New LA Buildings Going Green

Planners pass tough new rules that critics grouse will boost prices
By Marcia Greenwood,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 16, 2007 3:30 AM CST
New LA Buildings Going Green
A new measure will require new buildings in Los Angeles to meet 'green' standards.   (KRT Photos)

The Los Angeles Planning Commission has approved an ambitious package of rules that would require new buildings to cut energy use by 15%. Measures include wiring buildings for solar energy, installing water-saving appliances, and using recycled materials in construction, the Los Angeles Times reports. The regulations would reduce energy use in large developments to well below what is required by California law, the strictest in the nation.

The measures are expected to come before the City Council within months, but builders are already planning some construction to conform with the new regulations. One group representing builders said the rules would boost home prices and trigger a
bureaucratic "train wreck." But the LA Business Council, an influential group of developers and architects, applauded the effort as "practical and realistic." (More green construction stories.)

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