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Updated: August 28, 2008, 3:52 pm	Share    Print    Email

Southampton Town Supervisor Linda Kabot, Councilwoman Anna Throne-Holst and Councilman Chris Nuzzi convene at a work session to re-evaluate a green building code enacted this summer as mounting criticism aimed at the code’s shortcomings forces them back to the drawing board. Photos by Andrea Aurichio

Southampton - The Southampton Town Board is still fine tuning its Green Building Code prompted by prominent members of the building and architectural communities who are calling for more detail and clarity in the law while they criticize the haste and speed with which it was enacted sending the town back to the drawing board.

While support for the concept of building more energy efficient homes and using solar energy to heat swimming pool is widespread, there are many issues the building and design community, as well as the general public, would like to see clarified in the code adopted in July, mandating energy conservation measures in all new residential construction.

The law also mandates the use of solar heating systems to control water temperature in all new swimming pools wherever possible. If a site is not conducive to the installation of rooftop solar panels or a ground based rack system, the town's building inspector will visit the site and make a determination allowing the installation of a fossil fuel or electric pool heater provided the homeowner uses the most energy efficient units available.

Town Building Inspector Michael Benincasa talks nuts and bolts to the town board as revisions to new Green Code move forward.

Latest Pool Revisions
The revisions being considered will permit the use of fossil fuel or electric pool heaters as back-up systems to solar powered heating units. In addition, the reinstatement of a state law requiring pool covers eliminated from the statues in 2007 will go back on the books statewide in 2009 and will be added to the town's new green code.

If a fossil fuel based or electric heating unit breaks down during peak summer season when pools are in use, the homeowner may repair the unit provided they install a solar heating system, if feasible, within 60 days. Pools currently heated with fossil fuel or an electric system will be permitted to remain in use, but will have to be replaced eventually with solar powered systems when they are beyond repair.

The town is considering an exemption for homeowners with 20' by 40' in-ground pools on lots of 20,001 feet or less. These homeowners will not be required to install solar heating systems when their existing fossil fuel or electric systems break down. The town's rationale for the exemption is based on the projected estimated size of a ground based rack solar heating system which may be 50 feet long and four feet high with a depth of four feet in that the unit would overpower the lot. Some industry insiders disagree with the town's position noting the availability of smaller solar heating systems, as well as pointing to the probability that new systems, will be devised as the town moves into the cutting edge of the trend toward sustainability.

The Green Code, designed to take the town to the forefront of the growing green movement requires all new homes be built to comply with the Long Island Lighting Company (LIPA) New York Star Labeled Homes Program Guidelines to lower energy consumption.

The construction of these homes will be based on an energy efficiency rating known as a HERS factor, or Home Energy Rating System. The use of energy efficient doors, windows, insulation, building materials and heating and cooling systems are key to these HERS ratings. The town's code ties the HERS ratings to the size of the house. The larger the house, the higher the required HERS factor.

A solar powered pool heating system can occupy a lot of space on a homeowners property, since many units are 50 feet long and four feet high with a depth of four feet.

"The idea here is to save energy. A large house will not use any more energy than a small house if we follow these codes," Michael Benincasa, the Town's Chief Building Inspector said.

While town officials readily acknowledge implementation of the code will result in higher construction costs, they are also quick to point out the initial front-end expense will be recouped in energy savings for years to come.

Historical Preservation Waiver
The town is also considering the addition of a clause that waives energy requirements for historic structures at the insistence of Town Supervisor Linda Kabot. "We do not want to create a disincentive to historic preservation in the name of energy conservation," Kabot said.

The contemplated modification provides owners of historic structures the opportunity to apply to the Town's Landmarks and Historic District Board for a waiver. A waiver will be granted if the applicant demonstrates compliance with the energy saving measures advocated in the code would have an adverse impact on the character of the historic structure.

The town hopes to implement the new code in October of 2008 while many builders and architects advocate postponement of the code's enactment until January 2009 providing town officials with more time to fine tune the code.

"Rushing something through for the sake of meeting an arbitrary deadline is never good for business. Nor does it make for good government. To my knowledge no builder has ever regretted not taking a little extra time to make sure he or she "got things right," Michael Watt of Long Island Builders Institute (LIBI) noted for the record.

The Green Code seeks to enforce the use of pool covers while mandating homeowners use solar panels to heat their pools as a means of energy conservation rather then rely on fossil fuel or electric heating systems.

LIBI cited the need for more specific language in the law pointing to the need for clarification concerning the circumstances under which the building inspector could issue waivers. Members of the Southampton Business Alliance contend the code puts too much power in the hands of one man, since the town's Chief Building Inspector is emerging as the sole arbiter of waivers and exclusions to the code.

Southampton Town Councilman Chris Nuzzi also questioned the process, pointing to the need for some checks and balances rather than allowing the building inspector to have complete authority.

The architectural community, represented by the Peconic Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), advanced a compromise position favoring the enactment of the law in October if the town would postpone the need for a HERS certificate required of each homeowner prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy (C.O.) when they apply for a building permit.

AIA pointed to the scarcity of certified HERS inspectors working on the South Fork, noting there was only one inspector in the area working out of Bridgehampton. The January dateline also gives builders a chance to move their projects forward before inclement winter weather sets in while they are confronted with paperwork delays.

The Green Code is the first major project undertaken by the town's Green Committee, a group established in the spring of 2008 by Southampton Town Councilwomen Nancy Graboski and Anna Throne-Holst. The committee enlisted Benincasa relying on his expertise and experience to guide them.

Benincasa, a carpenter by training and trade, has built over 60 houses. He has been using solar panels to heat his own home for 20 years. Benincasa wants to move full speed ahead and get the law on the books by the fall. "This is not rocket science. The technology is here, and it has been here for a long time. We have to start to save somewhere, sometime, some place," Benincasa said. "Eventually we will run out of fossil fuel."

The new code also provides a definition of solar heating to mean a system as a network of panels or coils of plastic or metal through which water passes to increase the temperature by using the sun's radiant energy.

The town will hold public hearings on the revised code on Sept. 9 in order to bring the code up for a vote at their next meeting on Sept. 23 as they move to an October deadline.

A two-day seminar and training session devoted to explaining the Green Code is being sponsored by the Town. Anyone interested in attending the free seminars can register on the town's website. Seating is limited to 425 attendees on a first come, first served basis. The seminars will be held on Sept. 16 and 17.