County Enacts Far-Reaching Green Building Reform

The article features an interview with Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky:

"What we've done is a bit more comprehensive than what the state has done. We're looking not only at the design of buildings and how to make buildings more energy efficient, but also at ground water recharge, and low impact development standards that are the most far reaching adopted by any local jurisdiction in the state."

"In the end, everybody understood that this was where the county was moving. The county and the Board of Supervisors communicated clearly that we were going to move in this direction. Doing nothing, or doing something meaningless, was not an option. The Building Industry Association was convinced of that. Heal the Bay understood that we were going to advance the ball a considerable distance down the field."

"It surely marks a change in the conditions we impose on new developments. There is a growing consensus in the county family, starting with the Board of Supervisors, that if there is going to be development, this is how it should take place. We can do it the right way or the wrong way."