Green Building Standards

The City of Ridgefield provides standards for the construction of greener homes that incorporate energy efficiency methods such as water conservation, healthier materials, and national certifications to verify homes that achieve these goals.

To implement these standards, the Building and Planning Divisions of the Community Development Department work together to use strategies such as:

Green Building under NGBS and other ANSI standards

  • The city has adopted the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) as its green building reference standards.
  • Applicants that comply with the NGBS or any standards set by an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) certified Green Building Program will be eligible for rebates of up to 10% of building fees.
  • For homes that meet the green design standards, an additional 10% rebate is available when the home incorporates visitability features designed to allow people with mobility challenges to live in and visit the home without extensive remodeling.
  • This is a voluntary program for builders.

Residential Green Design

  • For both low density and medium density residential developments, the city provides a list of practices to be implemented during construction to encourage stewardship of the natural environment:
    • Landscape with drought-tolerant, native plants.
    • Install water-conserving drip, micro-mist, or sub-surface irrigation.
    • Recycle, salvage, or donate excess or unwanted materials.
    • Recycle materials for use in walls, fences, trails, or other amenities that are important to the development.
    • Rain gardens to accommodate storm water on-site, particularly roof drains, rather than movement to a community system.
  • Applicants must incorporate at least two of these practices in their construction process in order to meet the city's Green Design Standards.

This information and other relevant details can be found in the Ridgefield Municipal Code: