Scottsdale Green Building Program: The Voluntary Green Path for New Homes

Building a custom home in Scottsdale does not force you into a green building rating, but the city gives you a clear, voluntary path to earn one. Scottsdale's Green Building Program is a checklist a single-family home can follow to get a Scottsdale Green Building designation for being more energy, water, and material efficient than code requires. People often confuse this with Scottsdale's mandatory green construction code, which is a different thing that does not apply to houses. This page sorts out which is which, who each one hits, and what it means for your build.

Two different green rules, and which one applies to a house

Scottsdale runs two separate green tracks, and the difference matters for a custom-home builder.

The first is the voluntary Green Building Program for residential projects. A new home is not required to join. If you opt in, your design follows the program's One- and Two-Family Residential Green Building Checklist. The city verifies it, and the home earns a Green Building designation. The program is one of the oldest in the country. The city keeps a directory of participating architects, designers, and builders.

The second is the mandatory International Green Construction Code (IgCC), which sounds like it would cover houses but does not. Scottsdale adopted it as a mandatory code, and the city is clear about which buildings it touches:

The IgCC makes it easier for developers of commercial and multi-family projects to be green designated.

That mandatory IgCC took effect July 1, 2023. It applies to new commercial and multifamily buildings, not single-family detached homes. So a custom house is never required to meet the IgCC. The City of Scottsdale is the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) that runs both tracks. Its Planning and Development staff administer the voluntary program and enforce the mandatory code.

What the voluntary program actually involves

For a new home, the green choice is yours. It sits on top of the energy rules you already have to meet. Every Scottsdale house must comply with the mandatory energy code, the 2021 IECC as amended. That code already sets insulation R-values (a measure of how well insulation resists heat flow), window performance, and duct sealing. The voluntary program goes beyond that baseline. It scores choices like higher-efficiency HVAC, water-saving fixtures, solar readiness, shade and orientation for the desert sun, and lower-impact materials.

The program is built on the standard residential code. It does not replace the 2021 IRC your house is framed and wired to. It is an added designation, not a separate code path. So joining changes your specs and your paperwork, not the core engineering of the home.

When this comes into play and what it means for you

The voluntary program is a design-phase decision, so make the call early:

• If you want the designation, tell your designer at the start. Hitting green targets is far cheaper when insulation, glazing, HVAC, and orientation are planned in, rather than retrofitted late.
• If you do not, you are not penalized. Your home still has to meet the mandatory 2021 IECC energy code, but nothing forces the extra green checklist on a single-family build.
• Do not let the IgCC scare you. For example, if a contractor tells you a new Scottsdale house must meet the International Green Construction Code, that is wrong for a single-family home. The IgCC is a commercial and multifamily code. Your house follows the IRC and the IECC, plus the green program only if you choose it.

For a Scottsdale build, the practical takeaway is simple. Green is optional for your house, energy efficiency under the IECC is not, and the scary-sounding IgCC does not apply to you. If resale value or lower utility bills matter to you in the desert, the voluntary program is a credible, city-backed way to document a more efficient home.

This entry is a city-special topic in the Scottsdale module. The full mandatory code list, including the energy code your house must meet, is in Scottsdale Adopted Building Codes . What you file for the permit is in Scottsdale Residential Building Permit Requirements . For the plain-language code overview, see what building codes apply in Scottsdale , and for the full journey, the steps to building a custom home in Arizona .

Source

The voluntary residential program and its checklist are published by the City of Scottsdale: Green Building Program on scottsdaleaz.gov . The mandatory IgCC and its commercial and multifamily scope are at Green Codes , and the full adopted-code list is at Building Code Information .

This page is general information, not a code interpretation. Program details and adopted codes change, so confirm the current requirements with Scottsdale Planning and Development before you rely on them.