Seattle’s Green
Building EVOLUTION
The
City Green Building team takes an exciting new step in 2012. Beginning in
January, part of the “green team” will join forces with the Office of
Sustainability and Environment (OSE). Staff focused on policy development will
become part of OSE, and those focused on green codes and permitting will stay
with the Department of Planning and Development (DPD), as part of the Operations
Division. As this next step unfolds, both DPD and OSE will continue to develop
and implement innovative approaches to building sustainable
neighborhoods.
City
Green Building’s mission -- making green building standard practice -- has held
fast over ten plus years. The City of Seattle’s legacy as a national leader has
fostered local adoption of green building practices, moving beyond the early
adopters to the mainstream market. “Seattle’s green building growth has been
exponential. Given the current level of green building expertise and
innovation in the private market and in regional organizations we need to
continue to evolve our vision and approach,” said Sandra Mallory, Program
Manager for City Green Building. “If we are to achieve a climate neutral
Seattle, then our green building policies and initiatives need to fit within a
broader context.”
The
evolution of the green building program naturally led to greater coordination
with the Office of Sustainability and Environment, the City’s primary office
for urban sustainability policy development. “Over the past years, the green
team and OSE have worked closely together on numerous initiatives, including
co-leading the Green Building Task Force which in turn led to programs like
Community Power Works, Energy Benchmarking and Priority Green permitting.
Consolidating our efforts will better align work in overlapping areas and allow
the City to expand our work on environmental priorities,” said Jill Simmons,
Director of OSE.
Within
DPD the green team has worked to support both typical and advanced green
building projects through education, incentives and program development. “DPD
has been a long-standing advocate for green building from within City
government. We have invested in our staff – teaching green building strategies
so that our reviewers are ready to help applicants when they come in,” said
Diane Sugimura, the Director of the Department of Planning and Development. “We
remain committed to removing barriers to green building and encouraging
innovative sustainability practices.”
In
2012 DPD will remain focused on growing green permitting, on supporting the
Living Building Challenge pilot and on evaluating the International Green
Construction Code (IgCC) for potential adoption in Seattle. Planning staff will
work closely with OSE to implement land use policies that advance green
building. Green building staff in OSE will be working on implementing the
Sustainable Building and Sites policy, development of a city Resource
Conservation Plan, and providing ongoing management and support of the energy
benchmarking program and the 2030 District.
For more information about these efforts, please visit the following websites.
For more information about these efforts, please visit the following websites.
Office
of Sustainability and Environment: www.seattle.gov/environment
Seattle
Green Building: www.seattle.gov/greenbuilding
Priority
Green: www.seattle.gov/dpd/prioritygreen
For
more information:
Rebecca
Baker
206-615-1171
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