An Atlanta nonprofit has been working for more than a year to develop construction standards for energy- and water-use efficiency that would be effective, yet not upset developers and real estate executives.

But a green-building ordinance now before a city council committee has businesses that would be affected by the proposed requirements worried about the costs. Opponents also question the wisdom of imposing a government mandate when voluntary measures already have placed Atlanta among the nation’s leaders in green building.

“Why mandate what is already a market-driven phenomenon?” asked Robert Broome, governmental affairs director for the Atlanta Board of Realtors. “I’m extremely concerned over how a mandatory ordinance would affect growth and development in the city of Atlanta.”

The ordinance is being spearheaded by Sustainable Atlanta, a nonprofit formed in 2007 after Mayor Shirley Franklin identified sustainability as key to making Atlanta a world-class city.

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