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U.S. Green Building Council - N. California Chapter – Monterey Bay Branch
Position Statement – Local Government Green Building Programs/Ordinances
The U.S. Green Building Council believes that developing ordinances, policies, and programs that
encourage the design and building of environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places
to live and work are inherently consistent with the U.S. Green Building Council charter.
• We believe it is important for each jurisdiction to develop programs that are consistent with
other cities and counties in their region/state. For example, using the LEED for New
Construction & Major Renovation Rating System Version 2.2 (www.usgbc.org) for non-
residential buildings and Build It Green’s current GreenPoints System (www.builditgreen.org)
for residential are ways to support consistency with other programs in the Monterey Bay
region beyond Santa Cruz county as well as in Northern California.
• We do urge local government units to require LEED certification for publicly- owned and
operated buildings. This self-requirement allows the jurisdiction to demonstrate leadership
and educate the community by example. Third-party certification also provides the discipline
to integrate and implement green building methods as much as possible, thus reducing
operational costs.
• To encourage the community to achieve higher point levels than the minimum requirement,
local government green building programs should incorporate incentives. They are effective
motivators, and reward the design and construction industry for increasing their use of green
building practices.
The USGBC Monterey Bay Branch Local Government team is available to offer support to City
and County staff and governmental bodies to help develop effective green building programs and
ordinances .
Contact:
Sharon Sarris, Monterey Bay Branch Advocacy Coordinator
slsarris@greenfuseenergy.comn – 831.688.7900
Monterey Bay Branch Co-chairs:
Stewart Wadsworth (Santa Cruz) stewartwadswo@yahoo.com
Jordan Daniels (Monterey) jordan@buildingwise.net