The City of Napa recently adopted stricter green building standards to include all new residential and commercial buildings.

A few of the highlights of the new standards include:

• Residential buildings must reduce water use by at least 20% over today’s standards, and commercial buildings by at least 30%.
• Builders whose projects consume 15% less energy than the state standard will get a 25% reduction in building permit fees.
• The new Resolution is flexible, providing builders with a list of measures from which to choose.

The city’s Green Task Force will next look at establishing green building standards for remodeling and additions to existing buildings.

A link to the city’s green building Resolution is at right under “Related Links.”