Green Policies - Southern California

In recent years, numerous local governments in California have implemented "green" building ordinances. These measures can increase energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and decrease other harmful environmental impacts. This document identifies the various approaches to green building ordinances that jurisdictions have taken and the most common features of the measures.

The Anaheim Public Utilities Green Building Program offers incentives for private projects certified by LEED or other green rating systems. Qualified projects earn incentives including plan check fee waivers, expedited permit processing, and other incentives for energy efficient technologies. LEED Certified or better is required all for city-owned projects over 10,000 sq. ft. GreenPoint Rated is listed as a resource for home builders.

The City offers the GreenStar program under which residences with planned sustainable design elements receive expedited permitting. All permit applications must include an Indoor Air Quality Plan and a Water Conservation Plan.

Costa Mesa has a Green Building Incentive Program wherein permit fees are waived for green technologies and builders can receive rebates for costs of green certifications, including GreenPoint Rated.

LEED Certified is required for all civic projects 7,500 sf or larger. The City encourages voluntary residential green remodeling with the Residential Rehabilitation Guidebook. The City is developing a program for private sector green building standards that may require LEED Certified for private projects of 50+ residential units or 50,000+ sf of commercial space.

The City of Mission Viejo has a two-year pilot program (ending in April 2008) for residential remodeling and new construction. Projects are scored against a green building scorecard, those with 60 or more points are eligible to receive expedited plan review and design assistance.

Residential and commercial projects are encouraged to follow the City's Sustainable Building Measures, and expedited permit processing is available for projects following the City Council's Sustainable Building Policy. LEED Silver is required for all new civic projects.

West Hollywood has a mandatory green building program for all commercial, municipal, and residential projects with 3 or more units. A point system is used to rate projects, with high achieving projects eligible for extra zoning incentives.