Builders Mike Chapman and Harvey Monroe agree Santa Fe's new proposed green building code, scheduled to be heard by the City Council Wednesday, is well thought out and well written.

But while Monroe supports the code "without reservations," Chapman thinks the timing is bad and the code should be voluntary.

The proposed code would establish energy, resource and water efficiency, indoor environmental quality and other "green" standards for new homes. Homes would be rated in six categories with a minimum number of points required in each. In energy use, for example, new homes would have to be 30 percent more efficient than the current standard and earn an additional 70 points from a laundry list of energy-saving measures.

Many of the choices for meeting the new code are industry standards, Monroe said. It doesn't require buying an expensive solar photovoltaic system, although that is among the choices. Building well-insulated homes with good windows and proper solar orientation would go a long way to meeting the new standard.

"Most of it is tried-and true-building science," Monroe said. "I have no problem building to the standard."

Chapman doesn't have a problem with what the code requires, only that it forces the choice on homebuyers. He said most buyers are concerned about the bottom line mortgage bill each month. Given a choice between more energy efficiency or an extra room in a house for the same cost, he believes a lot of buyers will go for the extra room.

"People should have more choice in their homes then we're giving them," Chapman said.

Meeting the new green code would add $3 to $4 a square foot onto the average-size home, according to Chapman and Monroe. Chapman said most lenders still don't know how to value "green" additions in a new home and with the credit crunch, could be that much tougher about handing out money for "green" homes.

Monroe agrees lenders need to be educated, but he thinks data are available to show energy- and water-saving measures more than pay for themselves. State tax incentives and potential new federal ones only sweeten the deal for energy efficiency and solar-energy features on construction. He said all the new customers calling him about building a home are asking for "green" features.

"If you are going to invest in something, might as well invest in something that will save you money," Monroe said.

Chapman said his biggest concern is he thinks it would be better if the city waited a year until the economy recovers.

"You have an industry that is reeling, no matter how we got here," said Chapman, who was part of the National Home Builders Association's Green Building Initiative. "This is an industry that provides a tremendous amount of jobs and tax revenue to the community."

"So at a time of declining prices, we're talking about increasing costs. We should put this green code on hold for at least a year until the economy gets back on its feet. It just isn't the right time to do this," Chapman added.

The city's supervising long-range planner, Katherine E. Mortimer, said so far she's had few complaints about the proposed code from builders or architects. In part that's because the city worked with builders for almost two years in drafting the code.

While the city is starting with "green" standards for new home construction, that's only the beginning. As Chapman notes, new homes are a small percent of all houses and most new ones are already far more energy efficient than houses a decade old or more. Mortimer said once the new green-home code passes, the city will work on green building standards for commercial buildings and for existing homes undergoing renovations. "It's not like we are ignoring everything else," Mortimer said. "We just didn't want to bite off everything at once."

Albuquerque tried that with its new green building code last year, writing it to cover all types of buildings, and promptly got sued by the heating and air conditioning industry.

Mortimer said if the council does approve the Santa Fe Green Building code, it will not become effective until July 1, so the city and the Santa Fe Home Builders Association can conduct outreach and education with real-estate agents, lenders and builders.

Contact Staci Matlock at 986-3055 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.