Last week we posted 3 questions about the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) on Open City Hall. Thank you to everyone who participated and left us their feedback.
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We’re wrapping up our online polling with questions about how the UDO should handle high performance (green) buildings. The proposed UDO includes new high performance standards for both residential and commercial buildings.
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The proposal would require some manner of third-party green building certification for new construction or substantial renovations that exceed 50% of a building’s pre-renovation market value. It would also require new construction buildings to achieve higher tightness standards, making them less leaky than Georgia Residential Energy Code currently allows.
Go to the city’s Open City Hall page now to learn more and let us know what you think. The questions close Sept. 14 at 11:59 p.m.
For more information:
Draft High Performance Building Ordinance Language – this is the proposed code language that would be included in the Draft 2 of the Unified Development Ordinance to be released in late September.
High Performance Buildings Overview– Highlights the background and main components of the proposal.
High Performance Buildings Examples– Provides a few examples of green building projects here in Decatur and the associated costs.
There is no such thing as a “pre-renovation market value”. The market value of all buildings that are NOT sold currently is unknown. In fact, q.v. the mortgage crisis, if more buildings came to market than the normal level in the low one-digit percent, ALL buildings to be renovated would fall within that category as the market price would plummet so much that most renovations all of a sudden would be above 50% of that fictitiously low figure! On the other hand, the moment you enact such a law, tying “green” renovation to the “market” price (of your definition), magically all renovations would tend to e.g. fall into the “49%” range. Mystic coincidence. UNLESS “green” renovation were of economic value over and above “normal” renovation. But THEN no one would need regulation nor incentives. You see what I am driving at?!