Green Building Code

CHANGES TO GREEN BUILDING CODE STANDARDS

As some of you may know, the State Legislature passed House Bill 287 during the 2023 legislative session that limited local jurisdiction’s ability to require energy efficiency measures above and beyond the state adopted International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).The City of Ketchum has required more robust standards for residential development since 2015, which have been impacted by the state’s decision.  Here is what it means for Ketchum: There is no impact to the City's adoption of the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code. The State still has this code adopted and has not yet made significant amendments to the requirements.

• The City's Green Building Codes included in Section 15.20 of our municipal code are no longer enforceable on new developments. This means that residential projects (new/additions/remodels) cannot be required to demonstrate LEED/NGBS compliance or sustainable building practices. 
• Building permits submitted and deemed complete prior to March 31, 2023, do still need to comply with Section 15.20, and the City’s Planning & Building department will continue to ensure compliance on those projects. Owner’s can petition the department to comply with the new regulations. Those requests will be handled on a case-by-case basis. 

“We are disappointed with the passing of House Bill 287 as it reverses a lot of good progress the city has made in the past few years to minimize the impacts of development on our environment,” explained Morgan Landers, Director of Planning and Building.

We know that sustainability is a goal of the community. The Planning Department anticipates that sustainability will be a focus area in the overall Comprehensive Plan and Code Update project. We look forward to developing policies and incentive programs to forward our goals over the next couple of years.