In her fourth stint as the leader of this East County city, Nancy Parent has several goals that she hopes to accomplish. Among those is encouraging a philosophy of green building on new projects in the city and looking at subtle green improvements when existing buildings are spruced up. "The whole going green is not a revolutionary concept. It just seems that now is a time we should be working on it," she said.
Jan. 3--For Pittsburg's new mayor, green is good.
In her fourth stint as the leader of this East County city, Nancy Parent has several goals that she hopes to accomplish. Among those is encouraging a philosophy of green building on new projects in the city and looking at subtle green improvements when existing buildings are spruced up.
"The whole going green is not a revolutionary concept. It just seems that now is a time we should be working on it," she said.
Parent, 68, who admits that she is no environmentalist, has been trying to glean some information by reading what other cities like Oakland have done in creating standards encouraging green building.
Organizations such as the Home Builders Association of Northern California and the Environmental Protection Agency have advocated for green building standards in Bay Area cities, so Pittsburg would "just be jumping on the bandwagon," she said.
!ADVERTISEMENT!
The green-building emphasis doesn't mean the city would demand projects to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, standards -- the nationally accepted bench mark for high-performance green building.
"I think that most people are pretty well-convinced that this climate business has some validity; it might not be a crisis," she said. "Whatever we can do to efficiently make these changes, why shouldn't we do them?"
Pittsburg is working on incorporating green policies into its revised Housing Element. Parent said
the green building wouldn't have to meet full standards, rather a list would be created where the builder could pick and choose what actions to take and will have to meet a certain percentage of criteria.
Currently, Pittsburg encourages developers to incorporate green building principles on a case-by-case basis, said planner Dana Hoggatt. An example, Parent said, is a developer who came with a project last year and planned to include environmentally friendly items such as tankless water heaters.
"The further we go, the more opportunities we'll have," she said, citing the example of solar roof panels evolving toward being built into roofing tiles rather than being "ugly things on roofs."
There have not been many applications lately for new construction, although the recently approved Los Medanos Senior Apartments did include some sustainable elements, such as carport-mounted roof panels and an allowance for reduced parking.
"We need to start looking with a green perspective," she said.
City Manager Marc Grisham said Pittsburg has been looking at what other communities have done and has also been talking with builders in the community.
"We have to make sure it's something that makes sense and at the same time is something buyers want," he said.
The investigation has been limited to building, though Parent said she hopes when the time comes to turn over the city's auto fleet, options such as hybrid or electric cars are considered. She also said she hopes residents would chip in by doing inexpensive things such as recycling and composting.
Parent, 68, was Pittsburg's first female mayor in 1985. She also served as Pittsburg's mayor in 1989 and 2005.
Reach Paul Burgarino at 925-779-7164 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
To see more of the Contra Costa Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.contracostatimes.com/. Copyright © 2009, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright 2009 Contra Costa Times
