Commissioner Dan Saltzman is the one who spearheaded the ordinance, but he's not the one who took it one step further. Commissioner Jim Francesconi successfully attached three amendments, one of which gives private developers who meet the standards a higher priority for application processing than developers who do not. While stopping short of allowing green projects to leapfrog non-green ventures, one of the amendments direct the Office of Planning and Development to give green projects their own planner to speed things along.

The two cities that previously have passed similar ordinances are Seattle and Austin, TX. All the ordinances require government buildings to follow standards set by the US Green Building Council. Portland city officials predict the new rules--which require it to meet the minimum standards--will increase costs by up to 5%, but that the extra expense will be made up in the long run via reduced utility bills.

Developers who spoke at the hearing informed council members that previous attempts to get approval of innovative measures--such as capturing rainwater for irrigation and flushing toilets--have met government opposition. Commissioner Francesconi's two other amendments supposedly address that, however, by directing all bureaus to identify and take action to remove such barriers.