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Populus: Sustainable Design Consulting

Archive for February, 2010

Boulder County Public Hearing on Proposed BuildSmart Revisions Next Tuesday

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

BuildSmart Revisions, public hearing: Boulder County will hold a public hearing on its proposed revisions to BuildSmart on Tuesday, March 2nd at 2pm.   More information from Boulder County:

This is a second notice of Proposed BuildSmart Revisions and a public hearing scheduled for 2 PM on March 2, 2010 with the Boulder County Commissioners to consider these revisions at the Boulder County Court House 3rd floor hearing room .  Public testimony will be taken at this hearing with a time limit of three minutes per speaker.

A draft of the  Proposed revisions are attached to this email and may also be found at www.BoulderCountyBuildSmart.org.  The staff  invites you  to review and comment on these proposed revisions, either by phone, 303-441-3930, email http://www.bouldercounty.org/lu/info_center/ask_the_building_official.htm, or in person at the Courthouse Annex, Southwest corner of Spruce and 13th Sts in downtown Boulder, prior to the public hearing, your comments will be forwarded to the Boulder County Commissioners.  You may also send comments directly to me [Doug Parker] at the contacts listed below.

Doug G. Parker

Sustainability Examiner

Boulder County

dgparker@BoulderCounty.org

720-564-2643

www.BoulderCountyBuildSmart.org

Department of Energy Releases New Estimates of Nation’s Wind Energy Potential

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

A recent Department of Energy study shows that the United States’ potential for wind power generation, using today’s technology, is nearly ten times the total amount of electricity generated in the United States last year.  See the story here.

Only a Few Days to Register for Populus’ March LEED for Homes Training

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

Register this week for Populus’ March LEED for Homes Intensive Training – only 4 seats left!  Learn more or register on Populus’ website.

Vote Now – Arch 11 Selected as Colorado Regional Winner of Sub-Zero, Wolf Kitchen Design Contest

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

Congratulations to Arch 11 for being selected as the Colorado Regional winner of the Sub-Zero / Wolf Kitchen Design Contest for the Syncline House.

Voting is now open for the Designer’s Choice Award, which will be given to one national winner that will be selected by our peers in an online voting system.

Arch 11 would love to get your vote for the Designer’s Choice Award.

Here are the steps that you will have to go through to place your vote.

1-     Go to the following Sub-Zero / Wolf website for the DCA and logon (this only works if you are already registered with their website) http://www.subzero.com/trade/dchome.aspx

If you aren’t already registered with Sub-Zero/Wolf click the Sign Up Now button.
Fill out all the * necessary information boxes and be sure to check at least one box under each of the categories at the bottom of the form.  (I suggest checking the “New product information” box under the last category and you will only 1-2 emails from S/W per year)

2- Once you are logged on go you should be able to start voting.

There are no names associated with the images of the kitchens on the voting pages.  Click through all the 50 kitchens and rate them from 1 – 5 stars.  If you really want to help us out give all the other kitchens 1 star and our kitchen 5!

We have attached the image of the Syncline Kitchen that Sub-Zero/Wolf is using for Designer’s Choice Award.

Voting is open until the 25th of March.

Good luck to Arch 11!

Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver Now Offers Deconstruction Services

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Looking for deconstruction services in Denver?  Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver now offers deconstruction services:

Habitat for Humanity Metro Denver (HFHMD) operates two Home Improvement Outlet stores, one in Denver and one in Wheat Ridge. The outlet stores sell new and used building materials, flooring, lighting, appliances, furniture, etc to the public in order to raise money to support HFH Metro Denver’s mission of building decent, safe, affordable homes for low-income families living in sub-standard housing.  Many of the items sold in the store come from local Deconstruction Projects.

Together the sales from the two stores cover 100% of HFH Metro Denver’s administrative & fundraising costs. This allows 100% of the money donated to the HFH Metro Denver to go directly into building safe affordable homes for low-income families.

How it works:

  1. 1. Contact the HFHMD Home Improvement Outlet’s Deconstruction Coordinator directly at 720-394-6878, or brite@habitatoutlet.org. The Deconstruction Coordinator will set up a time to preview your project in person and inventory the items that we are interested in salvaging.
  2. 2. After the walk through, the Deconstruction Coordinator will arrange for a skilled volunteer crew to come to your property on a mutually agreeable Saturday and execute the deconstruction project. Most of the volunteers are regular, recurring deconstruction team volunteers that have performed many deconstruction projects. The deconstruction will start at 9am and is typically completed no later than 3pm.
  3. 3. You will be provided with a tax donation receipt that itemizes the items we were able to salvage from your home. Please note: HFHMD is not authorized to assign a dollar value to your donation and current tax laws require that if you intend to deduct over $5,000 then you will need an appraisal from a licensed property appraisal.
  4. 4. All materials will be transported to either the Denver or Wheatridge Home Improvement Outlet Stores, depending on site location and sold to the general public at significantly reduced prices (up to 80% less than new).

Benefits:

  1. The homeowner’s demolition and disposal costs are reduced because in most cases our Deconstruction Service is performed at no charge.
  2. Valuable re-usable materials will be diverted from local landfills.
  3. If you are demolishing an existing property to build a new LEED certified home the materials we salvage can be included in the waste management plan which is a prerequisite under LEED for Homes, credit MR-3.1.
  4. The donation of used building materials and household goods is considered a tax deductable non-cash charitable contribution.
  5. You will be benefiting an organization that provides a “hand-up, not a hand-out” by enabling low-income families to pay for a portion of their home through sweat equity. This includes working at the Outlet Stores as well as the Construction sites.

Things to Keep in Mind:

  1. Please contact the Deconstruction Coordinator for a deconstruction preview at least 2 weeks prior to the date that you will need the work executed.
  2. The Deconstruction crew is typically available only on Saturdays. In certain cases with enough advance notice we may be able to accommodate a weekday deconstruction.
  3. HFHMD is licensed and insured as a builder in the state of Colorado and can provide a certificate of insurance specific to your project by request.
  4. We can provide a written agreement retaining our services also by request, however the agreement is not considered a legal contract.

Your donations are greatly appreciated!

For more information, please contact Brite Niezek- Deconstruction Coordinator directly for more information or to schedule a walk-through of your property: 720-394-6878, or brite@habitatoutlet.org

Denver Outlet                   Wheat Ridge Outlet

70 Rio Grande Blvd.         10625 W. I-70 Frontage Rd.

Denver, CO 80223                        Wheat Ridge, CO 80033

303-722-5863                     303-421-5300

http://www.habitatoutlet.org/Pages/deconstruction.html

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