[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of New Castle 12-13-2011 by L.L. No.
16-2011. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The Town of New Castle ("Town") is committed to enhancing the public
welfare and assuring that further development is consistent with the
Town's desire to create a more sustainable community by incorporating
green building measures into the design, construction, and maintenance
of buildings that minimize short-term and long-term negative impacts
on the environment.
B.
In recent years, green building design, construction, and operational
techniques have become increasingly widespread. Many homeowners, businesses,
and building professionals have voluntarily sought to incorporate
green building techniques into their buildings. A number of local
and national systems have been developed to serve as guides to green
building practices. The Town finds that requiring certain buildings
to incorporate green building measures is necessary and appropriate
to realize the benefits of green building.
C.
The intent of this chapter is to mandate green building practices
designed to encourage the following: resource conservation; reduction
of waste generated by construction; reduction in the use of energy
in both initial construction and daily operations; energy efficiency;
promoting the health and productivity of residents, workers, and visitors
to the Town; construction of environmentally sustainable municipal
and privately owned buildings; and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
to mitigate the impacts of climate change. A further intent of this
chapter is for the owners and occupants of new commercial buildings,
offices, mixed-use buildings, and residences to gain the economic
benefits of energy and water savings, and the health benefits of good
indoor air quality.
A.
This chapter shall apply to all applications for building permits
in the following categories:
(1)
All new construction of municipal buildings greater than 5,000 square
feet of conditioned space or major modifications to municipal buildings
greater than 5,000 square feet of conditioned space.
(2)
All new construction of commercial and high-rise multifamily residential
buildings greater than 5,000 square feet of conditioned space or major
modifications to commercial and high-rise multifamily residential
buildings greater than 5,000 square feet of conditioned space.
B.
This chapter shall apply to all existing municipal buildings that
are greater than 5,000 square feet of conditioned space at the conclusion
of any subject work.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any person, corporation, partnership, firm, or any other
entity making an application to the municipality pursuant to this
chapter.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The erection of any building or structure or any portion
thereof.
A building that is required to meet the green building standards
of this chapter.
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.
A set of guidelines for energy efficiency developed by the
EPA and the Department of Energy.
A report completed by a Home Energy Rating System rater which
yields a projected ENERGY STAR® rating for a home before construction
begins.
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.
To provide direct financial contributions to the building;
it does not include to guarantee a loan, provide incentives, or otherwise
provide indirect financial assistance.
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.
See "Home Energy Rating System."
Multifamily residential construction of four stories or more.
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.
A scoring system established by RESNET in which homes are
compared to a HERS Reference Home (based on the 2006 International
Energy Conservation Code).
A person who has passed the Residential Energy Services Network
(RESNET) National Rater Test.
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.
A voluntary, third-party rating system developed by the U.S.
Green Building Council where credits are earned for satisfying specified
green building criteria.
Any person who has passed the LEED Professional Accreditation
Exam administered by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI).
A checklist developed by the U.S. Green Building Council
for the purpose of calculating a score on the LEED Rating System.
Multifamily residential construction, including townhomes,
of three stories or less.
Modification of an existing building where the scope of work
of the project includes at least one of the following:
Containing three or more dwelling units.
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.
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.
Renovation, alteration, or reconstruction.
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.
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.
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.
A.
The Town hereby adopts the USGBC's LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC)
Rating System, Version 3.0. The Town Clerk shall maintain copies of
the current green building standards in effect under this chapter
and any additional documents necessary for applicants to comply with
the standards of this chapter.
B.
Because green building standards are highly technical and the Building
Inspector has the proper expertise to determine whether new standards
are appropriate, he or she shall be in charge of adopting new LEED
or ENERGY STAR® rating systems, new versions of LEED or ENERGY
STAR®, a green construction code, or a different green building
rating system. Whenever the Building Inspector considers adopting
a new system, version, or code, he or she shall follow the process
below.
(1)
The Building Inspector shall determine whether or not to adopt the
new rating system, version, or code based on the following standards:
(a)
The new rating system, version, or code must have been established
by a government agency or by a not for profit organization whose standards
have achieved widespread acceptance;
(b)
The new rating system, version, or code, looked at as a whole,
must be no less protective of the environment than the prior rating
system, version, or code;
(c)
The new rating system, version, or code must be designed to
reflect recent scientific, engineering, and technological knowledge;
(d)
The new rating system, version, or code cannot be adopted primarily
for the benefit of a particular project or applicant; and
(e)
The new rating system has been determined by the Town Counsel
to be consistent with applicable law.
(2)
If the Building Inspector decides to adopt the new rating system,
version, or code, he or she must make public this adoption by filing
the adoption with the Town Clerk and giving public notice of the adoption
in the manner customary for the Town. The new rating system, version,
or code shall not apply to any new buildings for which a building
permit had already been issued at the time that such filing and notice
have been effectuated.
(3)
Nothing in this section shall abrogate the authority of the Town
Board to adopt, modify, or repeal green building standards that have
been adopted by the Building Inspector.
A.
All new construction of covered buildings must comply with the following
standards:
(1)
All municipal buildings greater than 5,000 square feet of conditioned
space must be at least LEED Silver certifiable.
(2)
All commercial and high-rise multifamily residential buildings greater
than 5,000 square feet of conditioned space must be at least LEED
Silver certifiable.
(3)
All new construction of covered commercial, high-rise multifamily
residential and municipal buildings must attain at least four points
from the Energy and Atmosphere Credit 1 of the LEED-NC checklist.
B.
All major renovations to covered buildings (municipal, commercial
and high-rise multifamily residential buildings greater than 5,000
square feet of conditioned space) must comply with the following standards.
C.
Applicants for covered buildings are not required to attain LEED
certification from the USGBC nor are they required to share energy
and water usage data with USGBC under LEED's minimum program requirements.
A.
New construction and major modifications.
(1)
Applications. Every applicant who files a building permit application
for new construction of or major modification to a covered building
must submit to the Building Inspector:
(a)
A completed LEED checklist demonstrating the LEED points a building
is designed to obtain.
(b)
A written explanation of how the building will obtain the LEED
points identified in the checklist.
(c)
Design plans that demonstrate compliance with the applicable standard required by § 74-5 of this chapter.
(d)
Any other documents or information the Building Inspector finds necessary to decide whether the building will achieve the applicable standard required by § 74-5 of this chapter.
(e)
An application fee to cover the cost of Town and third-party inspection services. The application fee will be established by the Town Board and published in the annual fee schedule and will be graduated depending on the size of the building. The Town has the right to obtain an additional fee from the applicant if the application fee does not cover the full cost of the Town and third-party inspection services. Any unused portion of this fee will be returned once the building attains the required rating as set forth in § 74-5A or the application is withdrawn.
(f)
If the applicant can show a clear and specific inconsistency
between meeting a state or federal legal requirement and the attainment
of one or more particular LEED points, or that antitrust laws prevent
the municipality from requiring a particular LEED point or set of
points, either of which could invalidate this chapter or a provision
thereof, the applicant should document the conflict in the application.
The Building Inspector shall review the documentation in consultation
with the Town's legal counsel and if such inconsistency exists, will
deem the LEED point to have been achieved by the building if otherwise
applicable building and energy conservation code requirements have
been met.
(2)
Approval. No building permit shall be issued for any covered building unless the Building Inspector determines the application demonstrates that the covered building will attain the applicable standard as required by § 74-5 of this chapter.
(3)
Nonapproval. If the Building Inspector determines that the documentation is incomplete or indicates that the covered building will not meet the required standard in § 74-5 of this chapter, the Building Inspector shall either:
(4)
Resubmission. If the documentation is returned to the applicant, the applicant may resubmit the documentation with such additional information as may be required or may apply for a partial exemption under § 74-8 of this chapter.
(5)
Decisions by the Building Inspector. All decisions by the Building
Inspector, including but not limited to approval or nonapproval of
applications for a building permit, issuance of a stop-work order,
substitution of LEED points or ENERGY STAR® features, and temporary
approval and mitigation measures, shall be in writing. These decisions
will be provided to the affected applicants. Copies will be retained
by the Town and made available for public inspection.
A.
Compliance review. The Building Inspector shall determine whether the specifications identified in the documentation provided pursuant to § 74-6A have been implemented by conducting inspections at any time during construction or until the issuance of a final certificate of occupancy. The applicant shall provide the Building Inspector with access to the premises in order to conduct inspections to ensure compliance with this chapter. The Town may require the applicant to provide information and documents showing use of products, equipment, and materials specified in the documentation provided pursuant to § 74-6A. If the Town determines that the building is not being constructed in accordance with the documentation, the Building Inspector may issue a stop-work order. This order may apply to a portion of the building or to the entire building and shall remain in effect until the Building Inspector determines that the building will be brought into compliance with the documentation and the requirements of this chapter.
B.
Inspection services. The Building Inspector may contract with a qualified individual or entity to perform inspection services to advise with respect to whether an applicant has met the requirements of this chapter. The inspection reports and recommendations issued by such individual or entity will be reviewed by the Building Inspector, who will decide whether to accept, reject or modify them. The Building Inspector may enter into an agreement with one or more municipalities to retain the services of an individual or entity to perform such services. The cost of these services will be borne by the applicant through application fees as set forth in § 74-6A(1)(c).
C.
Substitution of LEED points or ENERGY STAR® features. During
compliance review, the Building Inspector may exercise flexibility
to substitute the approved LEED points with other LEED points or to
substitute approved ENERGY STAR® features with other ENERGY STAR®
features so long as the building will still attain the green building
rating required by this chapter. Substitution shall occur only at
the request of the applicant and when it is determined by the Building
Inspector that the originally approved points or features are no longer
feasible or that the substitute point or feature will realize a more
favorable result as determined by the Building Inspector. Substitution
is at the discretion of the Building Inspector.
D.
Final approval. The Town Building Department shall not issue a final certificate of use and occupancy for any construction of a covered building unless it finds that the building has achieved the standard required under § 74-5 of this chapter.
E.
The Town Board shall establish a penalty schedule to be applied when
the Building Inspector determines that a violation of this chapter
has occurred with respect to any existing building. This penalty schedule
will be published in the annual schedule of fees.
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.
A.
This section shall apply to all new construction of and major renovations
to commercial, high-rise multifamily residential and municipal buildings.
B.
An applicant shall meet the requirements necessary to obtain at least one point under LEED v 3.0 MR Credit 2, entitled "Construction Waste Management," by developing and implementing a construction waste management plan that, at a minimum, identifies the materials to be diverted from disposal and whether the materials will be sorted on site or comingled. The plan shall be submitted to the Building Inspector during the compliance process as set forth in § 74-6 of this chapter.
C.
Exemption. If an applicant believes that circumstances exist that make it a hardship or infeasible to meet the requirements of this section, the applicant may apply for an exemption in the same manner as set forth in § 74-8 of this chapter. In determining whether to grant or deny the request, the Building Inspector shall comply with the requirements of § 74-8 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.
