Here is a post about Costa Mesa Councilwoman Katrina Foley from my friend “the planner:”
Even with some backwards policies coming out of Costa Mesa (by way of Alan Mansoor), they are making great progress in encouraging sustainable development, or what is popularly referred to as Green Building.
Councilmember Katrina Foley has lead the charge in Costa Mesa to encourage, not mandate, builders to incorporate LEED standards by providing incentives to build with LEED standards. Incentives include waiving of permit fees and expedited plan review where green projects are put on the fast-track, provided application assistance, and technical help. LEED is a certification program through the U.S. Green Building Council and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.
Another accomplishment of Councilmember Foley was to have the City of Costa Mesa lead by example and adopt public buildings policies that have the highest standards in the state by striving to have 40 to 50% less impact on the environment based on the U.S. Green Building Council’s standards. City staff is working on a program that changes operation policies and practices from purchasing to transportation, to water conservation and construction.
There are currently many projects in the application process in the City of Costa Mesa that are seeking LEED certification. Costa Mesa Building Official Khanh Nguyen will be the recipient of the prestigious 2008 “Official of the Year” award by the International Code Council (ICC). The ICC is a non-profit national organization that develops a family of model codes including Building and Fire Codes. Mr. Nguyen is being recognized for his work on the Build Green Incentive Program (BGIP) that was supported by Councilmember Foley.
Councilmember Foley’s efforts are a great example of how green principles can flourish without being forced on to the private sector.
I love that the citizens of our country are spontaneously doing things to reduce our carbon footprint. In the absence of Government action (what some people call the nanny state) it seems that people from every walk of life are taking this seriously without freaking out about it.
Meanwhile we have do nothing politicians like Dana Rohrabacher who still denounces Global Warming and die hard Republicans who will only follow the party line.
Kudos to Foley!
Ugh, don’t even mention Rohrabacher. That crazy loon is loosing his grasp on his district. I can only hope Debra Cook can unite the various micro-cultures in the 46th under her environmental message. Her background in petroleum would boost the Democratic argument against those lame Republicans in the House.
I’ve been to a few of their “oil drilling stand-ins” at the House Gallery. It is nothing but a circus to get the public pissed off at Pelosi and the rest of her Democratic colleagues. The sad part is that it is actually working…
Katrina Foley sincerely cares about Costa Mesa and its residents, but she needs the citizen of Costa Mesa to keep her in office if she is to continue with her efforts of showing the public how green principles can flourish without being forced on to the private sector.