Table of Contents

Green Building

The city’s comprehensive plan describes site planning and green building policies for sustainable development and outlines a voluntary green building program. It addresses incorporating green building principles throughout public buildings’ life cycles (S-P-119), matching green building standards between the City and Sonoma County (S-P-120), and implementing a mandatory green building program for new development and remodels (S-P-121). The comprehensive plan also touches on considering the construction and demolition phase of the building’s life cycle into new development (S-P-122). 

Solar energy

In the Natural Environment chapter of the city's general plan, a plan objective is to reduce emissions from residential and commercial uses by incorporating passive solar building design and landscaping conducive to passive solar energy use for both residential and commercial uses, i.e., building orientation in a south to southeast direction, encourage planting of deciduous trees on west sides of structures (4-P-15D, p. 4-8). An energy goal (4-G-4) is to reduce reliance on non-renewable energy sources in existing and new development. One of the policies and programs includes investigating and implementing alternative sources of renewable power (such as solar water and solar PVs) to supply city facilities (4-P-18C). The plan talks about the importance of harnessing solar incidence in building design to conserving energy (p. 4-9). Another policy is to encourage use and development of renewable or nontraditional sources of energy by participating in state and local efforts to develop appropriate policies and review procedures for the institution of renewable energy sources such as solar (4-P-19A). The plan documents how many participants have been involved with the State's Emerging Renewables Buydown Program through the use of solar energy systems (80 as of July 2005) (4-P-19A). Another policy is to consider the feasibility of requiring a percentage of new development to meet 50% of its energy needs from fossil fuel alternatives (e.g., solar panels) (4-P-19D). Another policy is to investigate the feasibility of developing a City-sponsored program to subsidize or assist homeowners in purchasing solar water heating or passive solar systems, or other forms of renewable energy, through low-interest loans or property tax assessments (4-P-33). The plan talks about the role environmental sustainability has in economic sustainability and lists solar orientation as one of the criteria for appropriate site design and building technology (p. 9-4).