Green is the new color for Salt Lake City's buildings.

Two days before he launches the Sundance Summit, a global warming congress of 45 U.S. mayors, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson signed an executive order requiring that all new buildings "owned and controlled" by the city go green — look for energy efficiencies and minimize pollution.

The order requires that all new or significantly remodeled buildings be built according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

The ratings, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, require that buildings adhere to five points of environment-friendly and energy-efficient construction and design principles.

The city's new Intermodal Hub became the first city-owned building ever to be LEED certified when it was dedicated last week.

Following the LEED principles can add between 1 percent and 10 percent to a building's cost, according to the mayor's office, but that can often be recouped through lower energy costs in the future.

Anderson's order caught City Council Chair Dale Lambert off guard since Lambert had been in conversations with the mayor's staff about an ordinance that would have accomplished the same thing as the mayor's order. The difference is that the order doesn't have to be passed or considered by the City Council and an ordinance would.

"On something that may have significant consequences to the city, I think it would have been nice to have discussed it cooperatively," Lambert said.

Still, Lambert said, "the goal here is worthwhile." He suggested the mayor wanted to pass the order ahead of his big Sundance Summit.

"You think that might have affected the timing?" he asked.

Anderson's Chief of Staff Sam Guevara said the administration does plan to bring an ordinance to the council that would essentially do the same thing as the executive order.

The ordinance would last forever, whereas the order lasts only as long as Anderson remains in office, Guevara said.

Lisa Romney, Anderson's environmental policy adviser, said the mayor issued the order because the ordinance wasn't complete and there are some pending projects, including the construction of the Unity Center and the renovation of The Leonardo at Library Square, that may be started before an ordinance could be passed.

With the order in place, the council won't be under any time constraints to rush the ordinance through, Romney said.

"We're looking forward to working with the council," she said.

LEED design calls for builders and architects to reuse existing structures when possible, build near mass transit, use natural light where possible, adopt water-wise landscapes, build with recycled materials if available, use effective designs for heating and air conditioning systems and consider a multitude of other suggestions and requirements. The order went into effect Friday.

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E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com