As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
APPLICANT
Any person, corporation, partnership, firm, or any other
entity making an application to the municipality pursuant to this
chapter.
BENCHMARKING
Collecting building data regarding the total energy and water
usage for the previous calendar year, to be used in comparing data
from that building in other calendar years, and data for other similar
buildings.
BENCHMARKING TOOL
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR®
Portfolio Manager Internet-based database system and any complementary
interface used to track and assess the energy and water use of certain
buildings relative to similar buildings.
BUILDING
Any edifice of any kind or any piece of work artificially
built or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner
and permanently attached to the ground, used or intended for supporting
or sheltering any use or occupancy.
CERTIFIABLE
To attain the number of points, as determined by the Building
Inspector, that are necessary to meet the requirements of the applicable
level of the green building rating system. It is not required that
the building be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council or other
applicable green building authority.
COMMERCIAL BUILDING
Any building other than a residential, manufacturing, utility,
or municipal building, including, without limitation, offices, retail
facilities, warehouses, mixed-use buildings, schools and other educational
buildings, and sports and entertainment facilities.
CONDITIONED SPACE
Any area within a building that is artificially heated or
cooled by fixed equipment. Spot heating of small portions of a larger
space does not render the area conditioned space.
CONSTRUCTION
The erection of any building or structure or any portion
thereof.
COVERED BUILDING
A building that is required to meet the green building standards
of this chapter.
ENERGY AND WATER BENCHMARKING DATA
Information required by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager Internet-based database system
to determine the total energy and water usage of a covered building
for the previous calendar year.
ENERGY STAR® HOME REPORT
A report completed by a Home Energy Rating System rater which
yields a projected ENERGY STAR® rating for a home before construction
begins.
FIXED EQUIPMENT
Equipment that is fixed or attached to real property permanently
as an appendage and is not readily portable. For example, a space
heater and a floor fan are not fixed equipment.
FUNDED
To provide direct financial contributions to the building;
it does not include to guarantee a loan, provide incentives, or otherwise
provide indirect financial assistance.
GREEN BUILDING
A whole systems approach to the design, construction, and
operation of buildings that helps mitigate the environmental impact
of buildings. Green building practices recognize the relationship
between natural and built environments and seek to minimize the use
of energy, water, and other natural resources and provide a healthy
indoor environment. Green building can also refer to a building built
to standards that are more environmentally friendly than normal building
standards.
HERS
See "Home Energy Rating System."
HISTORIC BUILDING
Buildings that are listed in or have been officially declared
eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places,
or are designated as historic under an applicable state or local law.
HOME ENERGY RATING SYSTEM (HERS) INDEX
A scoring system established by RESNET in which homes are
compared to a HERS Reference Home (based on the 2006 International
Energy Conservation Code).
INDUSTRIAL BUILDING
A building whose principal use is manufacturing, vehicle
maintenance, fueling or storage, waste storage or treatment, water
treatment, equipment maintenance or storage, telecommunications equipment,
or public utility.
LEED ACCREDITED PROFESSIONAL (AP)
Any person who has passed the LEED Professional Accreditation
Exam administered by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI).
LEED CHECKLIST
A checklist developed by the U.S. Green Building Council
for the purpose of calculating a score on the LEED Rating System.
MAJOR RENOVATION
Modification of an existing building where the scope of work
of the project includes at least one of the following:
A.
Construction work in space containing at least 50% of the building's
floor area; or
B.
Construction work which increases the square footage of conditioned
space in the building by at least 50%.
MUNICIPAL BUILDING
A.
Any building that is either owned, or at least fifty-percent
funded or on land owned or where greater than 50% of the conditioned
floor area is leased, by the Town or any unit thereof.
B.
This definition applies notwithstanding any outside federal,
state or county funding for the building.
PROJECT
A design and construction undertaking comprised of work related
to one or more site improvements. Multiple modifications of the same
building or simultaneous related work in conjoined structures under
common ownership or control may constitute a single project for the
purposes of the size requirements of this chapter. Separate modifications
within a project may have different design professionals and job numbers,
and may result in the issuance of one or more permits.
RATING SYSTEM
A system designed to rate green building criteria for particular
buildings. For example, LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC), LEED
for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (LEED EB:OM), LEED
for Schools, and LEED for Homes are all different rating systems.
RESIDENTIAL BUILDING
Any building used for living, sleeping, eating, and cooking.
Residential buildings include one-family, two-family, and multifamily
residences and dormitories. For the purposes of this chapter, a residential
building does not include long-term care facilities, assisted-living
facilities, or hotels, motels, inns, or any similar commercial enterprises
wherein rooms or suites of rooms are occupied transiently. Buildings
used for purposes identified in the preceding sentence are considered
commercial buildings.
SPECIAL PURPOSE UNIT OF GOVERNMENT
Independent governmental units that exist separately from,
and with substantial administrative and fiscal independence from,
general purpose local governments such as county, city, town, and
village governments, and that are created to provide a specific service
in a specific region.
VERSION
A particular iteration of a specific LEED green building
rating system. For example, LEED-NC 3.0 is a version of the LEED-NC
rating system.
The provisions of this chapter apply to all covered buildings
with the following exemptions.
A. Hardship or infeasibility. If an applicant believes that circumstances
exist that make it a hardship or infeasible to meet the requirements
of this chapter, the applicant may apply for a partial exemption as
set forth below. The burden is on the applicant to show hardship or
infeasibility.
(1) Factors to consider in determining whether hardship or infeasibility
exists include, but are not limited to, availability of green building
materials and technologies, compatibility of green building requirements
with other government requirements and building standards, availability
of markets for materials to be recycled, and financial infeasibility.
(2) "Hardship" means some verifiable level of difficulty or adversity arising from the factors identified in Subsection
A(1) or other circumstances beyond the control of the applicant, by which the applicant cannot reasonably comply with the requirements of this chapter.
(3) "Infeasible" means the existence of verifiable obstacles arising from the factors identified in Subsection
A(1) or other circumstances beyond the control of the applicant which render the applicant incapable of complying with the requirements of this chapter.
(4) Application. The applicant may apply for an exemption at the time of submission of the documentation required in §
74-6 of this chapter. The applicant shall indicate the maximum number of credits he or she believes is feasible for the building to obtain and the circumstances that make it a hardship or infeasible to fully comply with this chapter.
(5) Granting of exemption. If the Building Inspector determines that
it is a hardship or infeasible for the applicant to meet the requirements
of this chapter, he or she shall determine the maximum feasible number
of credits reasonably achievable for the building. If an exemption
is granted, the applicant shall be required to comply with this chapter
in all other respects and shall be required to attain the number of
credits determined to be achievable by the Building Inspector.
(6) Denial of exemption. If the Building Inspector determines that it
is not a hardship or infeasible for the applicant to meet the requirements
of this chapter, he or she shall so notify the applicant, in writing,
with a statement of reasons for the denial.
B. Historic buildings. If an applicant believes that circumstances exist under which a historic building should not be required to meet the standards of this chapter to maintain historic integrity, he or she may apply for a partial exemption. The process for granting a partial exemption shall be the same as that in Subsection
A(4) through
(6) above.
County, state, and federal facilities, special purpose units
of government facilities, buildings of municipalities other than the
one enacting this chapter, and houses of worship are excluded from
the requirements of this chapter.
Any person aggrieved may appeal, in writing, any decision or
determination by the Building Inspector under this chapter, including
the granting or denial of an exemption or compliance with the chapter,
to the Town Zoning Board of Appeals. Any appeal must be filed with
the secretary of the Town Zoning Board of Appeals not more than 60
days after the decision or determination by the Building Inspector
is furnished to the applicant. The appeal shall state the alleged
error or reason for the appeal. The Town Zoning Board of Appeals shall
review the decision or determination under the same standard of review
it would generally use in its appellate capacity and may uphold, reverse
or modify the decision or determination, or refer the matter back
to the Building Inspector for such further action as may be directed
by the Town Zoning Board of Appeals. The Town Zoning Board of Appeals
may not grant variances from the technical requirements of the applicable
rating system, version, or code, but it may review the Building Inspector's
interpretation of such requirements.
If any subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause
or phrase of this chapter, or any part thereof, is for any reason
held to be unconstitutional, invalid, or ineffective by any court
of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity
or effectiveness of the remaining portions or any part thereof.
[Amended 12-7-2021 by L.L. No. 7-2021; 4-26-2022 by L.L. No. 6-2022]
Notwithstanding anything in this chapter, nothing in this chapter
obviates the need to comply with otherwise applicable building code
requirements for building permits, temporary certificates of use and
occupancy, final certificates of use and occupancy, fire, safety and
electrical codes, and any other applicable land use or environmental
requirements such as subdivision regulations, site plan review, or
special permit approval.