AAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH !!!!! My head is going to explode... are you kidding me??

And I love this:

"That expertise accrues locally, but it's often exported nationally and internationally, so there's definitely an economic development advantage to doing this as well," Saltzman said. "It's capturing a landscape that's going to be around a long time."

What the flying f*ck does that even mean? And Danny Boy, I challenge you to quantify this economic advantage you speak of.

I swear to God above that the leaders in this city have gone over the edge. It seems like all they are worried about is how we appear to other cities. We'll "outgreen" you, no matter the cost or logic.

Sure would be nice if the city council would stop increasing its restrictions on every aspect of our being. All I want the city council to do is to provide basic services and not event new ones, such as this one. Let the state take care of enviromental issues and the federal government, energy policy. I think I'll re-watch "War of the Worlds" just to make the city council and its minions seem less painful.

Does this have anything to do with Stan Wilson in Chicago???

This is DisneyLand (_____Land) and all we really need is a daily entrance fee to enjoy all the amenities . . . and the uniquely clean air that no one can find outside our bubble.

Sounds like a great idea to me. Every individual and every level of government has a responsibility to care about the environment.

Encouraging energy-efficient building through a system of tax penalties and rewards is probably the least heavy-handed way of making progress in this area.

Thank you brilliant Dan! You've topped Sam Adam's tax on cars to fix the roads (for bicyclists.) You've given me fresh motivation to clean the junk out of my house, sell it and move out of Portland. The future in Portland for the majority of us will be very costly, difficult and with fewer basic services. The Chosen will be happily subsidized by the rest of Portlanders.

Encouraging energy-efficient building through a system of tax penalties and rewards is probably the least heavy-handed way of making progress in this area.

So it's heavy-handed; just less heavy-handed than, say, central planning by the politburo?

Which, I'd guess, would be your logical next step in enforcing our "responsibility to care".

Feh.

This is the last straw. It is time to clean house and get rid of these a-holes. This city is driving itself into the ground. Just another ludicrous gesture to the far left.

The article states:
"This is obviously an ambitious and potentially controversial undertaking, but with the new urgency and call to action on issues around global warming, this is the type of policy that Portland needs to be a leader," Saltzman said.

The plan also helps maintain the city's reputation nationally as a hotbed of green living and stokes a friendly competition with Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco and Austin, Texas -- cities that regularly seek to out-green each other. "
-------------

Portland needs to be a leader.
... and needs to maintain their reputation.
... and needs to out-green Seattle, SF and Austin.

"AAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH !!!!! My head is going to explode"

"You've given me fresh motivation to clean the junk out of my house, sell it and move out of Portland."

"This is the last straw."

Wow, you guys are really upset over Saltzman's proposal. Some of you are even threatening to move. Well, if you can move to some place where your lack of concern for the environment doesn't affect me, then I wish you the best of luck and full enjoyment of your presumed right to live in as wasteful and foul a way as you want.

But if you're going to be staying on my planet, then I'm going to support laws that rein you in--whether those laws come from the feds, the state, municipal government or the politburo.

Feh.

It's got both Saltzman specials: a meaningless gesture to the far left, and a way to run out all but the Chosen Few Developers, who already have the new system wired in their favor.

I wonder if he talked to Randy before springing this. Building Code enforcement is Randy's turf you know. Could be interesting to see this one come to Council.

Greg C

You gotta love it....build your house according to code, and you still get fined.

It seems like all they are worried about is how we appear to other cities.

You know, I always thought the whole point behind the "keep Portland weird" slogan was not giving a crap about what others think.

...then I wish you the best of luck and full enjoyment of your presumed right to live in as wasteful and foul a way as you want.

I believe the presumptions here are all yours. Pretty much everything people do affects other people. However distasteful, the voices of those affected by the policies and dogmas to which you and your buddies subscribe will have a place in the conversation.

Democracy and all that...

"You gotta love it....build your house according to code, and you still get fined."

Or the local code could be changed to mandate more energy-efficient design. Would you prefer that? I'd be okay with that solution as well. Saltzman's idea would seem to appeal more to those who prefer "market-oriented" solutions. There's a broad societal cost to energy inefficiency; Saltzman is trying to encourage the developer and individual home-buyer to bear some of it directly, through a system of rewards and penalties.

"the voices of those affected by the policies and dogmas to which you and your buddies subscribe will have a place in the conversation. Democracy and all that..."

I don't object to you and your buddies having a voice in the conversation; I'm just telling you that I strongly disagree with you. And I'll continue to support policies that try to correct our environmentally destructive course. So far I think we're doing too little, and we started too late.

The only real way to "correct our environmentally destructive course" is to kill off half the world's population and go back to living like cavemen.

Unfortunately, I won't be surprised when Portland's socialists start suggestion that tack.

"I won't be surprised when Portland's socialists start suggestion that tack."

And I'm not surprised when Beaverton's libertarian fantasist says something as absurd and useless as, "The only real way to 'correct our environmentally destructive course' is to kill off half the world's population and go back to living like cavemen."

if you can move to some place where your lack of concern for the environment doesn't affect me, then I wish you the best of luck and full enjoyment of your presumed right to live in as wasteful and foul a way as you want.

you presume that Saltzman's effort will actually have a meaningful impact on the environment. I don't.

"energy efficiency" in buildings doesn't deal with the bulk of the building's emissions--the materials used to build it and the amount of building construction.

in other words, a condo tower made with several million tons of concrete, steel and stone will never, ever be sustainable, even if it's net energy use is ZERO.

If the proposal can be done in such a way that it will not significantly raise the cost of housing then I say "go for it". The middle class and lower are already barely making it and a new house is beyond the means of many. Building codes in Oregon are already more stingent than the rest of the country when it comes to energy efficiency.

Building codes in Oregon are already more stingent than the rest of the country when it comes to energy efficiency.

another myth, actually, not based on any solid atual analysis. also, thanks to an organization down in the Southeast, codes are quite similar across the country in urban areas.

and, even if they were the "most stringent" in the country, it'd be like swatting a fighter jet with a rolled up newspaper.

*****also, thanks to an organization down in the Southeast, codes are quite similar across the country in urban areas.*****

Several years ago the homebuilders forced a merger of the three major home building code organizations. This merged organization, known as the International Code Coucil, puts out a home building code that is adopted in all 50 States. The Oregon Legislature basically makes a few minor changes to it and adopts the new version that come our evry couple of years. It is call the International Residential 1 & 2 Family Building Code. Oregon uses the 2003 version. The 2006 version is the latest.

The 2006 International Building Code, also adopted by Oregon, governs the construction of buildings other than 1 & 2 family structures.

These are both minimum codes setting the lowest limt to which buildings can be constructed.

Greg C

Ecohuman.com:

What do you suggest?

Gerding Edlen staff helped draft the city's proposal.

Yeah, about that difference between so-called liberals and so-called conservatives...that difference between Portland and places like say, Dallas...

Time to wake up and get out of the false left-right paradigm. It's the same cash and carry government with special interests writing the bills for both. Don't know why so many people get so emotionally invested in one "side" thinking it isn't.

Richard:

glad you asked.

really glad.

Eventually, those who choose to live in the City of Portland will fall into two groups:

1. Those that are wealthy enough they don't mind the increasing tax burden.

2. Those that are too poor to leave.

Between all the new and exciting infrastructure taxes (roads, water treatment, carbon), the FPDR bailout bonds, and the inevitable write-offs of OHSU and Homer & Friends IOUs, WE JUST MAY TAX OURSELVES INTO PROSPERITY.

And Portland Public Schools will keep wondering why enrollments are declining, while Vancouver and suburban schools are overflowing with kids. Mmmmmmm.

Oh dear! Dan has embarrassed himself...again.
Please remember that this is the guy who wanted to cover all of the city's water reservoirs before finding out how much it would cost or how much time it would take to do so.
Does anyone want to save Dan from himself?

PS:
If Dan wants to do something truly useful he should light a fire under the head of the building dept Fred Deitz, who is sitting on literally hundreds of seismic and engineering "final inspections".
That department is literally 2 years behind on this work!

It's not the proposal that bothers me, it's that he unveiled it to a professional gathering in Chicago before even an inkling of information was released to those who might have to live under any realization of it.

This is the same guy who acquiesced to selling off part of Mt. Tabor Park...without any public input.

There seems to be a pattern, don't you think?

It appears that Dan 'soiled himeself" in public.

It's not the proposal that bothers me, it's that he unveiled it to a professional gathering in Chicago before even an inkling of information was released to those who might have to live under any realization of it.

Yeah, there's that part that "liberal" Portland has in common with fascist paradises and the Bush White House too.

"Gerding Edlen staff helped draft the city's proposal."

This is true? Hilarious. If so, Gerding Edlen will collect a lot of cash from the city for The Casey.