Calabasas has become the first city in California to adopt the new state guidelines for green building, which encourage building design and construction methods that conserve resources.

The new ordinance adopts the 2008 California Green Building Standards Code, which went into effect Aug. 1.

The law establishes methods for incorporating green building principles. Builders of new residential projects will be able to acquire checklists that will help them construct their projects in a more environmentally conscious way. The lists will include some mandatory requirements, as well as voluntary items, which are given point values.

For example, reducing water use for irrigation by 50 percent earns a builder six points, while using local materials earns two. A new project must tally 20 points total.

Other items include using Energy Star appliances (half a point), handling construction waste properly (one point), using advanced framing techniques (half a point) and planting water-efficient landscaping (six points).

Sparky Cohen, a Calabasas building official, said green building will save money because homes will be more efficient.

“It’s really all low-hanging fruit,” said Cohen metaphorically regarding the mandatory and voluntary items.

Mayor Jonathon Wolfson and Councilmember Mary Sue Maurer have worked on the Green Initiatives Task Force, which developed parts of the ordinance.

“We will continue to keep our residents informed about green innovations and help them implement environmentally beneficial practices in the construction and maintenance of their homes and businesses,” said Wolfson, who has served for two years on the Calabasas Green Task Force.

“They’ve been looking at ways the city can do small things to have an overall large effect,” City Manager Tony Coroalles said. “This is another voyage in discovery. It’s going to be done with a soft hand. It’s going to be done pretty much in terms of educating homeowners and contractors—there’s not a fine system.”

Maurer said the new rules aren’t complex.

“These (methods) will be very understandable to contractors and engineers and architects,” Maurer said. “These are very simple things we are either requiring they do or are voluntary. And when we start working on the education component, we will have the public reviewing the materials, too, just so they are comfortable.”

The ordinance will not go into effect until January 2010.

“I’m really excited about this ordinance,” Cohen said. “It’s very doable. It’s a no-brainer that we need to build green. This is a great step to expand what we’re currently doing.”

Two years ago, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger developed the state’s green building code, making California the first state in the nation to do so.