Banker and Tradesman: Hub Breathes Easier Thanks to DND Regs

[Guest guest]

Banker & Tradesman

The Real Estate, Banking and Commercial Weekly for Massachusetts

Monday, October 2, 2006

Hub Breathes Easier Thanks to DND Regs

Construction Standards for Newly Built Dwellings Target Triggers of Asthma,

Other Respiratory Woes

By Aglaia Pikounis

The City of Boston has Adopted Design guidelines that are expected to help

families living in affordable housing breathe easier.

The Department of Neighborhood Development has implemented several

construction standards for newly built single-family homes and condominiums that

are

aimed at reducing the presence of mold, dust mites, mice and other household

pests that can trigger and exacerbate asthma and other respiratory conditions.

The guidelines were developed by the Boston Urban Asthma Coalition, a

Dorchester-based citywide advocacy organization, and the Asthma Regional Council

of

New England. Those organizations worked closely with DND officials to

ensure that affordable housing receiving city funding or built on city-owned

land

will be built according to healthy housing design and construction practices.

Dust mites and roaches, and other housing conditions can cause children and

adults to develop asthma, according to Zotter, executive director and

co-founder of the asthma coalition or BUAC. “Our goal is that all affordable

housing that exists and that’s built will be healthy,†said Zotter.

Some of the design standards implemented by DND apply to a home’s interior

while others concern the exterior or structural components.

For example, the city is trying to cut back on the use or carpeting in newly

built affordable housing units. The city is requiring at least one

carpet-free bedroom in each new unit and wood-laminated flooring to be

installed in

each unit’s entryway and living and dining rooms. Carpeting, particularly

if

it is old and worn, is known to harbor dust mites and mold. Any carpeting

that is used in newly constructed units, according to the city’s standards,

must

be level loop carpeting, which is easier to clean than other types of

carpeting.

The city also is asking builders to avoid installing plumbing on exterior

walls, making it easier to detect and repair water leaks and thus minimizing the

chances of mold developing.

Drainage and grading issues also are addressed in the design guidelines.

The area around the foundation should be graded away from foundations and

compacted to ensure proper drainage, according to the DND design standards, and

subsurface drainage in basements or crawl spaces should include a continuing

footing drain connected to a city-approved drainage system.

In addition, DND is requiring gutters in all residential buildings to reduce

water on exterior surfaces and improved venting in bathrooms and kitchens.

The changes are aimed at reducing moisture and the use of carpeting. “What

we heard from the folks who have been involved in reducing asthma in our

communities is that those are the two triggers that needed to be addresses,â€

said

Sheila Dillon, deputy director of DND.

The efforts come as public health officials and city leaders are taking

notice of the impact of asthma across the region. Massachusetts and the city of

Boston have higher asthma rages than those of other states and metropolitan

areas, according to a research report released by the BUAC this past June.

The report revealed that nearly 15 percent of adults living in the Bay State

have been diagnosed with asthma, compared to a national average of 13

percent. Children in the state are also struggling with 14.6 percent of

children

in Massachusetts living with asthma, compared to 12 percent nationwide,

according to the report.

In Boston’S Dorchester neighborhood, the asthma rates were 50 percent than

those in the rest of the state, the report found.

Much of the city-owned land that is available for development is located in

the northern section of Dorchester and in Roxbury – another city neighborhood

with one of the highest asthma rates in the state – because of the

disinvestment in those two neighborhoods over the years, according to Dillon.

“When BUAC came to us, they had very compelling evidence. We felt, as we

were investing in these neighborhoods, that it was in the best interest of the

residents who live in those neighborhoods to build this type of (healthy)

housing,†she said.

‘Perfect Sense’

Cost has been a significant challenge in getting developers to embrace some

healthy housing construction standards, according to experts.

Laurie Stillman, executive director of the Asthma Regional Council. Said the

upfront costs associated with building healthy homes can be a big issue.

But Stillman said most of the healthy home guidelines ultimately help improve

energy costs and make a residence “more durable and less susceptible to

deterioration.â€

:â€It all makes perfect financial and health sense,†she said.

While at least 30 other cities across the country have embraced “greenâ€

building standards to make sure their housing is energy-efficient and

environmentally friendly, not all of those cities have been as focused on

ensuring that

the housing is also healthy, according to Ellen Tobin, senior advisor to the

Asthma Regional Council, or ARC.

“Boston has done a great job of really focusing on the goal of building

healthy housing. They have explicitly tried to ensure that the construction

standards at DND help to create healthier housing,†said Tobin, an expert on

housing-based environmental health threats who runs a consulting business, ERT

Assoc., in Wayland. “The city of Boston has focused on building green and

healthy housing.â€

ARC has worked with state housing finance authorities in Massachusetts,

Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine to help them modify their construction

and

design standards to improve health conditions. The introduction of green and

healthy building standards in those states over the past couple of years will

affect the construction of more than 2,000 units annually, according to

Tobin.

Organizations like the Greater Four Corners Association Coalition in

Dorchester and the Boston Tenant Coalition, which advocates for healthy and

affordable housing throughout the city, have supported the efforts of ARC and

BUAC.

The Boston Tenant Coalition hosted a series of roundtable discussions with

community-based organizations to educate the public about the high asthma

rates in low-income communities and to discuss strategies for developing housing

that eliminates asthma triggers.

“This is a really important issue that we all need to address,†said Kathy

Brown of the Boston Tenant Coalition.

During workshops organized by the Greater Four Corners Association Coalition

to discuss asthma, it became clear that residents in Dorchester, Mattapan and

Roxbury were very concerned about healthy housing, according to Marvin

, the coalition’s director.

Many residents complained about having sinus or other breathing problems,

noted , who along with community leaders is hoping that the new city

guidelines have a significant impact.

“The city still has a lot of properties out there. If they're going to ask

developers to do this, that’s going to create a whole lot of units that will

at least be respiratory-friendly,†he said. “This will help decrease the

high incidence of asthma we have in the city.â€

said he is particularly pleased that the city is now requiring at

least one carpet-free bedroom and is planning to prod city officials to use even

less carpeting. “We hope to get to a point where it will be more than one

bedroom (without carpeting),†he said.

In addition to trying to create new healthy affordable homes, BUAC is

working with the city to promote healthy living conditions in existing housing.

Zotter, of BUAC, said the organization has been working with the doctors at

Children’s Hospital and the Boston Medical Center, as well as the city’s

Inspectional Services Department, to try to identify asthma triggers and ask

them

to check out the property.

The inspectors can then provide guidelines on modifications to improve the

housing conditions, said Zotter.

Aglaia Pikounis may be reached at _apikounis@..._

(mailto:apikounis@...)