Description
Community members and frontline community partners have advocated for green building education to build the capacity of frontline communities. King County will provide continuing education to residents and industry professionals on healthy and sustainable practices for green building and site development, along with related programs, incentives, and financial opportunities. Language translation, cultural relevance, and outreach to historically underserved communities will be prioritized, with educational materials coordinated with local community groups and will apply to new construction, additions, retrofits, and demolition projects. Incentives can encourage green building practice adoption and innovation and build capacity in development and construction sectors to adopt new practices. King County will explore the best way to utilize incentives promoting the use of green building practices to attract green building participants. Program incentives could be tied to green building certifications, flexible zoning or design departures, incentive bundling, subsidized project consulting services, project and developer recognition and marketing, utility rebate partnerships, grants, rebates, and a reduction in permit fees and process timing. Both energy efficiency and water efficiency will be emphasized through this action, and will include topics such as landscaping, building envelope, indoor water systems and water efficient appliance options, heating and cooling systems, and material management.