Green Structures, Pt. I

Extreme Home Makeover is setting the benchmark for actively pursuing green building solutions in the residential arena. Thinking forward, EHM employs green gardening that cuts water needs by installing drought-resistant plants; uses recycled wood for house structures whenever applicable; salvages wood scraps from projects that require destruction of the structure; and works with Energy-Star rated appliances for greater efficiency. The following link details the steps taken to reduce wasteful construction practices of the past.

http://www.greenextremehomemakeover.com/green.html

Alternately, a business office can go completely green if it purchases internal items that come from recycled or renewable products, such as desks, plastic and metal supplies. The following website gives an idea of a few ways to micromanage your green push for your office.

http://www.thegreenoffice.com/index.php

In order for local construction companies to follow suit, green products need to be in good supply in order to meet a shift in demand. How can the shift in demand be attained? Incentive programs, sponsored by the government, are a good start.

Take the Virginia Code, for example. Legislation has been updated, with special thanks to Senator Harry Blevins (R-14), to allow local, county, city and state levels to give real estate tax preference in relation to green buildings -- which ultimately may lead to green zoning. A green structure may be given a lower property tax assessment per fiscal at the discretion of the locality if it meets certain standards. Ideally, a green building that exceeds 30 percent more than the standards outlined in the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code is eligible. The legislation stops here. Expediting green growth could come in the form of devising an optional model of a tax schedule of rates for higher levels of standards beyond the 30 percent mark. While the taxes are locality-specific and at the discretion of local government bodies, the idea of increasing tax benefits for commercial implementation of green standards at increasing levels of compliance (30%, 40%, 45%, etc.) allows for localities to adhere to a visible incentive program; ultimately, pending on the success of green efforts, greater investment in green practices and structures will be more likely if an incentive schedule can be identified. One of the sacrifices of fixing an actual, inflexible tax incentive bill is that it assumes a certain level of available revenues to make up for decreases in corporate tax responsibilities. I would be interested to see Senator Blevins and other like-minded individuals work to implement a plan to address shortcomings in tax-based revenue.

[http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+58.1-3221.2]