Featured Home

This extensive remodel on Lake Washington Boulevard by Thomas Jacobson Construction incorporates recycled brick pathways and patios, low impact finishes, Energy Star appliances, FSC-certified wood, and lighting controls to save energy use, along with new bathrooms, kitchen, floors and built-ins. The sustainable building methods and materials have recaptured the original splendor of this light-filled home with a grand lake view. To see additional photos of the project, visit its website at www.thomasjacobson.com.

New Members

Artistic Hardscapes - Eco-Stone interlocking permeable concrete pavers for patios, walkways, road, parking lots and driveways at
www.artistichardscapesinc.com.

Dream Turf – Advanced synthetic turf made with recycled rubber at
www.dreamturf.com.

Seattle Lighting – fine residential lighting products, including energy-efficient fixtures and bulbs at
www.seattlelighting.com.

View our current members.

Sustainable Slopes

Sustainable Slopes in Local Ski Areas
Heading out to the slopes? Some of our winter playgrounds are taking "green" in the environment seriously as "sustainable slopes" are developed all around the country. Individual resorts are focusing in areas such as water and energy conservation, water quality protection, waste reduction, habitat protection, forest and vegetative management, and air and visual quality protection. Click here for a listing of resorts in Washington State that have adopted the Environmental Charter established by the National Ski Areas Association.

Note: MBA’s executive officer, Sam Anderson, helped launch a program for sustainable development in ski areas while he was with the National Ski Areas Association before launching MBA’s Built Green program!

Look for the Sustainable Slopes logo on trail maps as an indicator of environmental responsibility at ski areas!

Events

Sustainable Connections
A collection of environmental architecture and product design showcasing work from Northwest designers and sustainable strategies from recent award-winning public projects. Now on display at at City Space, Third Floor, Bank of America Tower, 701 Fifth Ave. Its website.

Plant Trees
Planting trees along river and stream banks helps provide food, shade and shelter for wildlife, while holding banks in place with roots to control runoff and erosion, which keeps the water clean. Volunteers are welcome to plant trees or salvage plants at the following:

Dec. 6 in Renton: Cavanaugh Pond Restoration Project along the Cedar River from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (206.296.2990)

Dec. 12 and 13 in Issaquah: call for location from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (206.812.0122)

Dec. 6 plant salvage at construction sites in various locations from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (206.296.1923)

For more info click here and click “Fall for Salmon.”

Built Green Idea Home in Gingerbread
The Built Green gingerbread house, based on the design for the Puget Sound Energy Built Green Idea Home in Issaquah Highlands, is on display in the lobby of the Seattle Sheraton. Our 3-foot-by-4-foot project is accompanied by an “I Spy” sheet for children to find the many creatures and figures throughout the landscape and house, such as a dragon, a troll, a raccoon, an aluminum recycling can, rain barrels, gnomes, fairies, a fox, a skunk, a beaver dam with beavers, a stream, birds, a grass roof, and many others – all made of candy or gingerbread. Hundreds of volunteer hours were spent creating this special Built Green fantasy world to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Seattle Chapter. The gingerbread house is on display through Dec. 26 along with projects from five Seattle architecture firms.

Partnerships for Parks

King County Parks has opened up new opportunities for businesses to become involved in the park system. The County has a new initiative that allows parks' corporate partners to create customized advertising and sponsorship packages that support their strategic goals, while providing support to the myriad county parks.

Some things to consider: 83 percent of parks users in King County own homes. Most parks users have annual household incomes of more than $100,000, and are between the ages of 30 and 55. King County Parks is the Northwest's #1 regional parks provider with more than 5 million visitors annually. The Parks system boasts more than 25,000 acres of parks, pools, open space, trails and natural lands.

For more information about King County Parks assets and opportunities, visit its website or call Tom Teigen at 206.263.6230.

*Statistics based on a 2003 online survey completed by more than 1,000 King County Parks users.

Low Impact Dev CDs

Low impact development, or LID, is a more environmentally friendly approach to developing land and managing stormwater runoff. Rather than collecting and conveying stormwater runoff through storm drains, pipes, or other conveyances to a centralized stormwater facility, LID-designed sites use natural vegetation and small-scale treatment systems to treat and infiltrate stormwater runoff close to where it originates. Reducing the amount of impervious surfaces, as promoted in the Built Green programs, reduces the amount of stormwater runoff generated in the first place. If you are interested in receiving a free CD produced by the Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team called "Low Impact Development in Puget Sound" click here and we’ll send you a copy while supplies last.

From the Director

Our first-ever Built Green membership meeting was a success with about one-third of our members attending in November. Speakers Rob Geline of Quadrant, Brian Cloward of Mithun Architects, Katie Spataro with King County, Deanna Seaman with Snohomish County, and Pam Worner with MBA provided an overview of where the program has been, along with where we’re going in the future.

King County produced a survey that was circulated to attendees; we’d encourage everyone who did not attend to also complete the survey. If you’re interested in providing your input and are a member of Built Green, please send me an email requesting the survey, and I’ll send it to you. The survey must be returned by Dec. 15.

Robin Rogers, Program Director

Contact Built Green

Master Builders Association
335 – 116th Avenue SE
Bellevue, WA 98004
Directions
P: 425.451.7920
P: 800.522.2209
F: 425.646.5985
builtgreen@mbaks.com

Product Spotlight

The RecoupAerator®, a ducted air cleaner that works alone or with HVAC systems, filters to 5 microns and helps balance indoor humidity.

Distributor: www.greendepotinc.com.

For information on how to list your "green" products* in this space, please contact Pam Worner by phone at 425.451.7920 or via e-mail at pworner@mbaks.com.

*Products must be able to meet at least one Built Green credit (see the four Built Green checklists on our website) to qualify, and the company must be a member-in-good-standing of Built Green. We will list no more than three per newsletter.

Green Buildings Pay

Investments in green buildings pay for themselves 10 times over, according to a new study for 40 California government agencies. The study -- by the Capital E group, Lawrence Berkley Laboratory, and participating California state agencies -- is the most definitive cost-benefit analysis of commercial green building ever conducted. We hope the study results can be extrapolated to residential green building!

The report concluded that financial benefits of green design are between $50 and $70 per square foot in a US Green Building Council LEED-certified commercial building -- more than 10 times the additional cost associated with building green. The benefits include cost savings from reduced energy, water, and waste; lower operations and maintenance costs; and enhanced occupant productivity and health. The article provides a link to the full report.

New Certifications

Remodels: Thomas Jacobson Construction certified two remodels in Seattle.

Single Family: Environmental Homes Northwest certified three homes in Baker Vista Estates.

Kirkland Builders Group certified 29 detached homes in the Talus community.

Reader Suggestion

“Joe’s Top Ten List of Dumb Things to Do in the North” from Building Science Corporation.

MBA University

Energy Savings through Built Green™ has been cancelled. The course was scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 3 from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Legacy Roofing CPR Saves the Day
Roofers with Legacy Roofing, a Built Green member company, spent part of a workday learning CPR and first aid. Much to everyone’s surprise, the information proved useful almost immediately when the roofers were working on a home in Bothell, and a resident of a nearby house collapsed. The Legacy guys acted quickly, based on their recent training -- they climbed down from the roof, administered CPR and called 911, saving the man’s life. "It's a law that at least one guy on every crew is certified," Cliff Hurn of Legacy says. "But we've been training everyone for several years." MBA University offers courses on CPR and First Aid training, such as the Legacy crew received, at least twice per month. Call Kelly at MBA 425.451.7920 or 800.522.2209 to register and for specific class dates.

Energy Efficiency Value

Research reported in The Appraisal Journal (October ’98) still applies today: the results of research support the underlying conclusion that energy efficiency increases home value by an amount that reflects annual fuel savings discounted at the prevailing after-tax mortgage interest rate. The implication for homebuyers is that they can profit by investing in energy-efficient homes even if they do not know how long they might stay in their homes. If their reduction in monthly fuel bills exceeds the after-tax mortgage interest paid to finance energy efficiency investments, then they will enjoy positive cash flow for as long as they live in their homes and can also expect to recover their investment in energy efficiency when they sell their homes. For the full reports (pdf) see:

“Evidence of Rational Market Valuations for Home Energy Efficiency"

“More Evidence of Rational Market Values for Home Energy Efficiency”

General Meeting on Critical Areas Ordinance The public is invited to hear John Mauro, Smart Growth Director for Pilchuck Audubon Society, talk about public involvement in the revision of Critical Areas Ordinances in Snohomish County. These are the regulations that protect unique and fragile aspects of our natural environment, including wetlands, streams and lakes, aquifer recharge areas, frequently flooded areas, and geologically hazardous areas. This meeting, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Snohomish County, will be held Wednesday, Dec. 3 at the Snohomish County PUD Building on 2320 California Street in Everett at 7:00 p.m.

Three Projects Commit to Built Green in King County
Three innovative housing projects will be part of a demonstration project under King County’s Built Green Ordinance, adopted in June 2003. The three developments are:

• Greenbridge HOPE VI, White Center, Developer: King County Housing Authority, 95 acres, 900 units of urban infill, mixed-use redevelopment.
• Shamrock Housing Project, east of Renton, Developer: CamWest, 30 acres, 118 units of urban single-family residential units.
• Sunflower Project, Vashon Island, Developer: Vashon Household Non-Profit, 6 acres, 14 units in Vashon Town.

Contact Cynthia Moffitt, King County DDES at cynthia.moffitt@metrokc.gov for copies of the ordinance.

King County’s Built Green ordinance will:

• Permit the waiver or modification of development standards not allowed by code or that require a time consuming variance process;
• Test whether innovative permit processing, and Built Green techniques result in environmental benefits, more affordable housing and cost savings.
• Provide ideas for possible revisions to zoning, roads and stormwater regulations.

Benefits of the Built Green Ordinance include:

• An opportunity to evaluate if consolidated approvals of modification or waivers speeds the development review process – and leads to costs savings for project applicants and King County.
• Improved habitat and watershed conditions; greater use of recycled-content building materials; more efficient use of energy and natural resources; evaluation of changes to land use development regulations that support and improve watersheds;
• An opportunity to combine affordable housing with the latest innovations in construction techniques and environmental protection.

Next issue: Details on Greenbridge, HOPE VI project in White Center

Puget Sound Energy (PSE) can begin evaluating renewable-energy resources as part of its power-supply acquisition process after a decision by state regulators approved PSE’s proposed process for seeking approximately 150 megawatts of wind-power capacity. “Renewable resources, like wind energy, are an important feature in our generation portfolio as we also pursue more traditional forms of power resources to add to PSE’s energy-supply mix,” said Eric Markell, PSE senior vice president of energy resources. “A wind resource is going to play an integral role in our strategy to ensure an environmentally-responsible approach in securing stable energy supplies and reasonable prices for our customers.” You can read about Green Power on PSE’s website.

Built Green Seattle

Due to the success and popularity of the first full-day workshop on the Seattle Built Green Design Competition, another is planned for Thursday, Jan. 8 at the Mountaineers Club in Seattle. Find out more by clicking here.

Rebates

If you’re building or doing business in the City of Seattle, there are opportunities available that could save your company money for implementing "green" practices. Seattle City Light provides incentives to "green" multifamily and affordable housing projects, rebates to small businesses for installing energy-efficient lighting lighting fixtures, and energy analysis assistance to commercial customers. Visit the Seattle City Light Energy & Atmosphere Resources webpage and click on Public Sector Resources to find details.