Portland to Introduce Green Building Feebates

Officials in Portland, Oregon have proposed a far-reaching green building program that would be the first of its kind in the U.S. For new commercial buildings 20,000 square feet or larger, the proposal sets up a "feebate" program – developers that merely meet Oregon’s state building code would be assessed a fee by the City of up to $3.46 per square foot. The fee would be waived for buildings that achieve LEED Silver certification; and those that achieve LEED Gold, LEED Platinum or the Living Building Challenge, would receive rebates of $1.73-$17.30 per square foot depending on the level of certification. The policy also requires buildings to achieve specific LEED credits, emphasizing energy efficiency and water use reduction, for example. Multifamily residential properties 5000 square feet or larger would be subject to the same requirements and be eligible for rebates of $0.51-$5.15 per square foot. Larger multifamily projects 50,000 square feet or larger that receive City funding must meet at least LEED Silver and must avoid wood products with added urea formaldehyde as well as vinyl flooring. All existing commercial and multifamily residential buildings will have to publicly disclose energy performance by 2013 but won’t have to make improvements. For […]

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