GOLETA, Calif. - The city of Goleta is taking the steps towards "Greening" up their city, by unanimously approving a Green Building Policy for government facilities.
Tuesday night the City Council approved the new moves that require all new City-owned buildings of2,000 square feet or greater to achieve the United States Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system Silver certification.
"This is a big step for Goleta as it establishes a new policy for City buildings allowing Goleta to lead by example," said Ed Easton, Mayor.
A new city hall and fire station are the types of potential future buildings that would be constructed to the new standard.
"Reducing the environmental impact of construction, operations and maintenance of publicly-funded facilities, saves taxpayer dollars because green buildings operate more efficiently, using less energy, water and fossil fuels. This demonstrates that the City is contributing to larger efforts to create a sustainable community," continued Mayor Easton.
LEED is the most widely recognized and widely used green building program. The USGBC created the LEED rating systems and maintains certification processes for new and existing buildings that together identify and verify a range of responsible design, construction and maintenance practices that can improve human and environmental health in buildings and their surroundings while saving energy, water, and money.
