Changes to the green legislation eased the burden on builders, but retained the intent of the environmentally friendly laws, officials say.
“A lot of our members are already doing [green building techniques] and are comfortable with the language,” said Heidi Gaasch, director of government and community affairs for the Howard County Chamber of Commerce.
With the series of amendments adopted by the Howard County Council on Monday, County Executive Ken Ulman?s green bills essentially require private developers to go through the process toward achieving certification in nationally accepted Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, techniques. They are no longer required to become certified.
Publicly funded buildings of more than 10,000 square feet must be certified.
Among the changes were:
» Remove the bond that assures a building will be certified;
» Impose fines on developers who do not apply for certification;
» Increase the size of private buildings to apply for certification from 20,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet.
This made the legislation “more palatable,” but didn?t weaken it, said William Erskine, a land use attorney with Reese and Carney LLC.
Most builders applying for LEED certification are expected to achieve it, he said.
Green building consultant David Pratt said the laws still will achieve the intended result and the county could have a large number of higher-rated LEED certified buildings.
“The spirit is still there,” he said.
Councilman Greg Fox, R-District 5, a vocal critic of the legislation, called the package an “unmandated mandate,” but said the changes took away “most of the almost ridiculous hurdles” and improved the legislation.
Removing the bond and increasing the building size were the most important amendments, he said.
“It brings the predictability and balance that was missing,” Fox said.
The result was a compromise, “but it?s still incredibly strong legislation,” Ulman said. “I believe this county moved forward dramatically.”
