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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 10/31/2023 - Memorandum From Maren Bzdek And Marcus Coldiron Re: Initial Considerations For A Potential Deconstruction Program In Fort Collins Community Development & Neighborhood Services 281 North College Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580 970.224-6078 preservation@fcgov.com fcgov.com/historicpreservation Historic Preservation Services MEMORANDUM    Date: October 24, 2023    To: Mayor and City Councilmembers   Thru: Kelly DiMartino, City Manager   Tyler Marr, Deputy City Manager  Caryn Champine, Planning, Development & Transportation Director  Paul Sizemore, Community Development and Neighborhood Services Director    From: Maren Bzdek, Historic Preservation Manager  Marcus Coldiron, Chief Building Official     Re: Initial Considerations for a Potential Deconstruction Program in Fort Collins   Bottom Line: A municipal-level or regional-level deconstruction program is a major, multi-phase undertaking that is an important component of creating a circular economy but would take significant time and resources to develop. It should be integrated into a comprehensive suite of adaptive building reuse and materials reuse and recycling programs and regulations, and for proper scalability should be considered in the context of regional waste management and market opportunities. This preliminary information provides local context and considerations for City Council review. Staff has no immediate plans to pursue this strategy due to the impact it would have on the execution of existing work plans. However, if Council identifies this as a priority in Q1 2024, next steps could include 1) further exploration of initial goals at a work session and 2) a potential 2025-2026 BFO offer for a pilot feasibility study if Council would like to see a deeper investigation of this program area in the immediate future.   Background This memo on the potential for a deconstruction program in Fort Collins is an action item identified under the Council Priority to Make Real Progress on Zero Waste, which includes a focus on construction and demolition waste. It is authored by members of the Community Development and Neighborhood Services (CDNS) team due to their expertise in building permit and historic preservation policies and processes. Fort Collins’ Current Requirements Our current demolition program addresses basic public health and recycling requirements. • Mitigating Fugitive Dust: Public health impacts from fugitive dust generated by demolition are mitigated through the requirements in Chapter 12, Article X of the Fort Collins City Code. • Required Materials Recycling: Our building code requirement is limited to recycling of only four materials: cardboard, clean lumber, metal, and aggregates. This requirement DocuSign Envelope ID: 2BFB2B77-E83E-4E06-8E71-DF9E308613E1 applies to the construction of all new buildings, as well as remodels and additions on buildings that are more than 2,500 square feet and demolition of buildings that are more than 1,000 square feet. • Not required: Methodical deconstruction and comprehensive building material salvage is not required in any circumstance. What is Deconstruction and How Does It Work? Demolition generally involves heavy equipment knocking down a structure, while deconstruction requires dismantling a building piece by piece to maximize materials salvage for reuse and recycling. Deconstruction also minimizes the public health impacts of demolition, which can have disproportionate effects on underrepresented communities living in areas with more frequent demolition. This illustration from a 2016 PlaceEconomics white paper illustrates how deconstruction fits into the circular economy model: DocuSign Envelope ID: 2BFB2B77-E83E-4E06-8E71-DF9E308613E1 The following table summarizes some key differences between demolition and deconstruction. Demolition Deconstruction Process Involves heavy equipment in a quick process with minimal manual labor. Structure knocked down with heavy equipment; some materials may be recycled. More labor intensive, slower process. Building assessed to identify reusable or recyclable materials, then surgically dismantled with manual labor to preserve as many materials as possible for reuse. Material salvage Rarely – demolition renders most materials unusable and lacks supportive process to identify reuse opportunities Frequently. A single project may salvage up to 85% of materials to become affordable building materials stock for a community. Material recycling Sometimes – depends on materials, local code requirements, and private commitment to recycling Frequently. Examples of public health impacts Negative impacts primarily on neighborhood. Airborne dust and particulate matter up to 400 feet from source; release lead and asbestos; noise pollution and vibrations; water contamination. Negative impacts primarily on workers, who could be exposed to hazardous materials without appropriate training or mitigation practices. New studies indicate positive psychological impacts of material salvage/reuse for former occupants, particularly in disaster scenarios. Carbon mitigation 2019 detailed analysis in Portland’s program indicates significant advantage of deconstruction over demolition to meet the city’s carbon reduction goals. Energy use analysis is more conditional on local context and variables. Workforce and market impacts Green workforce/contractor development and job training opportunity; materials market development Costs to property owner Typically, demolition averages about half the cost of deconstruction. Initial costs per project are more expensive than demolition, but efficiency over time creates an economy of scale that makes it more competitive. Tax deductible donations are available to offset cost. Applicable scenarios Buildings of any age or type, including historic buildings not protected by local ordinance Pilot programs generally begin with pre-WWII buildings based on the quality potential for salvage/reuse, although mature programs aim to include all buildings to maximize waste stream diversion and public health benefits. Exceptions Historic buildings protected from demolition by local ordinance. DocuSign Envelope ID: 2BFB2B77-E83E-4E06-8E71-DF9E308613E1 • Deconstruction leverages existing material assets in the built environment through careful dismantling of structures, component by component, to maximize the ability to harvest all reusable and recyclable materials from the waste stream. • Deconstruction is a slower, more deliberate process than mechanical demolition with heavy equipment, which typically renders many materials unusable and sends them into the waste stream. It prioritizes materials reuse options while also including recycling requirements for materials that are unlikely to be reused. • Deconstruction provides more building materials to a functioning circular economy, keeping products in use longer to minimize carbon impact and environmental hazards related to the production of new materials. • Not all building materials are appropriate for salvage and reuse, so deconstruction programs typically launch with requirements limited to pre-1940 construction, which tends to involve higher-quality materials and structures with a higher likelihood of historic significance. Programs also include a materials evaluation process to facilitate recycling of materials that don’t have a reuse market and to allow for appropriate handling and disposal of hazardous materials and other challenges. Components of Successful Deconstruction Programs • Phasing of full-scale deconstruction programs is common and typically includes a pilot program based on limited initial qualifying criteria, e.g., incentivized, voluntary compliance or requirements applied to only the oldest buildings. Key partnerships and processes are developed before full regulatory requirements are phased in. Subsequent phases of requirements may be based on adding new date thresholds and/or new building use types and scenarios. • In addition to appropriate scaling, dedicated focus on market incubation and workforce development (tradespeople who are specifically trained in deconstruction and contractors willing to specialize) are critical components for a successful program. • A deconstruction ordinance should be embedded in or serve as a replacement for a demolition program and always accompanies a waste stream diversion and recycling program that reflects the climate, housing, and building conservation goals of the community. • A well-designed deconstruction program typically incentivizes building preservation alternatives over deconstruction/demolition because it evens out the relative costs of each approach and brings the life cycle impacts of demolition on the community into sharper focus. Deconstruction and historic preservation both recognize the value of older, more durable, and repairable building materials and can be effective complementary tools when used together. Key Performance Indicators: • Landfill diversion rate • Types/quantities of materials salvaged for reuse vs. recycled vs. landfilled • Duration of projects and cost-comparison to demolition • Workforce development opportunities and challenges • Number of proposed demolition projects converted to deconstruction or preservation/rehab projects • Optimization of regional wasteshed and salvage network opportunities • Building code, historic preservation, and waste management regulations successfully adapted to incorporate salvaged material reuse. DocuSign Envelope ID: 2BFB2B77-E83E-4E06-8E71-DF9E308613E1 Risks and Challenges: • Administrative burden of creating and managing the program • Budget and space needed for a well-managed facility to handle material refurbishment, storage, and accessible redistribution • Evaluation process needed to determine adherence to existing building codes of salvaged, reusable materials • Pace of private sector incorporation of salvaged materials • Compliance and enforcement challenges • Political concerns and regional wasteshed scalability Deconstruction Movement Nationwide • Build Reuse is the premier nationwide non-profit encouraging a circular economy for building materials and promotion of deconstruction workforce development. • Google recently funded a study, “Accelerating the Circular Economy through Commercial Deconstruction and Reuse,” to explore the viability of materials reuse for their extensive network of corporate offices. • There is growing momentum for Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste diversion on the Front Range of Colorado. C&D waste is about 25% of the statewide waste stream. In 2023, Recycle Colorado released the “Colorado Construction, Demolition, & Deconstruction Policy Toolkit.” But there are no statewide goals for diversion, so most of the effort is happening at the local level, some of which is supported by Front Range Waste Diversion grants. o Denver’s voter-led “Waste No More” ordinance (2023) requires developers to submit a recycling and reuse plan for C&D waste. Minimum requirements include recycling of concrete, asphalt, clean wood, scrap metal, and corrugated cardboard. o Boulder’s more extensive deconstruction program supports their Energy Conservation Code and circular economy goals by requiring diversion of at least 3 material types and diversion of 75% of all building materials, by weight, from the landfill. • Other model programs around the country include Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, Savannah, Milwaukee, San Jose, Palo Alto, Pittsburgh, and Alameda County, CA. San Antonio is the largest community in the country with a deconstruction ordinance. Palo Alto, CA is the smallest community with a deconstruction ordinance. Palo Alto’s 2020 ordinance prohibits mechanical demolition for all residential and commercial buildings and requires all deconstruction projects to utilize GreenWaste of Palo Alto to collect all materials at project sites. Relevant Data and Case Studies More data should be gathered and analyzed to support a rough cost/benefit analysis for a ballparked program that would match existing and projected volumes of demolition. Existing Fort Collins context: • Current C&D waste generated: Fort Collins demolition permits require a waste management plan that includes landfill diversion for a limited range of materials: concrete, untreated wood, metal, and cardboard. As would be expected, in Fort Collins demolitions, roughly 85% of the material recycled is aggregates (concrete and asphalt), 12% is metal, only DocuSign Envelope ID: 2BFB2B77-E83E-4E06-8E71-DF9E308613E1 3% is wood, and nearly no cardboard is recycled. Even with this program in place, C&D waste in Fort Collins contributes 35-40% to our annual waste stream. • Pre-1940 buildings subject to demolition: Fort Collins contains approximately 12,000 existing buildings constructed prior to 1940. About 300 properties, most of which were built before 1940, are protected from demolition/deconstruction because they are designated Fort Collins Landmarks. Others (commercial and multi-family buildings) may be subject to adaptive reuse requirements in the land use code. The great majority of pre-1940 buildings are single-family residential properties, and unless a change of use is proposed they are subject to demolition without substantive Historic Preservation review. Zoning and land use code requirements thus create some complications for predicting future demolition trends. • Demolition patterns: Most single-family residential demolition occurs on the west side of the Old Town neighborhoods or near the CSU campus. Since 2002, the City has processed 229 demolitions of single-family residential properties, ranging from as few as 2 demolitions in 2002 and as many as 26 in 2013. In 2023, 7 single-family residential demolitions have been approved to date. The overall average from 2002 to 2023 is 10 single-family demolitions per year, with numbers slowly trending upward overall. However, demolition permits remain a small percentage of overall building permit applications—the 229 approved demolitions since 2002 constitute only 0.125% of all building permits issues in that period. • Existing deconstruction activity: Deconstruction is already underway to a limited extent on the Front Range, and one of those resources is local to our community. The National Center for Craftsmanship is a Fort Collins non-profit that trains youth and adults the skills necessary to deconstruct buildings. They have deconstructed several buildings in Fort Collins and would provide valuable input as a stakeholder in developing a deconstruction program. Other partner resources exist in the region, such as Perks Deconstruction Ltd. and Colorado Cleanup Corp in Denver. Future data to support this work would include: • More comprehensive demolition data since 2000 that includes commercial and multi- family buildings. • Embodied, operating, and avoided carbon impacts of reused/updated buildings versus new construction, and use of carbon calculators for comparing existing vs. new buildings such as https://caretool.org/ • Demolition heat mapping to identify affected vulnerable communities and the attendant impacts from demolition (socioeconomic and human health). • Estimated $$ value and carbon impacts of building materials landfilled since 2000 • Equity analysis of access to available building materials (reuse is an important source for DIY and low-budget construction) • Industry leader and local market/stakeholder surveys • Potential impact of charitable tax contributions to offset costs for property owners and incentivize private sector support and activity • Local case studies of recent voluntary deconstruction projects would help identify risks and opportunities, e.g. the Utilities Administration Building at 222 Laporte, which was constructed on the site of a demolished turn-of-the-century brick industrial building. The City of Fort Collins used salvaged brick from the demolished building in the new construction. The process was guided by historic review of the building’s history and valuable materials; materials reuse contributed to the project’s LEED certification. In 2023, DocuSign Envelope ID: 2BFB2B77-E83E-4E06-8E71-DF9E308613E1 three early 20th century residences on the 700 Block of S. College were deconstructed by the National Center for Craftsmanship (NCC). Next Steps  • If Council determines this is a priority in Q1 2024, schedule work session with CDNS and Environmental Sustainability staff. • If the work session discussion provides direction for immediate action, prepare a 2025- 2026 BFO offer to support a feasibility study for a deconstruction program. The feasibility study might include further analysis of local demolition data trends based on the above suggestions, a general summary of existing and potential regulatory code and public engagement needs, an internal assessment of existing, related resources (including staffing) based on the standard program model as well as a summary of related policy goals in Our Climate Future, the Housing Strategic Plan, City Plan, Economic Health Strategic Plan, etc. and identify next steps to move toward a deconstruction program.  CC: Jacob Castillo, Chief Sustainability Officer Josh Birks, Sustainability Services Deputy Director and Acting Environmental Services Director   DocuSign Envelope ID: 2BFB2B77-E83E-4E06-8E71-DF9E308613E1