This is a policy excerpt from the Policies on Lending doc:

Qualifications for Residential Appraiser

a) Successful completion of a basic course in real estate appraising conducted by a junior college; by an accredited four-year college or from an extension program thereof; by a recognized professional appraisal society; or other course of instruction that has been approved by the bank; and

b) Six months of full-time appraisal/evaluation experience as Residential Appraiser with adequate field training in procedures appropriate to appraising/evaluating existing and proposed residential properties up to and including four units; or

c) One year of appraisal/evaluation experience as a fee appraiser with experience primarily in one to four family residential properties.

Can we add another qualification that would encourage accurate valuations of sustainable/green homes?  Such as…

d) successful completion of a basic course in Energy Star's Home Energy Rating Systems or NAHB's National Green Building Standards Rating System by a certified rater/instructor; or other course of instruction that has been approved by the bank:

I'm finding many appraisers can't assess the homes performance abilities: durability, efficiency and health benefits of green building design.  If CGF wants to encourage social and environmentally responsible lending, this is a necessary qualification that has been the primary barrier to successful loans to green building projects.  

Also under…

XII. CONSTRUCTION/IMPROVEMENT LENDING PROCEDURES

C. Appraisal

The Bank shall require a market appraisal complying with the "Appraisal Policy" of the Bank, detailing the anticipated value upon completion of the project. "Market Comparison" should be stated in the appraisal as the emphasis, upon which the value conclusion is reached.

This is more worrisome as an emphasis on "Market Comparison" will prohibit the innovation of high performing homes that are healthy to people and the planet.  Most market locales do not have enough sales or property assessment history of sustainable homes within 6 miles and 6 months to produce an accurately strong value for reaching the 80%-90% LTV requirements.  Is there any way that these policies can be written to open up the potential for green building designs that are strong in distant communities? Would lending to such projects need to be approved by the local Depositors Association and come from the non-FDIC insured 10% of all deposits?