In 2010, Clark County, Washington adopted the National Green Building Standard (ICC 700-2008) developed by the International Code Council and the National Association of Home Builders as a voluntary code for residential construction.
In 2011, Clark County’s Building Safety program was honored by the International Code Council with receipt of the ICC Raising the Profile award.
With a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Clark County Building Safety developed a program to test over 750 homes for duct leakage and home energy performance. Nearly 80 percent of those homes were found to have significant leakage. The volume of homes in need of repairs, combined with incentives from local utilities and other agencies, created jobs for both the home testers and the suppliers and contractors making the repairs.
Jim Muir, Clark County’s Chief Building Official, was the inspiration behind Planet Clark. He closes his emails:
FIRST PREVENTERS: Whether their title is Building Official, Inspector, Plan Reviewer, or Fire Marshal their mission is the same: to prevent harm by ensuring compliance with building safety codes before a disaster occurs. Prevention goes unnoticed by design and definition. Success is a non-event. First Preventers play a major role in saving lives, protecting property, and reducing recovery costs often borne by the public.
Through fun and engaging education and outreach programs like Planet Clark, Jim firmly believes that First Preventers can become First Promoters to raise their profile and better serve the community!
To learn more about some of the ideas promoted by Planet Clark, take a look at a short homeowner’s manual with the top things to know about the safe and efficient operation of a home.
Planet Clark Emerald House – Clark County furthered the Planet Clark mission of encouraging public-private partnerships by donating a plot of unused land for construction of a safe, affordable, NGBS-Emerald home for a family in need. With the non-profit Evergreen Habitat for Humanity as a partner and Quail Homes as the builder, the Planet Clark Emerald House was designed to meet five complementary green building standards. For more information, see www.Emerald.PlanetClark.com.
