Mayor signs Green Building Law
On March 10, Mayor Ellen O. Moyer signed into law 0-56-07, the City of Annapolis Green Building Law. Annapolis joins approximately 60 other communities around the country in adopting Green Building standards.
The Green Building law will impact all new construction and major modifications to residential and commercial structures of greater then 7,500 square feet; all new construction and major modifications of public buildings regardless of size, and private buildings that receive 30 percent public funding; and all new construction single family residential dwellings of five or more homes and individual single family homes of 3,200 square feet or greater.
Commencing Jan. 1, 2009, all public buildings under the legislation would have to be U.S. Green Building Council LEED certified Silver, or the equivalent and affected commercial construction would have to be LEED certified, or the equivalent. Commencing July 1, 2009, all included single family residential construction would have to be LEED certified, or the equivalent.
Buildings are significant consumers of energy and other resources, and can contribute to local microclimates. According to the EPA, as of December 2004, in the United States buildings account for 39 percent of the total energy use, 12 percent of the water consumption, 68 percent of the electricity consumption and 38 percent of the total carbon dioxide emissions. Given the long lifetime of most buildings, amending local building codes to include minimum energy efficiency requirements and periodically updating energy efficiency codes could provide long-term GHG and energy consumption savings. Green Building standards also address indoor air quality and low impact site design considerations.
If you should have any questions, contact Michael D. Mallinoff, Director, Neighborhood and Environmental Programs at mdmallinoff@annapolis.gov.
