By Tom Blodgett | YourValley
The Scottsdale City Council voted Dec. 6 to adopt updates to its building and energy construction codes and to make mandatory a green construction code it also adopted for new building.
The council also included an amendment to require homebuilders to include in the infrastructure of new single-family residential homes the capability for the owner to easily add a fast electric vehicle charging outlet in the garage. That would be accomplished by putting in the conduit where an electrician could run the wiring and dedicating space in the electric box to accommodate the circuit.
However, the council declined to include an amendment to the green code that would allow builders to use R-38 insulation in the ceiling, which is the current standard, rather upgrading to R-49 in new single-family homes.
The moves came in a flurry of votes as council members maneuvered through which way to handle the code revisions. Ultimately, council voted 5-2 with Vice Mayor Tom Durham and Council Member Tammy Caputi dissenting to adopt the building and energy codes with the Scottsdale amendment for mandatory EC-charging capability, then 6-1 with Caputi dissenting to adopt the mandatory green construction code.
