The award was presented to Brookfield for its work in sustainable development and energy efficiency in home construction.  Our new Foothills community, Rockrose, is being constructed in Carlsbad.  The Eco-Savvy Rockrose is 35% more energy efficient than required by Title 24, the California Energy Efficiency Regulations for Residential Construction.  Rockrose is also focuses on water conservation, indoor air quality, recycling of construction materials and renewable resource use.  For all these Eco-Savvy factors, the Chamber of Commerce selected Rockrose and Brookfield Homes for their Environmental Spirit award.

Rockrose has been collecting other awards as well.  Home buyers and business professionals alike are recognizing Eco-Savvy design as the preferred way to provide high quality design, high quality construction and environmental sensitivity at an economic price.  Stop by and see for yourself why Eco-Savvy s the way to go!

The City Council voted 7-0 to make the “Level 2″ restrictions permanent.  San Diego becomes a leading jurisdiction in water conservation and water usage with the extension of these rules.  Councilman Carl DeMaio praised the vote and encouraged all San Diego residents and business to embrace sustainable living.

The San Diego County Water Authority continues in its efforts to find and deliver new sources of water to San Diego.  However, these types of activities are difficult and time consuming.  SDCWA continues to stress water conservation and reports good participation by all San Diego water users.

“We’re doing all that we can to accommodate the needs of home buyers,” said Lora Heramb, vice president of sales and marketing for Brookfield Homes. “By offering one of the lowest new home tax rates in Carlsbad, in addition to money-saving green features, we’re providing home buyers with the ultimate in savings and value.”

Rockrose is among the lowest tax rates for new homes in Carlsbad. The 1.21% rate is based on the Rockrose median sales price of $659,000. The tax rate will increase or decrease based upon the actual sales price of the home.

In addition to the new lower property tax levels, Rockrose continues to provide the most sustainable living available in San Diego County through our Eco-Savvy design program. Energy efficiency is one of six areas of Eco-Savvy concentration incorporated into every home at Rockrose. The others are: water conservation, waste reduction, indoor air quality, sustainable building materials / wood conservation, and renewable energy / solar power (optional).

Price, quality, Eco-Savvy and lower property tax rates, what more could you want from a new home? Stop by Rockrose to see for yourself just how much value is offered in a Brookfield Home.

Rockrose has been the most talked about new sustainable neighborhood in San Diego. This weekend, the Foothills community, the home of Rockrose, will open the Community Recreation and Swim Center for new residents. Brookfield took some of the same efficiency design concepts from Rockrose into the Community Center. The pool will be heated by a solar water heating system and backed up by high efficiency pool heaters. LED lighting will illuminate the site. Water efficient landscaping will adorn the Center and passive cooling systems will help the residents beat the summer heat.

The Community Center embodies the Eco-Savvy theme of Rockrose. And, the Eco-Savvy “…concept aims to create a community that reflects both today’s home buyers’ need for value and their preference for eco-conscious products. Think of it as cost efficient meets energy efficient – and then some,” according to Sarah Yaussi, News Editor for Big Builder Magazine.

We could not have said it better ourselves!

Rockrose is the first new home community in San Diego to offer every new home standard, with an energy efficiency rating of 35% better than the California Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential Construction (Title 24). But, that is just where Eco-Savvy starts. Rockrose offers water conservation through tankless water heaters, WaterSense faucets, low-flow shower heads, recirculating hot water systems, insulated hot water loop lines and water sensitive landscaping. Rockrose is waste sensitive, diverting 70-80% of the construction waste material away from local landfills by recycling. Rockrose is environmentally sensitive to indoor air quality by including Merv 8 air filters, low VOC carpets and paints, and formaldehyde free adhesives. Rockrose supports sustainable building through the use of Sustainable Forest Initiative Certified lumber and engineered wood products. Home buyers may also select recycled materials for their floor coverings. Rockrose supports renewable energy and solar power by providing photo voltaic options for all home buyers. Rockrose is Eco-Savvy.

And, Eco-Savvy is being ecologically and economically smart. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to be Eco-Savvy!

Eco-Savvy is also being a good neighbor and offering educational materials and displays about energy savings, water conservation, indoor air quality, native habitat landscaping and waste reduction programs. Even if you are not in the market for a new home, stop by and see how Eco-Savvy can be utilized in your home today. Saving the environment can also mean saving money in your home right now!

See you on the 27th of March!

A new report, prepared for the California Homebuilding Foundation by ConSol, a nationally recognized consultant on energy solutions for homebuilders, examined the historical standards for water usage by California home owners and then compared those findings to the usage under today’s building code requirements and also, the new California Green Building Standards Code requirements that will take effect in 2011.

Not surprisingly, the study found that homes built in 2009 reduced water use by 20% compared to home built in 1990. With the introduction of low flow shower heads and low flow toilets, water usage in new homes has been significantly reduced over the past 20 years.

The study also found that under the new regulations for 2011, new home construction would further reduce indoor water use by 21%. The study estimated the cost of these new regulations to be around $350 per home.

Landscaping accounts for more than half of a home’s water usage. 57% of a home’s water usage is outside the home. Irrigation of landscaping is the largest single water use at most homes. The new Model Water Efficiency Landscape Ordinance are part of the new regulations for 2011.

In terms of gallons of water saved, today’s new homes in California use 15,000 gallons less than homes built in 1990. A 2011 new home will use 12,000 gallons less than today’s new home inside the house and 26,000 gallons less water outside the home!

Additional water savings can be created through retrofitting of the 7.5 million single family homes built before 1980, when the first plumbing standards went into effect. By replacing original shower fixtures alone in a pre-1980 home with the new 2011 standard shower fixture, the average home owner can save over 22,000 gallons of water. By replacing one pre-1980 toilet with a 2011 standard toilet, the home owner can save another 16,000 of water each year.

For more details and facts about water saving ideas, visit the San Diego County Water Authority web site or you local water agency. Remember, whiskey is for drinking and water is for saving!

Brookfield’s new “Eco-Savvy” product line of single family detached homes is receiving very positive reviews from new home shoppers. The information trailer for Rockrose opened on January 9th. Over 550 inquisitive parties have signed up on the new neighborhood’s Interest List. And, over 35 prospective purchasers have begun the loan qualification process!

Are you environmentally tuned in? Are you focused on eco-friendly homes, energy efficient homes, and sustainable homes? Are you looking for environmentally friendly homes, energy saving homes, and green house designs? Then you may be “Eco-Savvy”! If you want all these things in your new home, and you want your home in a great school district, a coastal city and a new master planned community, then you may be “Eco-Savvy”! If you want all these benefits and you want them at a great value, the you are “Eco-Savvy”!

“Eco-Savvy” means sustainable and smart! “Eco-Savvy” means energy conscious, water conscious, air quality conscious, habitat conscious, renewable resource conscious and smart! Every home in the Rockrose neighborhood will be a minimum of 35% more energy efficient than required by the current California’s Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential Construction (Title 24). No other builder in San Diego is offering this level of energy efficiency in its standard construction homes! That’s right “NO OTHER BUILDER IN SAN DIEGO IS OFFERING A STANDARD CONSTRUCTION HOME AT 35% MORE EFFICIENT THAN REQUIRED BY TITLE 24!” That is why “Eco-Savvy” in smart!

In Rockrose you will find … water efficient fixtures, low VOC paints, stains and adhesives for air quality, National Wildlife Federation certified habitat landscaping, sustainable forest certified lumber, xeriscape front yard landscaping, construction waste reduction programs, in-home recycling centers, and the list continues to grow … that is “Eco-Savvy” smart!

Have you been by to visit Rockrose? What’s holding you up? You can find us on Glen Avenue in Carlsbad. Take the I-5 to Cannon Road exit, go east. As you cross El Camino Real, you can see us ahead on the left. Turn left on Hilltop Street and go around the traffic circle to the Brookfield Information Center for Rockrose. Stop in and see Julie or Loretta, they will be happy to show you how “Eco-Savvy” means a smart buying decision.

The new homes at Rockrose will range from a single story home with 2,116 sf to a two story home with 3,167 sf. In all, four different floor plans will be offered, with multiple architectural elevations and color palates.

The Eco-Savvy design and construction techniques will be previewed this weekend as well. You will learn more about our plans for conserving water, conserving energy, reducing construction waste, drought tolerant landscaping and irrigation systems, improved internal air quality and other environmentally sensitive design and construction approaches being offered in these eco friendly new homes.

The Foothills community is conveniently located east of El Camino Real, along Cannon Road, in Carlsbad, California. The Foothills community is also situated on a southerly facing, gently sloping, hill side. This provides homes sites with view opportunities, good access to warm sunlight and cool ocean breezes. The recreation center at The Foothills will offer resort level amenities and a great gathering places for new friends and neighbors.

The Carlsbad Unified School District will provide educational facilities for the children of The Foothills and is planning a new high school, along Cannon Road, just east of College Avenue. The new high school is scheduled to open in the fall of 2013.

Pocket parks, a recreational vehicle storage facility and a future commercial office building will also be part of The Foothills master plan. A city neighborhood park has been designed and graded just west of The Foothills, along El Camino Real, and will be developed in the future by the City of Carlsbad.

Stop by our Sales Information Center and learn more about The Foothills and our new neighborhood, Rockrose. Find out what it means to be Eco-Savvy and how you can customize your new home to fit your lifestyle while providing for fewer impacts to our environment.

See you on Saturday!

Great questions! And, we have great answers!

Rockrose, a new community brought to you by Brookfield is Eco-Savvy. Rockrose is a Carlsbad community in the new master plan of The Foothills. Rockrose takes green building, sustainable building and environmentally friendly building to a new level of awareness and implementation.

Today’s “green conscious” consumers are looking to reduce their personal and family impact on the earth’s health and well being. They are looking for environmentally friendly alternatives for every aspect of their lives. Eco-Savvy understands this desire and works with multiple aspects of new home construction and new community living to incorporate these goals into environmentally friendly living.

The recreation center of The Foothills master plan includes solar water heating and LED lighting to reduce the need for natural gas and electricity. You still get the same resort quality facilities, you just get them in a more Eco-Savvy delivery.

Rockrose will include many new Eco-Savvy features, starting with a whole house design system focused on increasing energy efficiency by 35% or more than current Title 24 requirements. Title 24 is the California state law that governs home design and energy efficiency in construction. California has one of the strictest energy efficiency standards in the United States, and every Eco-Savvy Rockrose home will exceed the minimum standards for energy efficiency by at least 35% (according to the current Title 24)!

Rockrose will also bring you other Eco-Savvy features, like water conservation measures and environmentally friendly building material selections. Many of these features will be standard in every Rockrose home. And, then for those “green conscious” buyers that desire to go even further …. well, we have some more surprises in store for you.

Visit our web site for more information on Rockrose and The Foothills. Then check back here regularly as we unveil more of the Eco-Savvy features and options you can find in this new home community.

Brookfield Homes has always prided itself on the quality of our home construction. We are known for our efforts to design and build quality homes. We view the Eco-Savvy homes by Brookfield to be that “next extension” of our quality construction program. Quality, value, design and now Eco-Savvy, Brookfield Homes continues to lead the way in new home and community construction.

The Legislature passed a five bill package of new laws. Each of these new laws is focused on a specific area of water regulation. They are:

SBx7-1 – A comprehensive new governance structure that will oversee nearly all activities, agencies and regulations within the “Bay-Delta Region”. This bill deals with land use, water rights, environmental and conveyance issues. This bill is the heart of the legislation.

SBx7-2 – A comprehensive bond bill, asking the voters of California to approve $11.14 billion of state general obligation bonds to finance a wide variety of improvements, enhancements, storage, conveyance and environmental protection projects. This bond will be put to the voters of California in November of 2010.

SBx7-6 – A bill requiring groundwater monitoring and reporting requirements and initiating fiscal penalties for failure to do so. This bill raises the level of scrutiny and protection for groundwater basins.

SBx7-7 – A bill requiring all water users in California to practice conservation and efficiency uses of water through new water management and efficiency plans. This bill creates water awareness programs for all Californians.

SBx7-8 – A bill to increase water protection programs through new regulations to stop illegal diversions of water and provide penalties for enforcement. This bill also provides about $4.2 million, through existing funds, to support enforcement programs.

That is it in a nutshell. When you look at the pieces, it all seems quite simple and you have to ask “Why did this take so long?” The simple answer is politics. The real answer is an age old adage: “Whiskey is for drinking. Water is for fighting!”

Whether this “landmark legislation” is the answer to California’s water problems will all be decided by the details. First and foremost, is the detail of funding this program. Without the passage of the November 2010 Water Bond, the promise of the legislation is greatly in danger. Assuming the voters of California will support the “Bay-Delta Solution”, then the devil in the details will fall on the new governance structure. The new governance program will the critical body that moves forward to implement this legislation. The politics will be overwhelming. The stakeholders are numerous, vociferous, and dangerous. So, if you thought the fighting over the language of the bills was nasty, you haven’t seen anything yet!

Let’s celebrate the “landmark legislation” for a little longer, but then it is time to get to the real work of fixing the Bay-Delta delivery system, eco system and regulatory system.