Green Building Law Blog : Green Building Lawyer & Attorney : Shari Shapiro: Calliope Communications, LLC

On Tuesday, Chris Christie (R) was elected as Governor of New Jersey.  His predecessor, Jon Corzine (D), instituted a number of programs through the state's administrative agencies to promote sustainable practices and green building.  So, what does this change in administration mean for green building in New Jersey, a leader among states in promoting green practices? 

Christie campaigned hard on issues like "controlling spending" and lowering New Jersey property taxes. He also proposed:

• Immediate freeze on proposed new agency rules and regulations.
• Sunset provisions for all new programs after 4 years. 

This will mean that anything in the pipeline of the administrative agencies will be frozen, and new green programs will be automatically sunsetted.

Christie seems to be pro-renewable energy, campaigning that he will:

• Renew NJ and the Choose New Jersey Energy Campaign. Consolidate all renewable energy manufacturing efforts and have New Jersey undergo a brand makeover to market and sell New Jersey’s resources to energy producers, innovators and developers.
• Incentivize energy manufacturing with tax credits. 100% of the corporate business taxes or the insurance premium tax for any wind turbine and manufacturing facility that locates in New Jersey.
• New Jersey will create higher-paying clean energy production jobs in the next four years. Commit to a 5/1 ratio of higher-paying, clean energy production jobs to lower paying, efficiency jobs. While New Jersey has one of the strongest renewable portfolio standards in the country, according to the US Energy Information Administration, the state actually ranks 43rd when it comes to generating renewable energy. 

The most interesting of these is "Commit to a 5/1 ratio of higher-paying, clean energy production jobs to lower paying, efficiency jobs." 

It is energy efficiency jobs which are predominantly blue collar, easy entry to work jobs.  And according to a recent McKinsey study, the economic and job vaue of energy efficiency has huge potential:

[B]etween 2009 and 2020, energy efficiency retrofits could generate between 500,000 and 750,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs through 2020.

Moreover, the low hanging fruit for energy savings and environmental stewardship--not to mention social equity--comes from energy efficiency, not renewable energy. According to the CleanTechies blog:

 A study done by a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist claimed that commissioning all of the nation’s commercial buildings would yield the greatest energy savings per dollar spent of any option, including wind and solar energy production. Commissioning involves fine tuning a building’s existing energy systems to improve performance and eliminate wasteful energy use.

 Hopefully, a candidate who campaigned on the concept of fiscal responsibility will realize the value of investment in energy efficiency programs before putting all of New Jersey's eggs in the renewable energy incentive basket.  Stay tuned...

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At the National Association of Home Builders' Green Conference in Dallas this weekend, conversation turned to retrofitting buildings.  There was universal acknowledgement among the homebuilders I spoke to that building new homes was going to be dwarfed by retrofitting and renovating existing dwellings for the next decade.   

There has been a lot of discussion about upgrading building codes to incorporate green standards.  ICC is working on a commercial green code, and ASHRAE recently released a new draft of standard 189, also for commercial green buildings.  NAHB developed an ANSI/ICC standard for residential green building, NAHB Green.     

The problem? Many building codes do not apply to residential renovations. In Pennsylvania, the Uniform Construction Code does not apply to: 

(8) Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) or 503 of the act (35 P. S. § § 7210.303(b)(1) and 7210.503). Under this subsection, a structural change does not include a minor framing change needed to replace existing windows or doors.
 
(9) Repairs to residential buildings, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) and 503 of the act.

So, even if the building codes are upgraded to be "green," many home renovations will not need to comply, thus leaving behind a big chunk of existing building stock.

One possible solution is to apply the standard new construction building code to all projects.  New York has recently announced its intention to do this with respect to its Energy Code.   Opponents argue that forcing every small house renovation to comply with the components of the comprehensive building code would be unnecessarily costly and burdernsome.

The other is to develop an existing building code, alongside the building code for new construction, that applies specifically to retrofits.  The ICC already has an existing building code, and it could be used as a base for creating appropriate green requirements for even small renovations.  The key is keeping the requirements simple and focused on key green priorities which can be addressed in even the smallest kitchen renovation--construction waste management, energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor air quality, and materials reuse. 

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