DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT
BUILDING SAFETY DIVISION

Phone: (714) 754-5273 Fax: (714) 754-4856

• City Incentive Program
• Mercury concerns with CFLs (compact florescent light bulbs)
• "An Eco-Conscious City" - OC Metro, February 2009
• LEED Certification for Offices at SCP
• LEED Certification for the Coast Community College District Offices

City Incentive Program

At the regular meeting in September 2008, the Costa Mesa City Council unanimously approved resolution number 08-71 to implement a 9-month Build Green Incentive Program, from September 17, 2008 to June 30, 2009.

The features listed below for the Build Green Incentive Program include:

• All or a portion of plan check and inspection fees will be waived for green installation such as adding solar panels, skylights; or rebate for green certification.
• Express Planning and Building plan checks will be offered.  As such, Build Green plans will be given priority in processing.
• Preferred morning or afternoon inspections will be offered.

Sample permit fee waiver for various green installations:

• Solar tubes or skylights    
• Domestic tankless water heater  
• High performance windows and doors replacement      
• Residential Reroof using radiant barrier “Cool Roof”
• Reroof using class A roofing assembly
• HVAC replacement with Energy Star qualified unit with a SEER of 14 or higher
• Water heater replacement with high efficiency unit with minimum Energy Factor of 0.80
• Solar water heater                                   
• Photo voltaic system                               
• Commercial green roof                           
• Grey water system
• Cogeneration fuel cell

Sample rebate for cost of green certifications:

• Green certification by Energy Star
• Green certification by CA Green Builder (tract homes)
• Green certification by GreenPoint Rated (sfd, multi-family, or mixed use)
• Green certification by LEED (new construction/major renovation, existing building operations and maintenance, commercial interiors, core and shell)
• Green certification by a statewide green organization as approved by the Building Official

Please stop by the Building and Safety Department for more information located at 77 Fair Drive, 2nd floor.

Mercury concerns with CFLs (compact florescent light bulbs)

Concern has been expressed regarding the presence of mercury in CFLs and whether this undermines the environmental benefit of using these bulbs. Actually, the amount of mercury in CFLs is relatively small, approximately 5 milligrams (mg), which is roughly enough to cover the tip of a ballpoint pen, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For comparison, older mercury-based thermometers contained about 500 mg, or 1/10th of a teaspoon.

Depending on where you live (and the mixture of your local energy supplier), you could be releasing as much as 18 mg of mercury into the atmosphere to operate one incandescent bulb over its lifespan. A CFL, on the other hand, produces an estimated 4 mg over its lifespan as a result of burning coal (9 mg total when added to the 5 mg that exist in the bulb). If one billion incandescent light bulbs were replaced with CFLs, we could prevent 100 million grams of mercury emissions. The energy-saving benefits of CFLs far outweigh the cost of operating an incandescent; they last longer, use less energy and can prevent the release of 147 pounds of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide every year.

Another concern has been with disposal of the spent bulbs. They should be disposed of only at a hazardous waste facility, such as the one operated by Rainbow Disposal in Huntington Beach (17121 Nichols). However, all IKEA stores, including the Costa Mesa location (1475 South Coast Drive), accept CFLs for recycling. Look for the yellow recycle bin in the lighting department of IKEA.