Times article highlighted green building developments … Continue Reading
Here at Green Building Law Update, sometimes we wonder if we are just talking to our parents and significant other. Then we get a comment or a great email from one of our readers and we realize someone is actually paying attention. With that said, what happened this past week in the green building industry … Continue Reading