Green Building Legislation Includes NYSBA Amendments
The New York State Builders Association hailed the State Legislature and Governor Paterson for reaching an agreement on its historic Green Residential Building Program legislation. When signed by Governor Paterson, this bill will institute a “Green Residential Building Standard” to encourage residential construction of new homes and the renovation of existing homes.
New York has existing financial incentives for commercial buildings like office towers and restaurants and schools. The new grants provide financial incentives to improve water efficiency, improve indoor environmental quality, use green resources in the home, and minimizie waste in the residential construction process.
The standard will be created and administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and provide financial incentives to builders and owners whose homes meet these standards. The incentive limits are as follows:
1-2 Family Homes: $7,500
3-5 Family Homes: $11,250
6+ Family Homes: $15,000
Note: An owner cannot receive more than $120,000 in incentives during any calendar year.
In establishing these standards, NYSERDA may consult the ANSI/National Green Building Standard (supported by NAHB and NYSBA); consult with the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR); the standard must provide for builder and remodelor program training and the standard must consider existing NYSERDA residential programs such as NY Energy Star Homes and NY Home Performance with Energy Star as part of the final program. All four of these initiatives were included at the behest of NYSBA.
NYSBA Executive Vice President Philip LaRocque stated, “NYSBA has been adamant that any ‘Green Building’ legislation should recognize all credible green building rating systems, rather than giving preference to a proprietary and self serving program that is costly to comply with, contains too many mandatory measures, and offers little flexibility. We feel that S.8413-B (Maziarz) /A.10684-B (Cahill) meets that goal as well as New York State’s energy, environmental, and economic goals”
After this legislation becomes law, NYSERDA will begin the process of creating the new Green Building Standard, which should be in place by January 1, 2010. All owners of new residential buildings that are constructed pursuant to these standards and for which a certificate of occupancy for that building is received on and after January 1, 2010 and before October 31, 2013, or owners of existing residential buildings that have undergone substantial renovations which are completed during the same time frame will be eligible for the above mentioned incentives.
For more information on green building legislation, contact Carlos Gutierrez at 800-368-5242 x8242.
[
return to top ]
|
