San Antonio took the first step of the mayor's ambitious Mission Verde plan Thursday, passing new sustainable building codes aimed at making the city's homes and buildings more energy- and water-efficient.
The new rules, which the City Council passed by a unanimous vote, call for all new buildings starting in 2010 to be 15 percent more energy-efficient than currently required.
That would jump to a target of 30 percent by 2012, with a goal of carbon-free buildings by 2030.
"Carbon-free buildings" could be powered by onsite renewable energy systems, like wind or solar, that don't produce any greenhouse gases.
The ordinance also prescribes water-saving building techniques by 2010 that will cut in-home water use by 20 percent to 30 percent, San Antonio Water System CEO Robert Puente said. If 5,000 homes met the new standards, that would save an estimated 100 million gallons of water.
"I think this puts the city of San Antonio in the leading edge nationally as for doing the proper thing for the right reason," said Ed Kelley, retired president of USAA Real Estate and chairman of the task force that developed the ordinance.
The new rules came with the endorsement of an unlikely coalition - architects, developers and Sierra Club members.
"It's not often that the San Antonio Builders Association comes before you to support an ordinance that will increase the cost of housing," said Kim Shrum of the Greater San Antonio Builders Association.
Members of that coalition spent months on a task force developing the building codes. Although most acknowledge the new rules could increase the upfront costs of a home, they argue that the homeowner saves money over time because of lower water and power bills.
"The additional cost to build a new home to the 15 percent improved standard passed in today's ordinance should not cause a homeowner any additional out-of-pocket expense when looking at monthly mortgage payment plus operating costs for energy and water," said John Friesenhahn of Imagine Homes.
Councilwoman Delicia Herrera said the overall cost of homeownership was important.
"Affordable really means being able to keep your home once you get it," she said.
There is also an ongoing discussion at City Hall and among San Antonio's water and power utilities about incentive programs that could reduce or eliminate the upfront costs associated with energy- and water-efficient building methods.
The new building codes don't prescribe any specific methods to meet the energy and water saving targets. That will be left up to the builder, architect and homeowner.
The ordinance does outline a number of means to measure success. Among them is compliance with the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code, and certification by third-party programs like the federal government's Energy Star program and Build San Antonio Green.
The ordinance also calls for creating a sustainable building committee of architects, engineers, construction professionals, green building experts and others to keep tabs on the program and, among other things, ensure it doesn't become too expensive or onerous.
Such a committee is important to help vet the multitude of green building products available, said Tim Swan, task force member and CEO of Metropolitan Contracting Co.
"Sustainability is critical to our future," he said. "But we must not forget that the sustainability industry is still an industry."
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