LA: Build green or else

LA: it’s not all vacuous starlets and gangs and smog. No, it’s more than that. It’s vacuous starlets and gangs and smog and a brand spanking new green building ordinance, signed into law this week by the city’s mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

The Private Sector Green Building Plan will mean that builders putting up new homes for the serially rich and other assorted LA residents will be subject to some carrots and sticks to get them to meet the LEED green building standards.

Apparently, all this ordinance – only for those projects of 50,000 square feet or 50 units – will mean a cut of 80,000 tons of carbon by 2012.

According to the city, these will be those lovely juicy carrots and unbending sticks:

• Expedite processing through all departments, if LEED Silver designation is met.

• Initiate an ongoing review of city codes to ease use of environmentally sound and superior materials and processes.

• Create a cross-departmental Sustainability Team to review and revise green building policies and specific projects. They will meet weekly so that the development community can enjoy ongoing interaction with City staff.

• Direct City General Managers and department and agency heads (namely Planning, Building and Safety, Public Works, Water and Power, Transportation, and CRA) to train and certify their staff in green building methods and policies and/or as LEED Accredited Professionals. This training should be ongoing and appear in each departmental annual budget.

• Work with the Board of DWP Commissioners to continue to add DWP financial incentives for projects that meet green building standards.

• Create and confer the Mayor’s Annual Award of Excellence in Sustainable Design & Construction to recognize exemplary efforts by individuals and companies in the private sector.