South Everett cottages use green-building techniques

Published 1:08 pm Sunday, February 24, 2008

EVERETT — In the 30 years she’s lived in her south Everett home, Judy Lowell has seen many changes on Upper Ridge Road. The house across the street didn’t exist in the early 1970s. Lowell’s home and her land of about 2 acres were considered small.

Fast forward to 2008, and Lowell’s property, now one of the biggest in the area, is the site of what she and friend Chuck Webster call a new kind of community.

Lowell and Webster are nearly ready to break ground on Upper Ridge Cottages, an environmentally friendly cluster community.

Plans call for six two-story homes between 1,200 and 1,600 square feet. Each home will include a detached garage with an insulated loft space above.

The development’s “green” features will include:

An advanced framing technique that uses one-third less lumber.

Bamboo and stained-concrete flooring with heat coils.

Formaldehyde-free cabinets.

Community clothes lines.

A recycling center.

Water-saving dual-flush toilets.

Wiring for solar energy.

“We’re going for green certification,” Webster said.

The homes will sell for around $400,000 to $450,000. They were designed by Richard Berg of Richard Berg Architects in Port Townsend.

Green homes like the ones Lowell and Webster will build are working their way into the mainstream construction industry.

“It’s definitely a change that’s going to take root and become the way we build from now on,” architect Berg said.

Outside the homes, Lowell, Webster and Berg will use an environmentally friendly approach to site development and rainfall management. Runoff from storms will drain naturally, tubs will capture rainfall, and paved surfaces will use material that drains readily. “The natural contours of the land are perfect for what we are doing,” Webster said.

In addition to well-thought-out houses, homeowners at Upper Ridge Cottages will also be able to enjoy a wooded wetland area.

At the front of the property, a winding path will lead homeowners to their residences. Wood from trees felled in this area will go to a Bainbridge Island shop, where they will be made into bookshelves to go around the fireplaces. Limbs that are not straight will be used for the outside porches. What can’t be used in the homes will be mulched for parking areas.

Webster and Lowell worked hard on planning the project.

“They did such a phenomenal job,” said Valerie Steel of the Sustainable Development Task Force, a group that provides technical assistance to achieve sustainable development practices in Snohomish County.

The task force offered review and advocacy for Lowell and Webster. Steel was impressed by how thoroughly the two researched and were up to speed with the latest technologies. She also liked that Lowell will keep her original home on the site.

Steel says the mortgage industry is finally catching up with the green wave, as more people buy homes with health and community in mind.

“When you look into a gloomy fish tank that hasn’t been cleaned, you wonder how the fish survive,” Steel said.

Some folks believe that conventionally built homes have poor air quality, which is hard on people with health problems, such as children with asthma. “People feel good about living in a green home,” Steel said. “It’s good for their family, larger community and the environment.”

Lowell and Webster don’t think of themselves as pioneers. They prefer to be “bioneers.”

“It seems natural to me to do this,” Lowell said.

“I don’t care about notoriety. Nobody will ever know who I was,” she said. “I hope that what we do carries on.”

Christina Harper is a Snohomish County freelance writer. She can be reached at harper@heraldnet.com.