Description

Buckeye’s Green Home Building Program was adopted by Town Council on May 6, 2008 and encourages sustainable construction for residential dwellings. It is customized to provide guidelines for environmentally responsible building in the Sonoran Desert region by incorporating healthy, resource- and energy-efficient materials and methods in the design and construction of dwellings.

The program’s goals are to reduce the carbon footprint of dwelling units during construction and after; by using sustainable building structural systems, techniques and appliances for both the short and long-term savings of energy, water and other natural resources; and to provide a healthier indoor environment.

Incentives include expedited plan review, free project construction water, and family Aquatic Center Passes and a Green Home Certificate of Occupancy. Proposed Green Building projects are reviewed and inspected as part of the Town’s development process. For instance, a green building permit is issued for construction after a compliant plan review, a green inspection card is used by the Town building inspectors along with a builder verified checklist during construction and the green "certificate of occupancy" is issued upon approved completion of the project.

The Green Home Rating Checklist contains the point system used to qualify projects as green homes. Projects must meet all mandatory measures (adjusting the rating for house size) and then can qualify at Silver level (50-99 points) or at the Gold level (100+ points) using the rating checklist.