City of Palo Alto - Green Building Requirement

October 05, 2011

Summary

In June of 2008, the City of Palo Alto passed a mandatory Green Building Ordinance, which added Chapter 18.44 to the Palo Alto Municipal Code. The new ordinance applies to single-family and multi-family residential, and non residential buildings. It requires specific project types to meet minimum thresholds of compliance under a green building rating system. The ordinance specifically references the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or Build It Green's (BIG) Green Point Rated (GPR), but the city leaves open the option for a building to be built in accordance with a different rating system if that system is significantly similar to LEED and GPR. The threshold for compliance depends on the size of the project and whether it is new or additional construction.

At their October 19, 2009 meeting, the Palo Alto City Council approved some changes to the requirements. The new requirements, which took effect January 2010, are shown in Tables A and B. Residential new construction smaller than 1,250 square feet are exempt from the green building requirement. The ordinance also describes other situations where a project may seek an exemption.

In addition to the green building requirements, Ordinance 5070 established energy efficiency requirements for private building projects in Palo Alto. The ordinance specifies the extent to which different types of construction have to exceed to the 2008 California Energy Code.

Program Overview

Implementing Sector:	Local
Category:	Regulatory Policy
State:	California
Incentive Type:	Building Energy Code
Web Site:	http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/depts/pln/sustainability_green_building/green_building/history_and_ordinances/default.asp
Administrator:
Start Date:
Eligible Renewable/Other Technologies:	Solar - Passive Solar Water Heat Solar Space Heat Solar Photovoltaics Wind (All) Biomass Hydroelectric Geothermal Heat Pumps Daylighting Solar Pool Heating Comprehensive Measures/Whole Building Wind (Small) Hydroelectric (Small) Fuel Cells using Renewable Fuels
Residential Code:	Projects must meet minimum thresholds for compliance under Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or Build It Green (BIG) Green Point Rated (GPR) green building rating systems. Minimum thresholds vary depending on the size of the project and whether it's a new house or an addition. The City is willing to consider alternative methods of compliance including other rating systems or building codes if they are deemed equivalent in spirit and stringency to the Green Point Rated system.
Commercial Code:	Projects must meet minimum thresholds for compliance under Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or Build It Green (BIG) Green Point Rated (GPR) green building rating systems. Minimum thresholds vary depending on the size of the project and whether it's a new building or an addition. The City is willing to consider alternative methods of compliance including other rating systems or building codes if they are deemed equivalent in spirit and stringency to the Green Point Rated system.

Contact

Name:	Green Building Program
Organization:	City of Palo Alto Utilities
Address:	250 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto CA 94301
Phone:	(650) 329-2441
Email:	greenbuilding@cityofpaloalto.org

This information is sourced from DSIRE; the most comprehensive source of information on incentives and policies that support renewables and energy efficiency in the United States. Established in 1995, DSIRE is operated by the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center at N.C. State University.