Southampton - Southampton Town's newly enacted Green Code was modified again this week when the Town Board voted 5-0 to pass a resolution making further amendments to the controversial code designed to save energy by mandating the construction of energy efficient homes and compelling homeowners to heat their swimming pools with solar power.

Kevin Rooney, a representative of the Oil Institute of Long Island also provided the town board with an opinion on the Green Code and energy conservation.

The latest amendments to the Green Code allow the Town's Chief Building Inspector Michael Benincasa to downgrade home energy rating systems, referred to as HERS factors, if compliance with the code is not technically feasible. The new amendments also allow for the establishment of a three member review board that would preside over an appeals process if applicants disagree with a determination made by the building inspector.

This provision was added to the code as a result of objections raised by the community during the public hearing process preceding the passage of the original code in July. Members of the building and architectural community, as well as the citizenry at large, contended that the code vested too much power in the hands of one man since the building inspector was the sole arbiter of the code with the power to act unilaterally.

The three member review board, dubbed the Energy Conservation Administrative Appeals Board, is to be comprised of the town's chief environmental analyst, the town engineer and the chairman of the Architectural Review Board.

The energy board will be required to review an applicant's appeal within two weeks of receipt of a request for review. The applicant may have to pay for expert witnesses, testimony, field inspections and other fact-finding activities commissioned by the town during the appeals process. Under the provision, the review board will issue a final decision in writing within 45 days after the hearing and review process has been completed.

Indoor swimming pools are to be exempt from the newly enacted requirement that stipulates all swimming pools be heated with solar powered systems. Fossil fuel or electric heaters may be used as a back-up.

John Tortorella, of Tortorella Pools comments on the Green Code requiring all pools in Southampton Town to be heated with solar heating systems. Fossil fuel and electric heaters may be used as back-up systems.

Fine Tuning The Law
The controversial Green Code enacted in the summer of 2008 is designed to reduce the town's carbon footprint by reducing energy consumption by striving for sustainability. The code seeks to do this primarily in two ways, by requiring that new homes be built to save energy and by compelling homeowners to heat their swimming pools with solar heating systems rather than with gas or electric heaters. Gas or elected heaters may be used as back-up systems under the new law.

Swimming pools located on properties of less than a half-acre in size are exempt from the solar heating requirement on the basis that there is not enough room to accommodate the size of solar panels.

The code was developed by the town's Green Committee in conjunction with the Town's Chief Building Inspector Benincasa. Benincasa, who has been using solar power in his home for over 20 years, said he frequently consulted with energy saving experts from the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) as he worked on drafting the code.

The Green Committee was formed by Councilwoman Nancy Graboski and Councilwoman Anna Throne-Holst in the Spring of 2008 with a clear cut mission statement aimed at reducing the town's energy consumption. The resulting Green Code was one of the Committee's first major undertakings.

As the legislative process progressed criticism against the well intention code mounted with many opponents in the affected building and construction trades taking to the podium at Town Hall advising the town to "slow down" and think things through" before enacting what many described as a hastily drawn and poorly thought out regulation.

HERS Factor Key
The Town's Green Code, unlike other codes enacted in 14 states around the country, ties the home energy rating or HERS factor directly to the size of a house. The larger the house, the higher the required HERS factor. Builders and architects readily acknowledged the ease of implementing a relatively low HERS factor of 84 that will be required on homes up to 3,500 square feet in size. They however expressed doubts and concerns about the higher HERS factors, citing both cost and feasibility as factors that needed to be reconsidered.

Architect and author Anne Surchin comments on the code.

Builders also warned town officials that setting arbitrary HERS factors could result in the loss of builders incentives, estimated at about $1 million, if the town requires builders to reach HERS factors over 90.

Representatives of the town's considerable swimming pool trade became heavily involved in discussing the proposed code with John Tortorella, of Tortorella Pools, and Geoge Kazdin, of Kazdin Pools, making regular appearances at public hearings concerning the specifics of the regulation.

Representatives of the Long Island Builders Institute (LIBI) joined the Peconic Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in voicing their concerns and contributing their expertise and suggestions. Many other professionals in the solar industry also participated in the discussions.

The unanimous vote to amend the law signaled the temporary solidarity of the town board that had been divided on the issue for months as criticism of the law and the town's position intensified.

Supervisor Linda Kabot pushed for quick passage, describing the legislation as "groundbreaking," while noting the "eyes of the world were on Southampton Town." Councilwoman Anna Throne-Holst also pressed for quick passage of the original law despite the many flaws and omissions pointed out by the building and design community.

Councilman Chris Nuzzi vowed to write his own Green Code after one lengthy meeting, noting "no one is listening to me." Nuzzi cast a dissenting vote on the initial code and expressed skepticism throughout the process. As the controversy mounted, Coucilwoman Nancy Graboski took a hard look at the law and reversed her original support. "Shame on me for voting for this," Graboski earlier said, adding "this is not about being first or getting headlines. This is about doing something right."

Commenting the gavel to gavel television coverage of town board meetings, Supervisor Kabot could not refrain from expressing her own opinion of the proceedings on the Green Code which she previously described as "sausage making," noting not everyone wants to watch the messy process of a law becoming a law. "This is 'As the Town Turns'," Kabot quipped as another six hour town board meeting came to an end Tuesday evening.

With the unanimous vote, the law that was well intentioned if less than perfect, will go into effect on Oct. 1, 2008. The portion of the law pertaining to solar heating systems in swimming pools will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2009.