Malibu considers a sustainable future

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The council discusses instituting a green building program for the city.

By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times

The Malibu City Council zoning subcommittee met Tuesday this week to discuss a council high priority of developing a successful green building program for the city.

Staff recommendation, as prepared by associate planner Bonnie Blue, was to provide direction of Malibu’s sustainable development program by Global Green USA, an environmental nonprofit whose work focuses on stemming global climate change by creating green buildings and cities.

Global Green USA has been instrumental in guiding several California cities in developing cost-effective green building policies, including Los Angeles, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, San Jose and Irvine.

In introducing the Global Green report, Blue said, “The California Air Resources Board is tasked with figuring out how to balance governmental regulations and concerns of businesses. Local governments are encouraging their own protocols, which cover many aspects of city life. Sustainability is a bigger concept than just green building.”

Vic Peterson, community development director, said a comprehensive sustainability program will allow the city to address all aspects of zoning and code enforcement in efforts to reduce the city’s carbon footprint, from zoning amendments on green building requirements to seeking funding from Caltrans to install bike lanes.

Walker Wells, a certified LEED (Leader in Energy and Environmental Design) expert and urban planner, is a program director for Global Green USA. He cited statistics on the environmental impact of the nation’s buildings, which use 40 percent of the country’s energy supplies and create 20 to 40 percent of the nation’s solid waste.

“Thirty percent of our nation’s buildings have poor indoor air quality,” Wells said. “We’re breathing whatever toxins come out of this carpet or the paint on these walls. I can’t tell you how many ‘green building’ speeches I’ve given in windowless conference rooms that don’t take advantage of natural daylight to reduce energy use.”

Global Green’s goal is to teach cities how they can shape public policy to help reduce harmful industrial effects, maximize use of resources and create healthier environments for its citizens, while encouraging participatory investment by its business community.

“The most important components in an effective sustainable city policy are site management, water efficiency, energy usage, material resources and indoor environmental quality,” Wells said. “Green building tries to weave all these aspects together into a synergy.”

A comprehensive sustainability program would make the city manager’s job easier, as it would address energy management, recycling, water conservation, storm water management, land use and public health in a way that “would make everything work together better,” Wells said.

Wells then outlined the steps to development of a program that included analyzing trends, reviewing existing guidelines, conducting outreach, establishing a framework and implementing a step-by-step program.

He cited a storm water management program in Emporia, Kansas, a natural resources development plan in Pasadena, California and various cities’ trends in single-family versus mixed-use building development.

Wells said, with “significant community outreach and education, so that all stakeholders’ concerns are heard, it is realistic to expect to put together a program in nine months.”

Peterson said some of the urban green building goals might not be as applicable to Malibu as to other cities.

“Ninety-nine percent of all development in Malibu is residential and 90 percent of that is in re-dos or additions,” Peterson said. “I think we have to focus on what to make mandatory and what to make voluntary. While I totally support green building, to me, the biggest consideration is in water conservation

in this community.”

Wells responded, “Even Malibu’s 12,000 square-foot houses can be built green. I think you have to envision the character of the city you see in 2012. That’s an effective point of departure for a discussion on sustainability.”

Planning Commission Chair Joan House said she would like to see programs for green landscaping that would be a part of any permitting process, asking if it were possible to find grants to help in building a LEED-certified City Hall. LEED-certified buildings are subject to federal and local tax credits.

Councilmember Jefferson Wagner pointed out that Malibu already had a great deal of green requirements on the books.

“Contractors here have an eye on their profitability,” he said. “How do we compare what we’ve already implemented now to LEED standards? Is LEED adaptive?”

Wells assured the commission that Global Green doesn’t have a specific standard it pushes on cities.

“We work with you to see what fits you best,” he said. “We can compare what you have on the books now and see what is not being currently addressed by your current code. Over time, new standards can be implemented.”

Peterson and the commission debated green building incentives, such as fast track permitting and community purchase of power from green energy providers.

Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich said she would like to have city staff trained to become LEED accredited, rather than hiring outside experts, and asked for public input.

Barbara Cameron, grants consultant for the city, said the state is offering hefty grants for water conservation programs and should be considered in any sustainability program.