The Scottsdale Green Building Program promotes sustainability in the home building arena through environmental sensitivity in site use, building materials, energy, water, indoor air quality, and solid waste. The program goals are to reduce the environmental impact of building, achieve both short and long-term savings in energy, water and other natural resources, and encourage a healthier indoor environment. It provides an alternative to homebuyers for sustainable living and the long-term advantages of owning an environmentally sound home.

The City of Scottsdale Green Building Program was initiated in February of 1998 and rates homes in the categories of site, energy, building materials, indoor air quality, water, and solid waste. A Green Building Checklist is used to gather a minimum of 63 points, choosing from numerous options. The program is strictly voluntary and uses incentives to entice builder participation.

The Green Building Program is voluntary and open to all builders and developers whose projects meet the city’s green building criteria. Besides the program marketing advantages, the city offers expedited plan review and project consultation on all green building projects.

We would like to thank the members and volunteers of Scottsdale’s Green Building Program Committee for their guidance and valuable contributions.

Participating Builders and Inventory of Green Building Projects

By the end of 2000 a total of 108 projects enrolled in Scottsdale’s Green Building Program since the establishment of the program in February 1998. The projects entered in 2000 include a variety of designs that range from traditional tract homes to contemporary customs and exhibit a wide range of building materials and strategies. Building materials range from standard "stick" building to hybrid systems using innovative products and strategies.

The first commercial and tenant improvement projects were enrolled into the program in 2000. While the primary focus remains on refining the residential component of the program, it is anticipated that other building types, including remodeling, will be incorporated in the future. The decision to accept these projects at this time was due largely to the desire of their owners and designers to practice and promote environmental stewardship.

The following builders were active participants in the program during 2000:

Following is an inventory of construction activity for the year 2000:

• Conventional wood framing is still the most prolific method of construction and Classic Stellar Homes continues to be the builder with the largest number of projects (35) enrolled in the Program. Their "conventional" building strategies allow them to guarantee efficient annual heating & cooling costs, which is one of the best qualifiers of a green home. The Company recently completed a "healthy" home project for a hypersensitive client in Scottsdale and a demonstration project with the American Cancer Society (in Phoenix).

• V.I.P. Homes, the second production builder to enter the Program, will complete nine homes at Legend Trail. All the homes were entered into the Engineered for Life Program.

• Landmark Construction is keeping busy with four new entries in various parts of the city, as are Kitchell Custom Homes and Stripling Warrior Construction both with two projects under way.

• Dallas D. Schmidt Development, Inc. has completed its first green home, which is also the company’s first effort in the valley. The 3000 sq.ft. spec. home is located in Candlewood Estates. Dallas previously built homes in the Denver area.

• Paul Sievert, Tyson Development, LLC, has two spec homes in Lomas Verdes, one on the market and one on its way there. His third spec will be in the same geographic area.

• Remember the home with the pool and spa in the front yard? Turns out the owner builds pools for a living! His energy efficient, wood frame "showcase" was built by Tom Norris Homes. Tom is using (converted to?) Omni Block insulated masonry in his next project, a two story spec in Desert Summit, and will be starting his 3rd and 4th entries shortly.

• Insulated Masonry is popular with owners and builders such as Mike Frisby of Golden Vista Homes. They are starting their fifth home, all have used Omni Block. Tierra Builders has completed their second home in the program. Also built with Omni Block, this Candlewood Estates home is the first in the program to incorporate photovoltaic panels for electricity. John Sjobring, Advanced Concepts, has completed and sold his first green home, a partial two story, using Omni Block as well. John is anxious to get started on number two. Darren Haenny, WEI, will build his third entry using Omni Block on a post-tensioned slab. His first home used Integra Block, which is also the material of choice by the owners of the first entries by Piccione Construction and Desert Masonry. Jordan Development’s first green effort is located in Troon Highland Estates.

• Homes using ICF (insulated concrete form) systems are becoming more prominent in the Program. Sloan Homes has completed a Rastra and steel frame home and will be starting their next one shortly. Heller Construction recently finished two custom homes. Their Troon North project used Rastra for both wall and floor framing; interior walls were built with an ICF foam and wire panel system. The same system was combined with steel framing at their project in Sincuidados. Rastra is also being used by Golden Heritage Homes for their first entry, a prototype spec home. Paul Stark Construction will be using the Blue Max system for their first green building adventure. Richard Elam and Randy Simonson are building one of the more unique homes in the program using Keeva block and a host of other materials. Of particular note is the integration of the building with the site-nothing traditional from these guys.

• Two straw bale homes in the Program are now completed: Kevin Edwards, of the Edwards Design Group, occupied his own home this spring (the first permitted strawbale home in Scottsdale). The southwest design incorporates a number of energy/water conservation features, recycled materials, and an unpretentious interior design. Wolf Environmental Inc., (WEI), has completed Scottsdale’s first strawbale "spec" home that was offered on the market earlier this year. Notable items include passive solar design, reflective metal roof, combination evap/ac cooling, and a detached strawbale garage.

• Scoria, a unique poured in place material using bottom ash waste from coal plants, will be used by Joe R. Stotts Construction in their first entry. Joe also used the material for his own home and that of his neighbor, architect Vern Swaback.

• Owner/builders traveling the green path include: Perry Becker, Architect, (Omni Block), Robert Peters (Integra block), Michael Konenko (wood), Gene Leach (wood), Scott and Greg Allie (wood), Elbert Adams (wood), and Joe Wolfe, who’s constructing his hybrid basement home using poured concrete, the Hambro steel form floor system, Rastra exterior walls, and steel stud partitions.

• Little Green Guest Houses for you and me are popping up all over! What better way to sustainably accommodate snowbirds, in-laws, or little green aliens? Both Hustead Development and Edwards Design Group have completed GH projects under the program and Donald Grieb, Architect, is building a guest house addition to his own home using his innovative and patented Macrotherm foam building system. Smaller can be better!

• Architects designing green homes in the program include: Perry Becker, George Christensen, Dean Drosos, Randall Ewers, George Fulton, Don Grieb, Tom Hahn, Tom Hunt, John Kane, James Kottke, Charles Montooth, Roberts/Jones Associates, Inc., Mark Soloway, and Phil Weddle.

• @One Yoga Studio, 1005 N. Scottsdale Road, has completed the program’s first green tenant improvement project. Located in a shopping center storefront, partners Ian Lopatin and Alex Kump worked with interior designer/fabricator David Rosenberg of Silver Spring, Maryland; local feng shui consultant Suzanne Smith; Rhino Enterprises, Inc., and green building staff to create a healthy, aesthetically pleasing, yet functional space to practice their art. Highlights include: exposed concrete, natural cork, straw, and recycled content floor coverings; wall coverings and furnishings of natural materials; portable display units, low v.o.c. paints, advanced air filtering, efficient lighting and sound attenuation. Environmental consciousness is also reflected in their maintenance and merchandising.

• Pinnacle Presbyterian Church, 25150 N. Pima Road, is the first commercial entry. The project was submitted by Roberts/Jones Associates, Inc. and will be built by Redden Construction. The Architects have developed a comprehensive green specification to enhance the 27,000 sf additions to the desert-sited complex. The building will feature gas chillers and energy efficient, digitally controlled mechanical systems. Skylights providing the maximum use of daylighting are combined with highly efficient light fixtures. Existing site materials will be reused and recycled into the project; new materials will have recycled content. Low toxic materials and finishes will be used indoors to improve air quality, and a waste reduction requirement is specified.

Building Systems and Program Research

Marketing, program criteria, and builder incentives continue to be the main focus in the further development of the Scottsdale Green Building Program. Communications with similar programs and efforts around the country has been extremely beneficial in improving Scottsdale’s program. A trip by the city green building inspector to Austin, Texas to visit with the Austin Green Building Program, proved to be extremely valuable.

Staff attended numerous product demonstrations and presentations sponsored by The Reference Library, trade/design associations and vendors. Some of the demonstrations and presentations included structural insulated panels (SIP), metal stud construction, insulated concrete forms (ICF), roofing materials, insulation, building performance methodologies, construction material recycling, and other building trends related to environmentally responsible building. The collected information and resources has proven to be a valuable asset in the building review and inspection process.

Plan Review Submittals

As an incentive to builders who participate in Scottsdale Green Building Program, projects receive "fast track" plan review service. This means green building projects receive building permits in half the time as regular projects depending on the degree of complexity.

As a result of not always being able to meet this goal, we started tracking turn around times. There were a total of 57 green building projects submitted for review during the year 2000. The average first-review turnaround time for non-green building projects was four to six weeks. Our goal was to review green building projects in two to three weeks. So how did we do?

Staff has a lot of internal work to do to improve this performance. There are already significant improvements in the making. We're working with department staff on a number of fronts and continue to have the support of the department head. Our goal for the year 2001 is to have 80% of green projects reviewed in half the time as non-green projects (two to three) weeks.

Collaboration and Public Relations

There has been a plethora of activity in the state of Arizona over the past year involving energy related and environmentally responsible building. All of these activities reflect Scottsdale’s effort to promote green building on a local and regional basis. Every month there was at least one green building presentation made in a public forum or to a professional association meeting.

Following is a list of collaborations and outreach activities:

• On Jan. 11, a green building presentation was made at the South Mountain Village Planning Committee in Phoenix.

• On Jan. 12, Scottsdale’s green building program made a lunch presentation to the City of Tucson Green Team at their government facilities.

• On Feb. 28, the manager for Scottsdale’s Green Building Program was appointed by Governor Jane Dee Hull to serve on the Arizona Solar Energy Advisory Council.

• On March 1, a Scottsdale green building presentation was at the 11th Annual Northern AZ Concrete Conference at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff under the conference theme – "Sustainable Concrete Construction".

• A conference paper entitled, "Accounting for Unintended Consequences: Improving Building Performance through Sustainable Measures" was presented at the World Organization of Building Officials on March 29 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

• Scottsdale Green Building staff attended the National Green Building Conference sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders in Denver from April 5-8.

• On April 11, a green building presentation was made at the Women’s League of Voters meeting at the Scottsdale Civic Center Library.

• On April 21, a Scottsdale Green Building Program presentation was made at the Alternative Building Materials/Technology Exhibition at the Tucson Public Works building.

• On April 22, green building exhibit table was displayed at Stardust Building Supply as part of Earth Day Activities.

• On April 29, KFNX 1100 AM - Renaissance Radio presented a radio talk show on ‘green building’ featuring Dale Booth as host with an interview with Anthony Floyd.

• On June 12, a green building presentation was made at the Scottsdale Urban Design Studio for the Box City Program.

• On July 12, Scottsdale’s green building program participated as an exhibitor in the Realtor’s Expo ’2000 at the Radisson Resort in Scottsdale. The event proved to be an excellent opportunity to expose green building to over 1000 Realtors in attendance. Many new contacts were established with attendees and fellow exhibitors.

• Presentation made on Scottsdale’s Green Building program at the Southwest Renewable Energy Fair on Sept. 15 at the Coconino County Fair grounds in Flagstaff.

• Solar Potluck held at Cactus Park in association with the Arizona Solar Energy Association on Oct. 7.

• On Oct. 11, a green building lunch meeting was held with members of the Prescott Area Green Building Coalition and the building official of Prescott on Scottsdale’s Green Building Program with the interest of starting a similar program in Prescott.

• Valley of the Sun home Tour was held on Oct. 21 in conjunction with the Arizona Solar Energy Association.(see following section for full description of tour).

• Green Building Outlook 2001 event was held on November 4 at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts (see following section for full description of event).

• On Nov. 14, a green building presentation was made at the offices of AZ Best Real Estate in Scottsdale. Over 40 real estate professionals were in attendance.

• On Nov. 16, a green building presentation was made for students participating in the ECOSA Institute curriculum at Arcosanti.

• On Dec. 19, Scottsdale’s Green Building Program was invited to speak at the City of Phoenix, Environmental Quality Advisory Commission special sub-committee meeting on green building.

Promotion

As a consumer-driven program, we have engaged in an on-going marketing effort to bring the program to the attention of the construction industry and home buying public through educational programs, builder incentives, and media coverage.

We produced the following promotional material:

• Revised Brochure
• Newsletter (Fall 2000)
• Reformatted and updated green building web site
• Homeowner’s guide update
• Builder recruitment post cards
• Green Building Outlook 2001 event postcards
• Green Building Outlook 2001 event program booklet with directory of environmentally responsible materials and products
• Over 10 press releases for various events

Articles have appeared in local and national publications, including the Scottsdale Tribune, Arizona Republic, Environmental Building News, Desert Dweller News (AZ Vision Weavers), The Arizona Environment (ADEQ), The HBACA News Builder (Home Builders Assoc. of Central AZ), local AIA newsletter, Phoenix Business Journal, Arizona Foothills and Natural Home Magazines.

Our green building mailing list grew to from 400 to over 1000 individuals and organizations. Seven mass mailings were completed involving seminar announcements, newsletter, special lectures, Outlook event and logo contest flyers. In addition, we have received over 250 phone inquires and mailed out over 100 green building packets.

The Green Building Web Site (www.ci.scottsdale.az.us.az/greenbuilding) was been updated with a new format. The site contains most of the printed program material, including program enrollment, rating criteria, green building resource links, and a directory of builders and designers.

Congratulatory Letter to Mayor Manross and City Manager Jan Dolan from Green Building Committee

Thanks to Fran Smith, a congratulatory letter was prepared and signed by the green building committee for the Mayor for your new position. The committee felt that such a letter would help introduce the Mayor to the Green Building Committee while raising her awareness for future support. A similar letter be prepared and signed by committee members for the new city manager.

City Council Green Building Recognition

On Oct. 2, members of the green building committee were introduced to the new mayor, council members and city manager while being recognized for receiving the CSI Environmental Sensitivity and Valley Forward Environmental Excellence awards for the Green Building Program.

Sonoran Solar Lecture Series

The Arizona Solar Energy Association (ASEA) in conjunction with the Green Building Program continued it’s the monthly solar lectures and presentations at the Scottsdale Redevelopment and Urban Design Studio. The lectures were held from 7 to 9 p.m. on the second Wednesday of every month culminating in October. Attendance level averaged around 25.

The goal of the lecture series was to educate the general public and design community about the benefits of solar in a variety of passive and active applications. The series presented a variety of topics involving solar and renewable energy utilization including design approaches, available and developing technologies, and social/environmental choices that impact Arizona and its citizens. The presentations demonstrated how solar energy is being used to generate electricity, heat water, power appliances, as well as heat, cool, and light our buildings.

Healthy Home Seminars

On March 9th, the Green Building Program co-hosted a seminar on Building Performance/Healthy Home at the Scottsdale Civic Center Library auditorium. The free seminar featured John Tooley, nationally renowned speaker and home performance expert. The program Co-sponsors involved APS and the State Energy Office. A second healthy home seminar was held on July 20 at the Scottsdale Mustang Library. The seminars provided tips for home owners on what to look for to get a comfortable, healthy, energy-efficient home.

By all accounts, both seminars were a success. Over 80 people were in attendance at each seminars and represented mostly the general public. Constructive feedback indicated that the title of the seminar was a bit misleading, since the speaker (John Tooley) didn't spend a lot of time on health and indoor air quality. His primary focus was on strategies for energy efficiency through a tight building envelope and balanced air distribution system. Thanks to Dee Jaye Lockwood, Richard Schwab, Steve Sales, Beverly Westgaard, Christina Suarez Farrell, Joan Yost and other committee members who assisted. And a special thanks to Tom Hines at APS for making the arrangements for John Tooley to speak.

Green Building Lecture Series

In an effort to promote the growing and dynamic field of green building, the Scottsdale Green Building Program presents the Green Building Lecture Series. Each lecture will address one of the many and varied green building subjects that demonstrate energy and resource efficient, healthy, and environmentally responsible building practices.

The kick off lecture took place on Oct. 4. at the Scottsdale Redevelopment & Urban Design Studio. Lectures will take place on the 1st Wednesday of the month through June of 2001.

Solar/Green Building Home Tour

Scottsdale Green Building Program's joined forces the Arizona Solar Energy Association. to host the "Living with the Sun Home Tour on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.. The tour was a self-guided tour of solar, energy efficient, and environmentally responsible buildings in the Valley of the Sun. Despite rain, as many as 100 people were estimated at most of the homes. The tour showcased nine homes and one commercial project. Construction systems included wood, insulated masonry, insulated concrete forms, steel and strawbale. Home types ranged from production models to highly custom "spec homes" offered on the market. Builders enjoyed the opportunity to present their projects and market their interest in green building to the general public.

Green Building Outlook 2001

On Saturday, Nov. 4, Green Building Outlook 2001 was held at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts. The purpose of this event was to expose the general public to trends in building as related to environmentally responsible building practices, materials, and products. John Kurowski, of Kurowski Development Co., Littleton, Colorado, gave the keynote presentation on "Mainstreaming Green". John is the former president of the Metro Denver Home Builders Association and co-author of the Metro Denver Green Builder Program. Mr. Kurowski’s message portrayed the environmental and marketing potential of building green as evidenced in Denver’s program.

The event also featured green building projects that have effectively integrated energy/resource efficient design principles and exhibitors with environmentally responsible building products. Fifty four exhibitors displayed numerous environmentally responsible materials and products. Participating exhibitors are listed below:

Through a collaborative effort between the City of Scottsdale and the City of Surprise, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation became a major sponsor and participant in the event. Several representatives from the Canadian sustainable building community were speakers and provide exhibits on projects and programs.

Green Building Outlook 2001 drew over 400 individuals from around the valley and state, including Flagstaff, Sedona, Prescott, and Tucson. The event exposed green building to a wider audience and attests to the growing regional interest in environmentally responsible and healthy building practices.

Green Building Course at Scottsdale Community College

A new course entitled "Environmentally Responsible Building" was developed and conducted at Scottsdale Community College in the Spring Semester. The course provides an overview of environmental design concepts and building strategies. Topics include climate and geography, sustainability, renewable energies, water use and energy, resource efficiency, building materials, indoor air quality and waste reduction.

Scottsdale Sustainable City Facilities Guidelines

Green building staff has been working with the city environmental office is the developing green building guidelines for city facilities. The guidelines will address facility planning, programming, budgeting, design criteria, specifications, performance standards, housekeeping and maintenance. A kick-off luncheon presentation for city department directors was held on Aug. 31. The guidelines are expected to be completed by the end of 2001.

Awards and Recognition

2000 Valley Forward Environmental Excellence Award – On Sept. 8, Scottsdale’s Green Building Program received this award for its education programs and marketing strategies to encourage builders to incorporate environmentally responsible practices and features into their projects.

2000 Construction Specifications Institute's Environmental Sensitivity Award – On June 22 at CSI’s national conference in Atlanta, this award was presented to the city in recognition of the program’s ongoing efforts to promote environmental awareness in the construction industry.

1999 Governor's Energy Efficiency Award – On Nov. 18, 1999, the Arizona Governor’s office presented Scottsdale‘s Green Building Program a second place award for its partnerships with home builders on projects incorporating energy conservation features and for its public workshops promoting a whole-home approach to conservation.

Performance Goals

Performance Goals and Targets: Performance goals and targets are critical to measuring the effectiveness of the Green Building Program. To this end, we have started to develop a performance mechanism involving energy, water and construction debris. We plan to continue to work with Scottsdale’s Sustainability Indicators project to quantify and measure resource and waste flows associated with buildings in Scottsdale.

We have set the following targets for introducing green buildings into the Scottsdale single family residential market over the next five years:

Planning Retreat for Year 2001

On Jan. 12, 2001, a Green Building Planning/Kick-off meeting was held at the Urban Design Studio. Thirty green building committee members and guests were in attendance. Following is a summary of Goals for 2001 that were presented and discussed:

• Finalize revisions to residential guidelines (April deadline)
• Green building integration with development review process (already in progress)
• Green building integration with planning process
• Building permit surcharge for green building promotion/education fund (already in city budget process for effective date of 7/1/01)
• Reduced building permit fees for green building projects (already in city budget process for effective date of 7/1/01)
• Building code amendments compatible with green building guidelines for adoption in 2002
• Energy code preparation for adoption in 2002
• Performance measures and indicators
• Commercial guidelines (already in progress)
• Remodeling guidelines
• City facility guidelines (already in progress)
• Sustainable development guidelines
• Public awareness measures
• Collaboration for valley wide green building program (already in progress)
• Project projections - 4% of building permits to be green in 2001; 20% in 2005

Green Building Program Committee

The Scottsdale Green Building Program Committee serves in an advisory capacity to help city staff develop and sustain a pro-active campaign for environmentally responsible building. This campaign entails education and promotion of the benefits of green building to homebuyers, builders, and designers. The committee also provides guidance for strengthening rating criteria and expanding the program into the remodeling and commercial arena. The committee consists of over 30 environmental building advocates representing the design, construction, building product, real estate, and environmental communities. They are eight sub-committees involved in residential guideline revisions, commercial criteria development, events, promotion, recruitment, education, and deconstruction/waste reduction.

The following individuals have served as appointed members of the Green Building Program Committee in 2000:

Due to the tremendous amount of interest in green building, many other volunteers joined the efforts of the committee and general program activities. The following individuals served as non-appointed members of the committee: