B4.9 Permit counter technical assistance *
Hire or contract with dedicated green building specialists to provide technical assistance through the permitting and development process.
Municipalities can increase the success of green building projects, and incentivize more green building development, by offering permit counter technical assistance. If offered through the permit counter, technical assistance can create synergies with the permitting process and other incentives offered by the municipality. Technical assistance can also reduce costs for developers by allowing them to identify green building strategies early in the planning and design phase of the project, reducing costly rework or retrofit, which can lower overall development costs. A challenge to implementation is providing funding to support dedicated staff or to contract with a third-party.
The City of Issaquah offers green building technical assistance alongside incentives for multifamily and commercial projects. The consultation is to help projects identify options and strategies, and maximize utility and other incentives.
A component of King County’s GreenTools is the Green Building Team, which supports the county’s Green Building Ordinance. The Green Building Team works with King County departments to incorporate LEED standards in all public buildings. The City of Kirkland works with the Green Building Team free green building project consultation.
The Integrated Design Assistance Program offered by the City of Fort Collins, CO, gives technical assistance and incentives to new construction or major retrofit commercial and multifamily projects of at least 5,000 square feet. Projects must be in the pre-design phase and target energy savings of at least 10 percent above energy code. Assistance and incentives are offered at the design and construction phases, with optional Performance Incentives available for meeting energy savings.
New York City offers free technical assistance for energy efficiency retrofits through the NYC Retrofit Accelerator. The program creates customized plans for building owners to find the technology and incentives to reduce energy use. The Retrofit Accelerator also has a High-Performance Retrofit Track that gives buildings the opportunity to reduce energy use by 40 to 60 percent.
Berkeley’s Green Building Requirements include requiring a Green Building Checklist for projects over 10,000 sq.ft. and projects adding one or more dwelling units. They also require an Energy Conservation Analysis for commercial projects above that size and recommend one for multifamily and mixed-use projects. They require new buildings and additions in the downtown area to achieve LEED Gold certification or an equivalent. They also offer free green building project consultations, and have a dedicated building inspector to consult on projects under construction.
See also the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild’s Code Innovation Database (B4.15).