{"id":2376,"date":"2011-12-12T23:06:40","date_gmt":"2011-12-13T04:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itstheenvironmentstupid.com\/?p=2376"},"modified":"2011-12-12T23:09:38","modified_gmt":"2011-12-13T04:09:38","slug":"ny-city-to-ease-building-regulations-for-green-building-elements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itstheenvironmentstupid.com\/?p=2376","title":{"rendered":"NY City To Ease Building Regulations for Green Building Elements"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by Amanda Fung, CRAINS NEW YORK BUSINESS, December 12, 2011<\/em><\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/a> New zoning proposals designed to make it easier for owners to make their buildings more energy-efficient and sustainable began the formal city public approval process on Monday.<\/p>\n

Existing zoning laws can actually impede owners trying to build green or retrofit their buildings. The new proposals are expected to lift some of those impediments. The changes include allowing owners to build thicker walls to accommodate external insulation, which could reduce energy consumption by as much as half, and allowing the installation of solar panels even if they would add more height to a building than zoning rules allow.<\/p>\n

While there is no time limit for the approval process, proposals will be reviewed by all the community boards across the city and all five borough presidents. Proposals need to be approved by the City Council before they can be adopted citywide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the most comprehensive citywide initiative dealing with energy efficiency and green building in the U.S.,\u201d said Amanda Burden, chair of the City Planning Commission. \u201cThis is about being a greener city, providing cleaner air and water as well as saving money on utility bills.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city’s roughly one million buildings cost $15 billion a year to power and heat and account for 80% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. The changes will promote the installation of solar panels on rooftops, which will reduce electrical bills and carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

Additionally, storm-water detention systems and skylights can be installed anywhere below the parapet on rooftops, regardless of building height. Wind turbines would also be allowed to rise up to 55 feet above, or up to half the height of the building, on the rooftop of commercial and industrial buildings taller than 100 feet.<\/p>\n

Exemptions for floor area and height limits are also proposed for greenhouses built atop commercial and industrial buildings. Greenhouses can allow year-round local food production, something several local schools have expressed interest in, according to Ms. Burden. While the new zoning changes will promote building greener, they also encourage owners to retrofit existing buildings,and add local food production.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese initiatives are groundbreaking and go directly after removing obstacles to renewable energy generation,\u201d said Ms. Burden. \u201cWe are very excited.\u201d [Read story on home page]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read more: http:\/\/www.crainsnewyork.com\/article\/20111212\/REAL_ESTATE\/111219985#ixzz1gNpHgT00<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New York City is preparing to allow a broad range of exceptions to its stringent building code for improvements to buildings that will make them healthier and cheaper to run while emitting less carbon. The City calls the new rules “Green Zone” regulations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":""},"categories":[17,69],"tags":[1563,1560,1122,1564,1565,1566,1561],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itstheenvironmentstupid.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itstheenvironmentstupid.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itstheenvironmentstupid.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itstheenvironmentstupid.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itstheenvironmentstupid.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2376"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/itstheenvironmentstupid.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2381,"href":"https:\/\/itstheenvironmentstupid.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376\/revisions\/2381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itstheenvironmentstupid.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itstheenvironmentstupid.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itstheenvironmentstupid.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}