Approved plans for a 10,000 square foot mansion in Berkeley, California have been classified "green" by the city's environmental rating system. Neighbors and environmentalists, however, say the house is hardly an environmental model.
Locals in left-leaning Berkeley have blasted the home as little more than a greenwash.
"When the house won planning approval earlier this year, many neighbors were surprised - not so much by the size of the house, or by its sleek design, but by the fact that, under Berkeley regulations, the house will qualify as "green." In Berkeley, building proposals are evaluated on a "green point" scale, earning credit for such eco-conscious features as low-flow shower heads and insulation. A house with more than 60 points is labeled green, regardless of its size.
Gary Earl Parsons, a Berkeley architect and a member of that city's Landmarks Preservation Commission, called the designation of the Kapor house as green 'absurd.'"
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