Notice of Adoption: building construction

TOWN OF RIVERHEAD

NOTICE OF ADOPTION

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that the Town Board of the Town of Riverhead adopted a local law amending Chapter 52 entitled “Building Construction” of the Riverhead Town Code at its regular meeting held on August 7, 2012.  Be it enacted by the Town Board of the Town of Riverhead as follows:

Chapter 52

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

§ 52-21. Energy Star requirements.

A. Intent. The intent is to protect the public health, safety and welfare of its residents by mandating that new single-family dwellings comply with the Long Island Power Authority New York ENERGY STAR Labeled Homes Program guidelines, thus ensuring that the dwellings will use considerably less energy than if built to prevailing building standards. Compliance with Long Island Power Authority New York ENERGY STAR Labeled Homes Program guidelines as outlined in this section shall be required in addition to compliance with current standards outlined in the Energy Conservation Construction Code of the State of New York (Energy Code).

B. Any new single-family dwelling shall be built to comply with the Long Island Power Authority New York ENERGY STAR Labeled Homes Program (hereinafter “the program”) requirements in accordance with the time periods specified in Subsections E, F and G contained herein.

C. The ENERGY STAR requirements must be satisfied by compliance with one of the following standards:

(1) The Builder Option Package as established by LIPA; or

(2) Achieving a home energy rating of 84 or higher on the current expanded Home Energy Rating System (HERS) scoring system adopted by the State of New York which corresponds to an index of 80 or less as defined in the 2006 Mortgage Industry National Home Energy Rating System Standards promulgated by the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET).

D. In addition to demonstrating compliance with one of the standards set forth in Subsection C above, the subject dwelling must comply with the following additional requirements:

(1) Include a total of 500 kilowatt hours of electricity savings per dwelling unit as defined by the program; and

(2) Include an automatically controlled mechanical ventilation system as required by the program; and

(3) Comply with the Combustion Safety Testing Standards and Procedures for New York ENERGY STAR Labeled Homes standards as tested by an analyst certified by the Building Performance Institute, or equivalent trained analyst approved by the Long Island Power Authority, prior to issuance of certificate of occupancy.

E. Commencing on April 1, 2007, prior to the issuance of a building permit for any new subject dwelling, the applicant shall certify compliance with Energy Star requirements by one of the following methods:

(1) Method 1.

(a) The plans submitted shall demonstrate compliance with:

[1] The thermal envelope requirements (R-values and U-values only);

[2] The electrical savings and ventilation requirements; and

[3] The equipment efficiency requirements of the Long Island Power Authority Builder Option Package prescriptive standards.

(b) No third-party verification or field testing shall be required under this method.

(2) Method 2. The Home Energy HERS rating shall be obtained, which demonstrates compliance with all requirements of the Program as described above, including all verification and field testing.

F. Commencing on January 1, 2008, prior to the issuance of a building permit for any new subject dwelling, the applicant shall certify that the subject dwelling will comply with the envelope and duct leakage requirements of the program. Prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy, the subject dwelling shall pass a test for combustion safety by an analyst certified by the Building Performance Institute, or equivalent trained analyst approved by the Long Island Power Authority. Any subject dwelling that satisfied the program requirements by using the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) performance verification method shall also be tested for combustion safety.

G. Commencing on April 1, 2008, prior to the issuance of a building permit, the applicant shall certify that the subject dwelling will comply with all aspects of the program, using either the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) or Builder Option Package method. Prior to issuance a certificate of occupancy, all field verification and testing requirements of the program shall be met.

H. Exemptions. Notwithstanding any provision contained in § 89-79, the testing and verification requirement may be waived upon the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) submitting a certification that no testing or verification protocol and procedure can be applied accurately in a particular building configuration.

§ 52-21. TO BE RESERVED
NOT INTENDED TO BE RENUMBERED

• Overstrike represents deletion(s)

Dated:  Riverhead, New York

            August 7, 2012

BY ORDER OF THE TOWN BOARD

OF THE TOWN OF RIVERHEAD

DIANE M. WILHELM, TOWN CLERK