Are you planning to submit for permit in the City of Boulder before the new Compatible Development Ordinance goes into effect on January 3rd?

Populus Sustainable Design Consulting is commited to meeting all of our clients’ end-of-year HERS rating needs.  If you are working on a project that will need a HERS rating before year end – please contact us as soon as possible and we will put you on the schedule so we can meet your deadlines.  Keep in mind that Populus can streamline your code compliance by performing the required ACCA Manual J and D calculations – just let us know that you would like this service in addition to a HERS Rating.

You can contact Populus Sustainable Design Consulting for a proposal at 303-325-7650.

Populus is a full service sustainable design consulting firm that focuses on high performance, net-zero and near-net-zero custom residential and multi-family projects.  Populus guides architects and builders through the requirements of mandatory green building codes and optional green home certification programs, providing HERS rating, LEED for Homes Green Rater services and municipal energy code consulting.  In addition, Populus offers an Energy Code Workshop for architects and municipalities, as well as LEED for Homes training.  Visit Populus at www.popboulder.com.

45 days ago, the City of Boulder passed its Compatible Development Ordinance (previously “Pops and Scrapes” or “FAR”).  To learn more about the ordinance, please check out our previous blog article.  By our count, there are 45 days remaining until the ordinance goes into effect on January 3, 2010.  The City of Boulder will be closed for the holidays on January 3rd – making December 30, 2009 the last day that you can go in for permit before the Compatible Development Ordinance goes into effect.  If you are working on any projects that will need to go in for permit prior to January 3rd, please contact us and let us know so that we can assist you with a from-plans HERS rating and meet your scheduling needs.  You can contact Populus at 303-325-7650.

Populus is a full service sustainable design consulting firm that focuses on high performance, net-zero and near-net-zero custom residential and multi-family projects.  Populus guides architects and builders through the requirements of mandatory green building codes and optional green home certification programs, providing HERS rating, LEED for Homes Green Rater services and municipal energy code consulting.  In addition, Populus offers an Energy Code Workshop for architects and municipalities, as well as LEED for Homes training.  Visit Populus at www.popboulder.com.

Last night, the City of Boulder passed the Compatible Development Ordinance (formerly known as “pops and scrapes” or “FAR”), which is meant to limit house sizes in Boulder through a combination of measures. The Ordinance does not go into effect for 90 days, so any projects permitted within the next 90 days in Boulder will be exempt from the requirements of the Compatible Development Ordinance.

The Ordinance passed by a narrow margin, with a 4-3 vote, with the following council members voting in favor of the Ordinance: Matt Appelbaum, Macon Cowles, Crystal Gray and Lisa Morzel. Angelique Espinoza, Suzy Ageton and Ken Wilson voted against the Ordinance. Susan Osborne was absent.

The Compatible Development Ordinance applies to all residential zoning districts in the City of Boulder, affecting a total of about 13,000 houses. The final Ordinance restricts the floor-area ratio to .50 based on a 7,000 square foot lot located in zoning districts RR-1 and RL-1 and .55 for lots located in the RMX-1 zoning district.

Floor-area calculations for the purpose of the Ordinance will include basements based on the percentage of exposed perimeter walls that are more than 36 inches above grade. The Ordinance also includes a “virtual floor” component, which counts the floor area of spaces that are 16 feet or taller twice as much as the lowest level’s square footage and the floor area of spaces that are 26 feet or taller are counted three times as much as the lowest level square footage. The Ordinance exempts the first 150 square feet of stairwell from the calculations.

The Ordinance also limits building coverage on a sliding scale based on building coverage of 35% of lot area, with increased coverage allowed for smaller lots and decreased coverage for larger lots. The Ordinance exempts some porch areas from the building lot coverage calculations, including up to 300 square feet of front porch area and up to 150 square feet for back porch area. In addition, certain historic accessory structures are exempt from the calculations, through the Landmark Alteration Certificate.

The Ordinance will also place restrictions on the “bulk plane,” which is the conceptual 3-D envelope that a house could occupy.  In addition, it limits any sidewalls which are taller than 14 feet in height to 40 feet in length.

To implement the new Compatible Development Ordinance, there will be additional plan check fees to the City of Boulder, increasing the amount from 25% to 50% of the building permit fee.

Going in for permit on a project in Boulder? Populus Sustainable Design Consulting is your one-stop shop for complying with the energy efficiency requirements of Boulder’s Green Points program. In addition to home energy rating services (or “HERS rating”), Populus offers Green Points consulting and Manual D and J calculations. To learn more visit Populus Sustainable Design Consulting.

Need ACCA Manual J or Manual D calculations?  As your one-stop shop for green building code compliance and green home certification programs, Populus is pleased to announce that we now offer ACCA Manual J system sizing calculations and ACCA Manual D duct design services.

For those of our clients who are working on residential new construction projects in the City of Boulder or unincorporated Boulder County, both of these municipalities require that ACCA Manual J and Manual D calculations be submitted along with the required HERS Rating reports.  The USGBC’s LEED For Homes Rating System also relies upon ACCA Manual J and Manual D calculations.

Since much of the information required for Manual J and D calculations is considered during the HERS energy modeling process, having Populus perform your HERS Rating and Manual J and D calculations will ensure that the assumptions and data are consistent between these calculations, preventing permitting delays and reducing reviewer comments.

Populus also recommends Manual D and J calculations even where it is not required by code.  It is very common for heating and cooling equipment to be oversized, which can lead to reduced comfort and unnecessary energy consumption and expense.  In the United States, ACCA Manual J “Residential Load Calculation,” published by the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), is the recommended method to properly size space heating and cooling equipment and ACCA Manual D “Residential Duct Design” should be followed when designing residential systems that include ducts.

Contact Populus Sustainable Design Consulting at 303-325-7650 to find out more.

Populus is a Boulder-based, full-service sustainable design consulting firm that focuses on high performance, net-zero and near-net-zero custom residential and multi-family projects.  Populus is your partner in high-performance design solutions, specializing in energy efficiency codes, green building certifications and LEED for Homes™ training.  Contact Populus at news@popboulder.com.