'GREEN' BUILDINGS TO SAVE GREENBACKS.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer

In a project that has drawn the attention of environmentalists nationwide, the Los Angeles Community College District is embarking on an ambitious energy-saving program expected to save $80 million in water and power costs over the next 20 years.

In the nine-campus district, officials plan more than 40 ``green'' buildings that will feature everything from solar panels to wind-harnessing generators that will heat swimming pools and chill water for campus air-conditioning systems.

The San Fernando Valley's three colleges will boast a number of energy- efficient buildings, including science and technology centers at Pierce College; a new media-arts center and a family and consumer studies complex at Mission College; and a library and health building at Valley College.

The planned buildings, part of a 10-year, $2.2 billion districtwide renovation project, will meet a new voluntary national standard for leadership in energy and environmental design. Developed by the U.S. Green Council, the standard calls for energy-efficient design, water conservation, effective use of daylight, recycled materials and maximum use of renewable resources.

``We are delighted to be associated with a project and a program that has not only nationwide, but global, implications in terms of its impact on the world,'' said Frederick J. Gans, vice president of DMJM management in Los Angeles, the company overseeing the college district's renovation projects.

The project has won praise from environmental groups and interest from officials at other colleges around the country.

The Coalition for Clean Air of Los Angeles led the campaign that persuaded college trustees to adopt green building practices, said its president, Tim Carmichael.

``We look at this as a challenge to other public agencies - whether it's a city or county or another college district: The Los Angeles Community College District is investing its money responsibly. Are you going to do the same?''

Solar panels were recently installed in a parking lot at California State University, Northridge, to generate electricity for the campus. And last week, the University of California system adopted a sustainable-building and renewable-energy standard for construction.

Officials in the Los Angeles Community College District plan to spend $500 million to $600 million on green building designs.

Although initial costs for the energy-efficient buildings may be 5 percent higher than for traditional construction, the eventual energy savings will more than offset the added expense, Gans said.

The use of solar panels alone could save $14 million in addition to preventing emission of more than 2 billion pounds of carbon dioxide - equivalent to the amount from 19,500 vehicles on the road - and 1.8 million pounds of sulfur dioxide.

``Energy-wise, there's no question it's going to save a lot of money,'' said Ted Kimbrough, former chairman of the district's citizen oversight committee, charged with overseeing two massive voter-approved bond issues - A and AA - that are financing the renovation program.

Bruce Ackerman, president and chief executive officer of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, who sits on the same committee, said the program is driven by effectiveness, not political correctness.

``If it doesn't make sense, it's a waste of time,'' he said. ``It has to be practical, and I think they're doing everything they can to bend the design so that it's practical.''

For the Valley's community colleges, ``practical design'' means solar panel displays, wind-powered generators and insulated windows.

At Pierce College in Woodland Hills, $4 million is being spent to install solar panels above the performing-arts parking lot and microturbines - to harness the wind to generate power - next to the central plant, said Blair Doane, district assistant director for facilities planning and development.

The energy generated will be used to chill water for air-conditioning systems and swimming pool heating.

At Valley College, a planned maintenance building and sheriff's station will have skylights, insulated windows, solar panels, low-flow plumbing fixtures and drought-resistant landscaping and concrete rather than asphalt in paved areas to reduce the amount of heat reflected into buildings.

Officials at Mission College are finishing a master plan that calls for such features as a parking garage with solar panels and a dry arroyo, winding through campus, with drought-resistant native plants, said Ana Rojas, Mission's project manager.

Lisa M. Sodders, [phone]

lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

(color) Solar panels capture energy and do double duty shading cars in a parking lot at California State University, Northridge.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

Box:

PROPOSITION A & AA BY THE NUMBERS

SOURCE: LACCD and DMJM/JGM