| Local Policy Description: | The effort to achieve greenhouse gas reductions in the residential sector will focus on energy-conservation and energy-efficiency. The city and county plan to achieve emission reduction goals through the use of the principles listed below.
Principles for Reducing Building Energy Use
1. Benefit all neighborhoods and socioeconomic groups, with particular attention to low-income residents.
2. Promote energy, economic, environmental, and social benefits, including developing active, healthy neighborhoods.
3. Consider community values along with a broad definition of cost effectiveness that includes total costs to individuals and all resource savings.
4. Minimize lost opportunities, such as new residential and commercial construction.
5. Emphasize education and outreach value.
6. Support local businesses and expand local infrastructure for delivering energy-efficiency services.
The city and county plan to pursue reductions via the specific internal local government actions and community initiatives listed below.
The community will take action by 2003 to:
Weatherize 250 homes occupied by low-income households through the city’s Block-By-Block program and 500 homes through the county’s weatherization program.
Facilitate the installation of energy-conservation measures in 3,500 multi-family units.
Support the implementation of local residential energy-conservation programs funded through the electricity system benefits charge or utility funds.
Implement neighborhood-based outreach efforts to combine and promote energy and water conservation, solid waste reduction, safety, and livability.
Require green building and energy-efficiency measures, including ENERGY STARŽ or equivalent appliances, lighting, and heating equipment in city-funded affordable housing and other development projects.
Support residential conservation programs through new agreements in franchises with local utilities.
The community will take action by 2010 to:
Provide green building design assistance and technical resources to Portland residential developers, designers, homebuilders, and residents. Impact at least 5,000 new units or major remodels.
Work with Community Action Programs to weatherize 10,000 low-income homes in Multnomah County.
Weatherize 1,250 homes occupied by low-income households through the city’s Block-By-Block program and 2,500 homes through the county’s weatherization program.
Facilitate the installation of energy-conservation measures in 15,000 multi-family units by 2010.
Work closely with the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance to promote local access to household resource-efficiency products.
Improve the maintenance of residential heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning equipment by educating consumers and schoolchildren.
Work with the state and other partners to offer financing for the purchase of high-efficiency furnaces, heat pumps, air-conditioning systems, replacement windows, insulation, water heaters, appliances, and other large energy-using systems.
Promote energy-efficient construction and renovation of attached single- and multi-family dwelling units, including accessory units.
Broaden standard residential energy audits to include review of major appliances, education of residents, and direct installation of efficient lighting and water-saving devices.
Improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and control of residential outdoor lighting through regional efforts and retail promotions.
Develop a consortium of local and state support for more stringent federal efficiency standards for furnaces, refrigerators, water heaters, air conditioners, other appliances, and lighting products.
Explore requiring weatherization of residential properties at time of sale. Bring properties up to the 1992 code, at a minimum.
Provide green building design assistance and technical resources to Portland developers, designers, and builders. Develop local standards for green buildings and help local buildings meet national energy-efficiency and green building standards such as LEED™, ENERGY STARŽ, and Earth AdvantageŽ. Impact at least 10 million square feet of commercial and institutional space by 2010.
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