Recommendations For Drafting Sustainable Building Ordinances

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The experience of Taos reflects the importance of achieving the three perspectives in drafting a sustainable building ordinance. Several key recommendations emerge for other jurisdictions seeking to mitigate global climate change through the adoption of local ordinances.

Also, the scale of ARRA and the prominent role of local government in its implementation make this brief initiative a rare opportunity for local governments to demonstrate their value as an intergovernmental partner for this and future initiatives.

Substantial administrative responsibilities, including reporting requirements, are compulsory for ARRA fund recipients. These responsibilities cannot be absorbed easily into the existing workloads of current employees, especially at a time when many local governments have reduced their administrative staffs in response to their own budget crises.

1. Respect the Local Context
The consultants researched similar high performance building ordinances passed cheap Cartier jewelry in comparable jurisdictions. Directly applying a similar ordinance to the ...
... Town of Taos would not adequately address the local needs, character, and capacity.

Taos has long tradition of applying principles of sustainable development. For example, Taos is the home to KTAO, the largest solar-powered radio station. There are numerous homes, businesses, and communities that have pioneered the use of gray water systems to conserve water and solar and wind energy for electricity sources.
The Town Council preferred to support an ordinance that offered incentives for continued innovation in energy and resource efficient designs rather than prescriptive regulations that would prompt uniform application.

2. Leverage State and National Resources
Taos had the political will—but not necessarily the experience—to develop an effective ordinance to promote energy and water conservation. The town received a grant from the State of New Mexico to hire consultants to research and draft an ordinance. This initial injection of resources was critical to the comprehensive assessment of analogous ordinances implemented in other jurisdictions.

The consultants also capitalized on residential and commercial energy efficiency rating systems developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Green Building Council, respectively, in framing flexible but ambitious applications of energy efficiency.

From the outset, state and local government officials expressed concern over what they feared was insufficient funding to cover their accountability and administrative duties. Although subsequent guidelines relieved some of these fears, it is important to remember that the provision of adequate management oversight and administrative support is essential for the success of these projects.
Given the broad array of programs and projects being funded under ARRA, the task of designing and prescribing suitable outcome measures for every type of project would be daunting, even if granted adequate time to do so.

3. Anticipate Administrative Burdens
Given the small size of the town government—with only two employees in the building department—the ordinance needed to limit additional administrative and enforcement burden on the staff. The final ordinance reflected this reality. Requiring residential construction to meet HERS standards that gradually phase in from 2009 through 2012 would not place additional enforcement burden on the building inspectors.

HERS is a systematic energy audit that provides a standard measurement of a Cartier Jewelry home's energy efficiency. The HERS audit is completed by trained and certified third-party professionals hired by the builders. The ordinance only required that the building permit include a HERS certificate documenting that the residence meets the mandated energy efficiency rating score.

For water conservation, there was no equivalent system to the HERS certificate, therefore the steering committee proposed focusing on enforcement requirements that did not require additional professional capacity of the town building inspectors. Water conservation policies that were pioneered in other jurisdictions, such as providing refunds for residences with catch water systems, would require additional administrative capacity.