Looking to lead by example

COSTA MESA — When it comes to building design, the wave of the future may well be waterless.

That’s waterless — as in landscaping with cactus gardens that don’t need much irrigation, or waterless urinals that save thousands of gallons per year. But cutting down water use is only one of the strategies Costa Mesa city officials are pursuing to make the city more “green,” encouraging public and private buildings that are more friendly to the environment.

At City Hall, a team of builders, planners and other staff members created a plan to make existing facilities more efficient, and to make sure any new city buildings will meet the standards of the U.S. Green Building Council, which rates developments on how well they conserve water and energy, use recycled materials, and accommodate transportation alternatives like bicycles or hybrid cars.

“There’s so much that I think we as a community and as a country need to do to protect the environment,” Costa Mesa City Councilwoman Katrina Foley said. She and Councilman Eric Bever, who could not be reached for comment, suggested creating programs to offer incentives for private projects to be green.

Foley also wants the city to lead by example. The council in August will vote on several green-building issues, including a policy requiring city facilities to be more environmentally friendly and a program to encourage developers and homeowners to incorporate efficient appliances and recycled materials into their plans.

No new city facilities are immediately in the pipeline to be built, but plenty of ideas have been floated to make the city hall complex on Fair Drive greener.

City building official Khanh Nguyen is proposing solar panels to cover some roof areas at City Hall and the nearby fire station. He estimates they could generate up to 75% of the power needed at the complex, and with a state rebate the city should break even on the installation costs in six to seven years.

Another idea is a “green roof” for part of City Hall, which is due for a roof replacement anyway. Movable planter boxes, probably containing succulents that don’t require much water, would be placed on the roof and spaced apart by paths and benches. Visitors could enjoy the plants, Nguyen said, and the city could measure whether the move improves insulation.

The city already has taken less dramatic steps toward efficiency by recycling used paper — an estimated 26,000 pounds per year — as well as auctioning surplus property online and installing waterless urinals, saving 450,000 gallons of water annually.

An incentive program planned for this fall would waive permit fees and speed up the approval process for private-sector projects that use such efficiencies.

The city’s “green team” of staff members set up a website and offer information at City Hall on how to make private projects green.

‘We’re hoping to train the architect, the designer and builder how to build green,” Nguyen said.

If the council agrees to the new policy, Costa Mesa will be among the first cities to take such a step, but it also will be part of a statewide trend. U.S. Green Building Council statistics show 38 local, state or federal government facilities that are certified under the council’s standards.

The rating system was developed in 2000. Today, there are 926 certified public and private buildings nationwide and about 8,000 in the queue seeking certification, U.S. Green Building Council spokeswoman Ashley Katz said.

“It’s kind of happened gradually,” she said. “There’s been kind of a groundswell of projects and interest in [green] building all over the country.”

In Orange County the only buildings certified by the council are in Irvine, and all four of them are private-sector facilities. In Costa Mesa, companies like Forma Systems and the Lab already have built recycling and efficiency into their work spaces.

Forma, a design firm, moved into its Pullman Street warehouse in December. The company added an atrium for more air and light, used environmentally safe paint, and installed a filter system outside for runoff.

It’s the direction many designers are going with new communities, and it also helps employees feel happier at work, Forma principal Van Stephens said.

“Ninety people work here, and they’re all feeling good about the environment,” he said. “That adds a lot of positive energy to what they do.”

Foley said few cities are seeking environmental certification for their buildings, but she expects the move to benefit city workers as well as saving money in the long run.

“We’ll be on the cutting edge in Orange County if all of what’s proposed moves forward,” she said.