By Edward Russo, The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore.

Sep. 7--Good news for builders of environmentally friendly buildings: The city of Eugene is willing to make it less expensive and time consuming for structures that meet green building standards.

If their projects receive green building certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or the Earth Advantage Program, builders can benefit from different types of assistance, said Jenna Garmon, the city's green building analyst.

Approved projects are eligible for fast-track plan review, permits and inspections, reduced development fees, guidance from sustainability experts, and recognition and publicity. Home and apartment builders also can get rebates on building permit fees, Garmon said.

"These incentives aim to reduce the time and costs of building green, encourage green building practitioners, and highlight the good work that is happening in our community," she said.

The building permit fee rebates, funded by the federal stimulus bill, range from a maximum of $1,000 for a single-family home, $1,500 for a duplex, and $750 for each apartment, up to $5,000 per project.

Matthew Conner, about to start building an environmentally friendly home in north Eugene, expects to receive a $1,000 rebate from the city because his planned home has received Earth Advantage certification, which is administered by the Eugene Water and Electric Board, plus a $500 reduction in sewer system and storm water development charges.

Conner, a service technician with Northwest Natural Gas, said he was impressed that city planners approved his plans in a few hours. "It took four hours and we were done," he said.

Garmon said it can take up to two weeks for planners to approve plans for single-family homes. However, for projects like Conner's, planners meet with applicants before plans are submitted "to make sure there is not going to be any barrier to approving the building permit at the counter," Garmon said. "That is our goal -- to have a better dialogue with applicants and be more in a partnership role."

Among other things, Conner's house will have fluorescent lights, extra insulation, a high efficiency furnace, on-demand hot water heater, low-flow water fixtures, drought tolerant landscaping, and roof gutters that drain into a garden, so runoff doesn't flow into the storm sewer.

The city's permit rebate and fee reductions, plus an additional $1,550 in financial assistance from the state energy department and the Oregon Energy Trust, are welcome, Conner said.

However, they will not offset the extra cost of the green building features. Including the price of the lot, Conner's 1,700-square-foot, single-story home is expected to cost $330,000.

Yet Conner expects the energy and water savings to save him and his wife, Michelle, money in the long run.

"The incentive for me wasn't the money from the city, it was the energy savings down the road," he said.

EUGENE'S GREEN BUILDING INCENTIVES

--Contact: Jenna Garmon, city green building analyst, 682-5541, or jenna.r.garmon@ci.eugene.or.us.

--Web site: www.eugenerecycles.org

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