Builders Construction eGreeni Chapter

by Barbara Pearson

About 100 eco-savvy professionals across the Tri-Counties already have signed up for membership in the U.S. Green Building Council n California Central Coast Chapter, or USGBC-C4, putting the region at the cutting edge of an industry in which demand continues to increase for sustainable design and construction. After more than a year of preparation, the C i4i chapter, which is officially recognized as an organizing chapter, is ramping up to submit an application in the coming days for status as a provisional chapter. The chapter could received approval from the national organization as soon as n ext month.

iThe size of our increasing carbon footprint is putting pressure on and creating demand for the [USGBC] and access to the research the organization can provide,i said Paul Poirier of Poirier and David Architects in Santa Barbara, a Santa Barbara representative for the C4 board. iMore and more people are moving to California and increasing the demand for the resources we have available.i

Area architects, builders and city officials were among the attendants of a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, training workshop Feb. 1 sponsored by Lack Construction, attesting to the growing focus on green building standards in the area.

The University of California, Santa Barbara, has at least 25 LEED projects in the works, after the chancellor approved a policy in 2004 that commits all new university buildings to serve for Silver LEED rating and encourages a change in operations and maintenance procedures to help existing building earn LEED certification. In addition, California is in the process of adopting changes to its Title 24 building energy efficiency standards.

iItis the future of building in California,i Poirier said. iItis going to be the future of building, period.i Added Tom Coalson of Santa Barbara-based Lack Construction in an interview at the Feb. 1 workshop.

The demand for LEED-related buildings had raised the need for LEED accredited professionals in the area. A regional US-GBC chapter will increase training opportunities for LEED accreditation and expose the community to sustainable resources, Poirier said.

iWith the next decade, if you donit have [a LEED-accredited professional] on staff, at least in a contractor company, I donit think youill be in business,i Coalson said.

Organizing members have completed bylaws, a strategic plan and budget. On Feb. 11, the last election for regional board representatives was conducted in Ventura County.

Five members from San Luis Obispo County and four members each from Santa Barbara and Ventura counties will make up the board, which will convene for the first time in March.

iI think so much is happening in California in general, it is an enormous opportunity not only business-wise, but to do it right,i said Marilyn Miller of Habitat Studio Architecture in San Luis Obispo and a member of the C4 board. iWe have a unique set of circumstancesOe It is important we have our voice amongst those debating issues at all levels.i

Since April, an organizing group has met twice a month to work toward meeting criteria required for status as a USGBC chapter, including creating a mission statement, leadership team, budget, bylaws, events calendar, first-year program and five-year strategic plan.

iThe California Central Coast Chapter of the USGBC, including the coastal counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura, have been experiencing similar issues of population growth and development pressures in a shared rural, coastal environment, greatly emphasizing the need for a local chapter of the USGBC,i stated the plan.

By working primarily through committees, the C4 chapter hopes to form strategic alliances with regional organizations to gain consensus on tools, products, programs and events.

iThe drive to form a local chapter was to create a regional conduit between numerous existing grassroots sustainability groups in the tri-county area and to connect local groups with the national green building movement,i stated C4is strategic plan.

In its first year in operation, C4 intends to elect leaders, from alliances with other organizations, establish and build a chapter foundation, lay a legal and financial base for the organization, file a petition for status as a provisional chapter, be4come a legal non-for-profit organization and establish part-time local staff and office space.

By January 2009, the chapter plans to develop a starter kit for state and local governments including model guidelines, model legislatives language and common indicators in conjunctions with the USGBC.

Within three years, the organization intends to establish alliances with state organizations and tother California USGBC chapters, establish an ongoing education program, establish full-time local staff and office space, and become a recognized leading authority as an advocate for sustainable, self-sufficient and carbon neutral cities.

A mixer and membership drive is scheduled for March 13 at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a lecture by actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr. will follow March 24 in Ventura.

The drives easily double participation, Poirier said.

Information about the chapter can be found at www.usgbcc4.org.

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