City Council wants builders to go green
By Darleen Principe darleen@theacorn.com

The Simi Valley City Council wants to reduce resource consumption, improve air and water quality, and create a sustainable community by adopting a "green building" program.

During a meeting of the City Council last week, council members discussed the possibility of forming a committee that could help city staff and interested developers initiate environmentally responsible practices. The committee could include representatives from the Chamber of Commerce and the Building Industry Association.

Councilmember Glen Becerra, whose job with Southern California Edison involves working with elected officials in developing green policies, suggested forming the committee and volunteered to take part in it.

"I'm really thrilled about this," Becerra said. "I think we're going in the right direction. There are a lot of things we should do."

Among city staff's suggestions for incorporating green building practices were updating the General Plan to reflect green goals and policies, adopting construction requirements asking builders to achieve official green certification and implementing construction waste reduction strategies.

Becerra said the concept could also be expanded to include alternative forms of transportation throughout the city.

"It's really about the sustainability of the community," Becerra said. "I'd like to see us take this a few more steps further and do a larger look."

According to a city staff report, green construction methods generally include recycling construction materials, implementing energyefficient techniques and appliances, planting shade trees and using green materials like permeable pavement that allows water to re-enter the soil instead of running off the site.

"As awareness of climate change and other associated environmental issues continues to grow, green policies and programs will likely play an increasing role in attracting progressive businesses and new residents to the city of Simi Valley," the report states.

There are two major types of green building certification accepted throughout California. One type is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system offered by the United States Green Building Council. The other is the GreenPoint Rated system offered by Build It Green, a California organization that promotes the implementation of consistent green building standards throughout the state.

In July, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors adopted an action plan specifically aimed at trying to reduce greenhouse gases.

In recent years, the cities of Los Angeles, Pasadena, Santa Barbara and Ventura have all formally adopted ordinances or General Plan updates incorporating green building methods.

Although the cities of Thousand Oaks, Camarillo and Oxnard have not formally adopted green building ordinances or plans, they are all involved in advocating the concept through educational or incentive programs.