Early in 2010, the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) and the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) finalized the first statewide mandatory green building code in the country for newly constructed buildings: Title 24, Part 11 of the California Building Standards Code (commonly called “CALGreen”). CALGreen took effect as of January 1st, 2011.
In developing CALGreen, CBSC and HCD have taken a bold step by significantly raising the minimum environmental standards for construction of new buildings in California. Mandatory provisions in CALGreen will contribute to public health through fundamental green building practices which reduce the use of VOC emitting materials, strengthen water conservation, require construction waste recycling, and extend storm water pollution prevention efforts to most jobsites.
Below are some gathered resources on CALGreen for policymakers, code enforcement professionals, and the design community.
Non-Residential CALGreen
The CALGreen Companion Guide for LEED Projects (Version 1.2, 6MB download) Please Note:The CALGreen Code has been modified recently. Effective now, the light pollution reduction measure is no longer mandatory in CALGreen. Several other code changes are set to take effect June of 2012, including regulations for existing building alterations and renovations. All of these changes affect the Companion Guide, and when all the code updates are finalized and published in entirety, we will update the Companion Guide (anticipated in spring 2012). Visit www.bsc.ca.gov for further details. This unofficial Companion Guide provides recommendations for reducing the documentation burden on Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design for New Construction (LEED-NC) commercial projects that must meet the California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen) non-residential mandatory provisions. The Companion Guide is intended for building officials as well as design professionals. This Companion Guide does not address the voluntary “Tiers” in CALGreen, nor does it address residential CALGreen mandatory code requirements.
Although the LEED for Homes rating system has become popular in California for the private sector, the most referenced green rating system for residential green building policies in Alameda County is the GreenPoint Rated program (administered by Build It Green). The GreenPoint Rated program, in anticipation of CALGreen taking effect, has incorporated all the CALGreen residential mandatory provisions into its rating system.
Visit Build It Green’s webpage for more information on CALGreen in the GreenPoint Rated program. www.builditgreen.org/CALGreen/
Policy Tools:
We have created model green building policy documents, including ordinances, contract specifications and general plan language. View our Policy Tools & Model Ordinances page.
Workshops & Presentations
GreenBuild 2011 presentation on green building regulations.
Green Codes Update Seminar, August 2010 View materials from a workshop hosted in August of 2010. Resources include presentations, CALGreen-LEED and CALGreen-GreenPoint Rated comparison checklists, and an updated model policy toolkit.
Cost of Building Green in Alameda County A presentation to the Local Government Commission regarding the cost of LEED vs. CALGreen Tier 1.
