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DRAFT CFE Resolution — November 9, 2015 <br />ORANGE COUNTY COMMISSION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT <br />RESOLUTION <br />Incentive Program for Energy Efficient Construction <br />WHEREAS, energy efficiency is the lowest cost, cleanest, and most underutilized resource for <br />meeting our energy needs; and <br />WHEREAS, energy efficiency in new construction enhances comfort and saves money for the <br />occupants of those structures for the life of the structure; and <br />WHEREAS, there are split incentives between builders and occupants when it comes to <br />investments in energy efficiency in new buildings because those efficiency measures can add <br />costs for builders that result in savings for later occupants;and <br />WHEREAS, saving money by using less energy would most benefit low- income residents who <br />pay the largest percentage of their incomes on monthly power bills; and <br />WHEREAS, energy efficiency measures, by reducing the need to produce new electricity from <br />burning fossil fuels, reduce air pollution and save money for all rate payers by minimizing the <br />need for energy producers to invest in new production and transmission capacity; and <br />WHEREAS, state law allows county and city governments to enact incentives for energy <br />efficient construction in the form of rebating permitting fees, but otherwise does not allow local <br />governments to require more energy efficient construction than is already required by the state <br />building code; and <br />WHEREAS, the Town of Chapel Hill adopted an incentive program for energy efficiency <br />construction, allowing for rebates of permitting fees for energy efficient construction that meets <br />certain objective benchmarks in the Ephesus - Fordham District. <br />NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: <br />That the Orange County Comission for the Environment (CFE) recommends that the Orange <br />County Board of County Commissioners adopt an incentive program that rebates permitting <br />fees, modeled after the program adopted by the Town of Chapel Hill, for all new commercial and <br />residential construction and look for creative ways to encourage low or no -cost energy efficiency <br />upgrades to existing buildings, primarily targeted at our lowest- income neighbors to provide <br />them with savings on their utility bills. <br />This the _ day of 2015. <br />, Chair <br />Orange County Commission for the Environment <br />