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<br />Chicago Beats the <br />Heat with Green <br />Techniques <br />(continued) <br /> <br />OOl(j52 <br /> <br />The city of Chicago will see numerous benefits from its greening projects. Not only will the <br />projects reduce summertime air temperature, reduce electricity bills, and improve air quality, but <br />they will also reduce and improve the quality of storm water runoff and improve the aesthetics of <br />the city. Chicago serves as a model of what can be implemented in urban areas to beat the heat and <br />green the streets. <br /> <br />[For more information, contact Chicago Department of the Environment, 25th Floor, 30 North LaSalle <br />Street, Chicago, IL 60602-2575. Phone: (312) 744-5716. E-mail: environment@ci.chi.i1.us] <br /> <br />New Green Mortgages Protect the Environment and <br />Save Homeowners Money <br /> <br />Buying a home can be very exciting, bur Fannie Mae, the nation's largest source of financing for <br />home mortgages, the Colorado Association of Home Builders (CAHB), and the "Built Green" <br />Program of Colorado have found a way to make it even more exciting. The three are working <br />together to encourage more resource-efficient construction through a new mongage that allows <br />lenders to use the estimated energy and water monthly savings derived from resource-efficient <br />homes in qualifying borrowers for additional funds. <br /> <br />, , <br />Homebuyers in Colorado buying homes that qualify for Colorado's "-green building" program, <br />dubbed Built Green Colorado, will be eligible for the newmongage'pilo~ program: Built Green <br />homes are more affordable because of lower operating costs and high performance, and they can <br />offer buyers greater comfort and reduced maintenance costs. The homes range in price from just <br />over $100,000 to more than $1 million. So far, two lenders are participatihginthe new pilot- <br />GMAC Mortgage and First Colorado Mortgage. <br /> <br />In a press release from Fannie Mae, Tony Hernandez, Fannie Mae's Colorado Partnership Office <br />Director, stated, "Our goal is to help the consumer capture the benefits of environmentally <br />responsible construction - including lower operating costs, reduced maintenance, and increased <br />durability. With this mortgage pilot tied to the Built Green Program, more consumers can <br />purchase such a home and reduce their monthly utility expenses." As part of the project, Fannie <br />Mae has issued a statement to lenders and appraisers letting them know that the value of energy- <br />and resource-efficient improvements in homes can be acknowledged in the appraisal process. <br /> <br />Nationally, Fannie Mae has committed to invest $100 million in environmental initiatives that test <br />new housing finance products, support local green builder efforts, and develop creative solutions <br />to environmental issues with community partners all over the country, including pilot green <br />mortgage programs in five other cities - Adanta, Georgia; Columbus, Ohio; Albuquerque, New <br />Mexico; Los Angeles, California; and Seattle, Washington. <br /> <br />"Lenders, appraisers, and investors need to recognize the enhanced value in housing that comes <br />from environmentally efficient building practices so that buyers are given credit, for example, for <br />reduced energy expenses," added National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) President <br />Charlie Ruma. "Financing that provides incentives for buyers, builders, and lenders to practice <br />green building is the next step in the green building arena." <br /> <br />Built Green was founded in 1996 by several agencies and groups led by the Home Builders <br />Association of Metropolitan Denver. The program's mission is to make energy- and <br />resource-efficient communities the standard in Colorado. The Governor's Office of Energy <br />Conservation funds the program and the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Denver <br />(HBA) administers the program. Currendy, more than 100 builders are on board and 3,500 Built <br />Green homes had been constructed by the end of 1999. <br /> <br />The Built Green program registers individual homes that have received a 4-star energy rating from <br />E-Star Colorado (an energy efficiency evaluation company) or that were built according to energy <br />saving standards set by the Council of American Building Officials (CABO). There are 138 <br />separate features in 21 categories in the Built Green Checklist. A builder must choose at least <br /> <br />10 <br /> <br />NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES <br /> <br />MARCH 2000, ISSUE '60 <br />