Aspen For Stricter Green Building Standards

ASPEN, CO - Aspen is on its way to joining the 2030 Challenge, a green-building initiative that requires steep cutbacks in greenhouse gas emissions produced by new construction and major renovations of both commercial and residential buildings. Although research still needs to be done on how efficiency measures could be implemented in historic building renovations, Aspen City Council members agreed Monday that the city should sign on to the plan.

Communities that participate in the 2030 Challenge, there are only a handful at this point, agree to enact building codes requiring new construction and major renovations to achieve 50 percent better efficiency than the national or regional average. The efficiency standards are then ramped up over time, jumping 10 percent every five years, until building codes require all buildings to be carbon neutral sometime around 2030.

A carbon neutral building uses energy efficient construction materials and on-site renewable energy to create a building that generates all its energy from renewable sources. Any gaps are made up by purchasing renewable energy generated off site or by purchasing carbon offset credits, although the program aims to keep the offset total below 20 percent of total energy use.

The city has already adopted the Canary Action Plan, which mandates a communitywide reduction in greenhouse gasses by 30 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050. Progress on that front will be known by the end of the year, when the city releases its first greenhouse gas emissions inventory since the Canary Initiative was enacted in 2004.

Aspen's current building code already is designed to create buildings that are 30 percent more efficient than regional averages. "In order to reach the stated goals of the Canary Action Plan, reductions will be required in all sectors of the Aspen economy," Canary Initiative director Kim Peterson wrote in a memo to council. The Pitkin County commissioners should also be asked to adopt the plan, council members said. Peterson noted that buildings account for 50 percent of area greenhouse gas emissions. "The city of Aspen, along with Pitkin County, has an opportunity to become a leader in adopting the strictest building standards in the nation in terms of energy performance," Peterson wrote.

Peterson's memo quotes the U.S. Green Building Council and the American Institute of Architects, which say that building to the high efficiency standards adds 3 percent to 5 percent on to the total cost of a building. Those organizations say the cost is recouped in seven to 10 years because of energy savings. The council decided that new development subject to the tougher energy requirements should be required to turn over the first five years of utility bills to confirm energy efficiency. The city must still draft the new building codes, so it could be months or more before they come into effect.

Aspen Skiing Co. environmental affairs director Auden Schendler told the council that new facilities the company is building, including the Sanctuary Condominiums in Snowmass and the now-under-construction Holiday House in Aspen are being designed with 2030 Challenge goals in mind. "We as a business don't see it as onerous," Schendler said. "We're trying to do it already."

Prior to the discussion on the 2030 Challenge, council got a rundown on the nearly dozen environmental initiatives the city is in various stages of undertaking, including storm water runoff management, air quality, recycling and reduction of landfill waste. City environmental health director Lee Cassin told the council that with so many goals, it's important for the council to focus on what can be done. There is a danger in taking on too many initiatives at the expense of important efforts already under way, Cassin said.

Councilman Dwayne Romero, who had his first day on the job as chief operating officer for Snowmass Base Village developer Related WestPac on Monday, said it's entirely appropriate for the city to take on the "concepts and practice" of efficient building. He also seconded Cassin's point about the challenge of overloading the mission with too many objectives. "The challenge isn't great ideas or energy or enthusiasm," Romero said. "It's the dilution factor of 'oh my God, there are too many things we are trying to pursue.'"