West Chester Borough, Delaware County, has become the first municipality in the country to require commercial buildings to earn the Energy Star, thanks to a new ordinance passed unanimously by borough council.

According to the new ordinance, a developer who is required to seek a “conditional use” approval for a project must design the building(s) to meet the energy performance goals of the Energy Start program. One year after operation, the building owner must assess energy use and apply for the Energy Star label. In West Chester, conditional use approvals are required for buildings higher than 45 feet.

The Energy Star program all but ensures that these buildings will be among the most energy efficient in the country. To earn the Energy Star label, a building must be in the top 25 percent of similar buildings nationwide in terms of overall energy efficiency.

“Borough Council’s unanimous vote demonstrates our commitment to a greener, more sustainable West Chester through a common-sense program that conserves energy. There are no drawbacks to anyone, only positive actions for our economy and our environment,” says Councilwoman Carolyn Comitta, who was instrumental in ‘greening’ West Chester’s conditional use criteria.

The Energy Star program offers a vetted, easy-to-understand, non-prescriptive and cost-effective way for building designers to make significant inroads toward this goal. And, the program’s on-line tools and resources are cost-free. “We applaud West Chester Borough's innovative use of the Energy Star program to meet its climate protection and sustainability goals," says Donald S. Welsh, regional administrator of EPA's Mid-Atlantic Regional Office.

“This is a win-win situation for our entire community,” agrees Brian McFadden, president of The McFadden Group, Inc., a West Chester-based real estate development company. McFadden volunteered to seek the Energy Star label for his 90-room hotel project, currently planned for the town center, even though his plans were submitted before the ordinance was passed.

“With the rising cost of energy and the environmental challenges we face, this is smart from both economic and environmental viewpoints,” he said. “Lower utility bills make a hotel more profitable. More and more people seek out ‘green’ hotels and residences. And the Energy Star rating is an increasingly desirable feature that adds value to commercial real estate.”

Improving building design can go a long way toward reducing energy demand and cutting global warming pollution. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show that nearly half of all energy consumption and greenhouse gas pollution, and more than two-thirds of all electricity consumption, come from buildings.

In fact, the American Institute of Architects—with the support of the U.S. Conference of Mayors; U.S. Green Building Council; American Society of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineers; and a host of other groups—has issued a challenge to the architectural and building community to achieve carbon neutrality (no fossil-fuel greenhouse gas emitting energy coming from buildings) by 2030, in order to avoid “catastrophic climate change.”

Energy Star also offers tools and resources to help eliminate energy waste in new and existing homes, and the West Chester community will be evaluating these options, as well. “We need to reduce energy use in all buildings—new and existing, commercial and residential—as a way to bring real change to our community,” concludes Martin Indars, a member of West Chester Borough Leaders United for Emissions Reduction, better known as BLUER. “The Energy Star program simply shows us how.”

For more information, contact BLUER Chair Dianne Herrin at 610-864-4731.

3/7/2008