 Built Green Incentive |
Application Period Open for Built Green Incentive!
At the fourth annual Built Green Conference King County and the City of Seattle announced a new incentive for residential development projects to go green. The King County/Seattle Built Green™ Incentive provides funding for single-family residential, town home and community development projects to help offset the cost of certifying and designing innovative projects that meet green building standards. Eligible projects may receive between $2,500 and $15,000 depending on the project type and level of green design and building elements employed.
As local governments draw the connection between water conservation and quality, stormwater runoff, and residential development, incentives for the development industry to reduce their impact on the environment and conserve valuable natural resources have become increasingly important. The new grants, which will be competitively awarded, are funded through the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Water and Lands Resource Division and Seattle Public Utilities.
Built Green™ is a residential building program that provides a rating system for single and multifamily housing projects, remodels and community developments. The program certifies projects at the 2 through 5-star level based on the number of points a project earns in categories that highlight energy and water conservation, healthy materials, and minimized impacts to the property. Seattle and King County who helped developed the program in partnership with the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties rely on Built Green™ as an industry benchmark for green residential development.
The King County/Seattle Built Green™ Incentive was established to encourage developers, builders, and residents building new homes to use green building standards while attempting to address barriers such as higher upfront costs for projects. Grant award projects will serve as demonstrations of high performance, replicable, green housing for the region.
Built Green Incentive applications are due Thursday, May 31, 2007. Application and instructions available online.
| Zero Energy Project |
City of Issaquah Zero Net Energy Demonstration Project RFQ
The City of Issaquah is seeking a builder for a high profile, groundbreaking, cutting edge, attached residential green building demonstration project which, at completion, would be one of the most innovative sustainable housing projects in the Pacific Northwest. The project would involve the design, construction, and sale of approximately 10 attached residential homes, built to an extremely green standard, including zero net energy usage. Land costs would be significantly reduced as a means to underwrite builder risks associated with the project. A major regional marketing and education program would be included as part of the project.
The project has already generated significant press, including a front page Seattle Times article and BBC interview.
A detailed RFQ may be viewed here.
An informational session for interested builders will be held on May 14, at 10:30am. The RFQ submittal deadline is 5:00 p.m., May 30, 2007. See the detailed RFQ for additional details.
| Classes |
Classes listed below are approved workshops for fulfilling the annual Built Green education requirement for certifying projects.
Visit the Built Green Washington website for green home building courses and events across the state of Washington.
Tuesday, May 8, Bellevue
Introduction to Built Green™
This seminar provides an introduction to the Built Green program from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 8 at the Master Builders Association Housing Center in Bellevue. Learn how to certify a project and use the checklist, how to join, how the program works and other resources. The seminar presents examples of projects and covers how to fill out the Built Green checklist. This orientation is required in order to certify homes as Built Green. To register, contact the MBA University registrar by email, or online.
Thursday, May 10, Bellevue
BG 905: Built Green™ Financial Incentives Luncheon
Built Green Director Aaron Adelstein will be presenting on the details of the new Built Green Incentive program. Recently developed, the Built Green Incentive gives builders the opportunity to design and build a higher level green project with financial assistance from the Built Green program. The grant money directed at new construction projects in both King County and the City of Seattle and specifically aimed at builders looking at pushing the green building practices to a higher level. The application period has been recently extended to allow for this class to take place; for more details on the Built Green Incentive please visit the web page. This presentation will cover the details of the Built Green Incentive, as well as other green building incentives that are available in this area.
When: Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Where: MBA Housing Center at 335 116th Ave. SE, Bellevue
For registration and information on the class please contact: April Wetmore by phone (425) 460-8208, or email.
Wednesday, May 23, Seattle
Holistic Green Landscaping
Part of the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild's fourth Wednesday workshop series, this workshop will focus on holistic landscaping and erosion control. David McDonald, a resource conservation planner at Seattle Public Utilities, Elaine Somers of the EPA, and Albert Postema of Earthwise Excavation will present on a variety of topics around green landscaping.
When: Wednesday, May 23 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Where: Phinney Neighborhood Association, 6532 Phinney Ave N, Seattle
For more information, please visit the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild website.
Thursday, May 24, Bellevue
SBG 110: The New Built Green™ Checklist Luncheon
Built Green Director Aaron Adelstein will be covering the details of the recent update to the Built Green Single-Family New Construction Checklist. If you are looking at certifying a new construction project or you have questions on what the differences are between the new and the old checklist; this is the workshop you should be attending. There will be presentation of the changes that have been made, as well as the opportunity for an open discussion to address all questions or concerns in certifying projects under the new checklist.
Where: MBA Housing Center at 335 116th Ave. SE, Bellevue
When: Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Cost: $25
For registration and information on the class please contact: April Wetmore by phone (425) 460-8208, or email.
Wednesday, May 30
Cool Metal Roofing and It's Impact on the Energy Crisis
This seminar will detail how Cool Metal Roofing can impact the energy crisis in our country.
Attendees will receive an interactive DVD approved for CEC by the AIA, lunch and printed study materials.
The presenter will be Robert Schicili, whose experience includes over 35 years in the coatings industry as well as having played a very active role in establishing the Energy Act of 2006. Robert's credentials include membership in the Cool Roof Ratings Council. He works closely with the laboratories that develop reflective pigment used in the manufacturing of cool roofing.
The seminar is currently scheduled for 11:30 a.m., May 30, 2007, location to be determined. Please call or e-mail to register. Thank you for your understanding and we hope to see you at the 'Cool' presentation.
To arrange attendance, please contact Craig via phone at (800) 225-4682 or e-mail.
| Events |
Wednesday, May 16, Seattle
Paul Hawken: "Blessed Unrest"
Paul Hawken is a leading environmentalist and social activist who has spent over a decade researching organizations dedicated to restoring the environment and fostering social justice. Collectively, these groups comprise the largest movement on earth: a movement that has no name, leader, or location. His new book Blessed Unrest explores the diversity of the movement, its ideas and strategies, and history dating back many centuries. Hawken describes humanity's collective genius and the unstoppable movement to re-imagine our relationship with the environment and one another. Presented by the Town Hall Center for Civic Life, Elliott Bay Book Company, and Grist.org.
Tickets are $5 at the door only. Town Hall members receive priority seating.
Who: Paul Hawken
What: "Blessed Unrest"
Where: Town Hall, enter on 8th Ave.
When: Wednesday, May 16 at 7:30 pm
How much: $5 at the door only. Town Hall members receive priority seating.
For more information go to the website.
Wednesday, May 23, Everett
Applications of Compost - Brown Bag Tour and Presentation
 The Sustainable Development Task Force is sponsoring a Brown Bag tour and presentation hosted by Cedar Grove Composting at their Everett Composting Facility. Please join us for a tour of the facility and for information on residential and commercial use of compost products, including low impact development strategies. In addition, information will be provided regarding how LID sites in Snohomish County held up during last winter's storms and flooding. Lunch provided courtesy of Cedar Grove Composting. Pre-registration is required.
Date and Time: Wednesday, May 23, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Location: Cedar Grove Composting, 3620 36th Place NE, Everett WA 98205
More Info:
On event - Cate O'dahl, (425) 670-1342,
On Cedar Grove - (425) 212-2515
Registration: Pre-registration is required to reserve lunch; online, click on Event Registration, or contact Terri Hooper by email or at (425) 783-8275.
Directions: I-5 South, take exit 198, merge onto WA 529S toward N Broadway/Port of Everett. Slight right at Frontage Road, turn right at 36th Place NE.
I-5 North, take exit 199 for WA 528E toward Marysville, turn right at 4th Street, turn right at State Avenue. Continue on WA-529, slight right at Frontage Road, turn right at 36th Place NE.
Speakers: Cedar Grove Composting staff, Zsofia Pastor, Frog on a Log Parks, Triad Associates (to be confirmed).
Visit the Built Green Washington website for green home building courses and events across the state of Washington.
| Sustainable Development |
 Built Green Low Impact Development and Green House Tour
Last month you heard about the very successful 2007 Annual Built Green Conference & Expo. This month we want to tell you about the success of the accompanying Built Green Low Impact Development and Green House Tour. Sponsored by the Sustainable Development Task Force of Snohomish County, the tour was held March 14 and featured visits to Cottage Wërks’ small plat development and 3-star home in Mukilteo.
 Four tour buses headed out from Paine Field to the tour the nearby sites. The LID tour focused on how to incorporate low impact development strategies into smaller projects. The original plans for the plat’s twelve homes proposed retaining many of the large trees to provide vital stormwater management and privacy. Cottage Wërks developer, Chris Chase, wanted to retain these trees to help intercept, store or convey precipitation into the soil before it reached surrounding impervious surfaces. These impervious surfaces lead stormwater directly to adjacent Puget Sound. Unfortunately, many of those trees fell during last winter’s wind storms.
The revised plat calls for new bio-swales and retention of a few of the fallen tree snags to enhance soil stability. The remaining windfall will be ground up and used to help condition the soil for greater stormwater absorption. Other low impact strategies, including native plant retention and replanting, pervious surfaces, minimized footprint, compost berm installation, and optimal home orientation, will be used to compensate for the loss of the large native trees.
 The second stop on the tour focused on the Built Green features of Cottage Wërks’ 3-star home. Participants were led through the house by Built Green verifiers, either Alistair Jackson of O’Brien & Company or Dan Wildenhaus of Atmosphere, Inc. The tour guides pointed out Built Green features incorporated into the design, material selection, and heating and cooling components of the home construction.
For more information on Cottage Wërks please visit the Sustainable Development Task Force’s website.
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Built
Green | Phone
(425) 460-8238 | BuiltGreen,
335 116th Avenue SE, Bellevue WA 98004
Built Green Director Aaron Adelstein was present at the NAHB National Green Building Conference in St. Louis, Missouri to receive the prestigious Green Building Program of the Year Award. This award was given to Built Green of King and Snohomish Counties for the incredibly successful year the program had in 2006. Other local winners included CMI Homes, Inc. which won the NAHB award for Green Home Marketing Project of the Year for the Built Green Showcase Home at Suncadia, and Mithun Inc. which won Multi-Family Project of the Year for the Built Green certified High Point community.
