HBANC President Joseph Perkins Joins Mayor Chuck Reed in Promoting Consistent Standards for Creating 50 Million Square Feet of Green Buildings SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Home Builders Association of Northern California today joined San José Mayor Chuck Reed in announcing critical new legislation that will provide home builders with the clear standards and strong accountability they need to help meet the mayor’s aggressive goal of creating or retrofitting 50 million square feet of green buildings over the next 14 years. “Clear, consistent green building standards help builders, help home buyers and help the environment,” said Joseph Perkins, President and CEO of the Home Builders Association of Northern California. “The green building standards that Mayor Reed is introducing today ensure that we’re all on the same page and that we can reach the goals the Mayor set out. They avoid a mishmash of costly, confusing regulations and provide a simple, reasonable framework that builders can follow and consumers can understand.” The standards included in the policy, which are scheduled to be presented to the City Council on Oct. 7, will require residential and commercial developments to achieve well-defined green building scores based on one of two comparable rating systems. Residential developments of 10 units or more will need to achieve either 50 points on Build It Green’s GreenPoint Rated scale or a comparable score under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. “Throughout San Jose and the Silicon Valley, tenants and residents alike are demanding environment-friendly workplaces and living spaces,” Mayor Reed said. “The Private Sector Green Building Policy will encourage our development community to make good economic and environmental decisions that respond to the changing demands and needs of our workers and residents.” Cheryl O’Connor, senior vice president of SummerHill Homes and chairwoman of the Home Builders Association’s Executive Committee, introduced Mayor Reed. SummerHill Homes’ Parkwood community, where Monday’s announcement was held, is one of San Jose’s first residential developments to officially meet the city’s new standards, achieving 90 points on the GreenPoint Rated scale. SummerHill is a member of the Home Builders Association of Northern California. “Home builders like SummerHill understand that building green makes sense on many levels,” Perkins said. “Yes, it’s good for the environment. It reduces waste of natural resources, including water, cuts down on energy consumption and provides healthy living environments free of toxins. But it’s also good business for home builders as more and more consumers become aware of the benefits and advantages of green-built homes.” That’s why the Home Builders Association of Northern California, following months of careful consumer and market research, took the bold and unprecedented step last year of announcing its support for consistent green building standards and partnering with the independent Build It Green organization to promote its GreenPoint Rated program. “New building technologies have put the goals that Mayor Reed outlined last year in his Green Vision within our reach,” Perkins said, “and the policy introduced today will allow us to grab them.”
