Richland Receives Kudos as First U.S. City to Adopt Green Code

The chief executive officer of the International Code Council, Inc. will be in Richland (Wash.) on Tuesday to congratulate the city for being the first local government in the United States to adopt the International Green Construction Code.

CEO Rick Weiland will speak at the August 3 Richland City Council meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in city hall.

The ICC, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., is a membership association dedicated to building safety, fire prevention and energy efficiency. It develops codes and standards to regulate construction of residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. Richland Building Inspection Supervisor Kevin Rex, Fire Marshal Kurt Hubele, and other permit and inspection personnel are ICC members.

Richland adopted the International Green Construction Code as a nonmandatory document for commercial buildings.

Rex explained, “With city council’s goals related to sustainability and green construction practices in the forefront, we looked into the ICC’s public version of the International Green Construction Code. When we saw that it did not have to be a mandatory code adoption, that we could use it as a document to help everyone become familiar with green construction, we decided to adopt it. Richland already has a well-coordinated residential green program through the Home Builders Association.”

Weiland commended Richland for “providing leadership for your colleagues around the U.S. and our global partners around the world.” He also will speak to members of the Home Builders Association of the Tri-Cities at a Wednesday brunch.