Center Opens to Help Build "Green" Homes

By Susan Reines
Special to The Lookout

July 20 -- Santa Monica took another step toward becoming an entirely "green" city last week when the ribbon was cut on a new Green Building Resource Center on Main Street.

The office will provide free advice for anyone looking to construct an environmentally-friendly building or update an older structure.

"We are truly dedicated to becoming a sustainable city," said Mayor Richard Bloom, who officiated at the ceremony Thursday. "It's a very lofty goal, but you know, we don't reach a goal without setting one."

Bloom said the new resource center, which was funded by the city and Global Green USA, an environmental organization, would be an important link in fulfilling the sustainable city plan approved by the City in 1994. In addition to requiring city buildings and new construction projects to meet stringent environmental standards, Bloom said, "We educate. And that's where this green building facility comes in." From left: Mayor Richard Bloom, Global Green USA President Matt Petersen and architect Larry Scarpa (Photo by Susan Reines

The center, at 2218 Main Street, will be open to the public four days a week -- Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Thursdays from 3p.m. to 8p.m.

At the center, samples of renewable building materials, like bamboo flooring and carpet made from recycled soda bottles, line the walls. Shelves filled with books and flyers provide information on incorporating “green” amenities into buildings.

The center’s staff will give free advice -- up to two hours’ worth -- on a drop-in basis, according to Global Green USA President and Santa Monica resident Matt Petersen.

Councilmember Michael Feinstein noted that the center's opening is timely because the City is about to embark on updating its land use element and the council will likely add even more incentives for people to construct sustainable buildings.

The resource center, Feinstein said, "will be just in time, so when we ask people, or incentivize, to try to do better, it is not just going to be theoretical, there will be a hands-on place to learn that will be accessible to people doing a simple remodel (as well as) the
largest developers."

Santa Monica architect Larry Scarpa said that, while he and many of his colleagues are already accustomed to “green” construction methods, the resource center will be invaluable to the general public.

"The big issue is that a lot of the public don't know what to do," said Scarpa, whose firm Pugh + Scarpa, designed the award-winning Community Corporation sustainable building on 5th Street and Colorado Avenue. "A lot of people (involved in construction projects) don't use architects."

Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McKeown said the resource center is but one step to a fully “green” city.

"We began with green building guidelines, now a green building resource center," McKeown said. "I hope the next (step) will be a green depot -- a store where everyone could buy these products."