Memo dated Nov 6th 2001 Status of Green Points ProgramMEMORANDUM
TO: Planning Board
FROM: Mike Weil, Director of Environmental Affairs
Maureen,Rait, Directar of Public Works for Development and Support Services
DATE: November 23, 2001
SUBJECT: December 6, 2001 Planning Board meeting discussion: Status of the
development and implementation of a Green Points Program for commercial
construction.
Purpose
A status report on the development and implementation of a Green Points Program for
commercial construction will be provided at the December 6, 2001 Planning Board meeting.
This memorandum provides background information on this topic.
Background
Energy conservation and efficiency is one of the top five priorities for the City Council
Environmental Sustainability Goal. Three key initiatives related to energy and resource
efficiency in residential and commercial construction were identified for 2001, as follows:
Adoption of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) for both residential and
commercia! construction,
Update of the Residantial Green Points Program, including providing incentives for reducing
construction and demolition waste and promoting recycling and reuse, and
Development of a Commercial Green Points Program using the Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system as a model.
The first two of these initiatives were approved by the Planning Board and City Council. The
third initiative is underway.
LEED
Staff recently held a study session with the City Council to discuss energy programs, including
existing programs and options for new programs and policies. Council affirmed the
objective to evaluate options for the development of a commercial Green Points Program
analogous to the existing residential Green Points Program that would encourage energy and
resource conservation measures beyond those required by the building code, while allowing
permit applicants' flexibility in selecting measures for individual projects.
The existing Green Points Program requires residential building permit applicants to select green
building measures to obtain a permit. Commercial and residential construction permit applicants
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must also comply with the recently adopted Intemational Energy Conservation Code (IECC);
however, coinmercial permits do not currently require Green Points.
The LEED Green Building Rating System is a priority program of the US Green Building
Council. It is a voluntary, consensus-based, market-driven building rating system based on
existing proven technology. LEED is a self-assessing system designed for rating new and
existing commercial, institutional, and high-rise residential buildings. It is a feature-oriented
system where credits are earned for satisfying each criteria. Different levels of green building
certification are awarded based on the total credits earned. The system is designed to be
comprehensive in scope yet simple in operation. It evaluates environmental performance from a
"whole building" perspective over a building's life cycle, providing a definitive standard for what
constitutes a"green building." A LEED project checkiist and calculator can be found in
Attachment A. '
As part of the Council's Environmental Sustainability Goal staff is using the LEED "silver"
standard for major renovations and new construction of city facilities. The North Boulder
Recreation Center is a pilot project in this area. During the energy study session Council asked
staff to consider options for implementing a progxam that would build on the city's LEED
experience.
At this time, no local jurisdiction in the United States is requiring LEED certification for private
sector development. A number of jurisdictions have adopted LEED standards for public sector
construction projects. Private sector programs are voluntary, incentive-based and most typically
found in communities that also operate electric and gas utilities.
Other Jurisdictions/Cities
A brief description of some green building programs for commercial construction in other
jurisdictions follows. In addition, a more detailed description of the Seattle LEED incentive
program is included.
San Diego County offers voluntary resource-efficient guidelines on new consm~ction and building renovation
projects.
City of Berkeley has mandatory energy upgrades at point of sale for commercial buildings.
City of Santa Monica has adopted green guidelines as part of its Sustainable City Program in 1994. The city of
Santa Monica also has design and construction guidelines aimed at more environmentally responsive building and
site design. littu:((eceenbuildinvs.santa-monica.ore
City of Austin offers a Green Building Program funded through the Austin elecfric utility. The program includes
rebates and incentives.
Seattle requires that all city conshuction projects over 5,000 square feet, both new and remodels meet the LEED
"Silvei' rating level. Seattle does not require LEED certification for private sector development. Private sector
projects are encouraged, however, to build ro LEED standards through the incentive program described below.
The Seattle Program
The city of Seattle wants private sector construction projects to follow its lead by incorporating
more sustainable "green" materials and methods. Funded by Seattle City Light and Seattle
Public Utilities, the LEED Pilot Incentive Program provides financial assistance to building
s:\plan\pb-items\memos\mwLEED 126PB.doc
owners and developers to incorporate meaningful and cost-effective sustainable building goals
early iu building programming and design decisions. As part oCthis pilot program, the city is an
active observer, to help determine what the most effective sustainable building services are that
the city can offer to the private sector within the Seattle City Light service district.
The incentive program includes commercial occupancies: offices, retail and service
establishments, institutional buildings (libraries, schools, museums, churches, etc.), hotels and
residential buildings of four or more habitable stories. The incentive program is available for
new construction and major renovations involving complete structural upgrades and replacement
of inechanical systems (not tenant solely improvements). There must be a$5 million minimum
construction budget. Additional requirements are listed below:
• Applicant must be project owner or developer.
• Applicant must be able to identify building design decision participants - all those who
have input into or who will ultimately be affected by building design decisions:
financiers, architects, consultants (civil, landscape, mechanical/indoor environmental
quality, electrical, structural and commissioning), tenants or tenant reprasentatives,
facility/property managers, and building operators.
• Applicant will hold at least one charette (either the pre-application design meeting or the
goal confirming meeting on the schedule of events) which involves all building design
decision participants, inclading tenants or tenant representatives, facility/property
managers and building operators, to allow these end-users to provide input into design
decisions that will affect them directly.
• Applicant must enter into a LEED Pilot Incentive Program Assistance Participation
Agreement within three months of submitting a pre-application.
• Project funding or a funding commitment must be in place at time of signing the
Assistance Participation Agreement to ensure that applicant intends to move diligently
foiward.
• Applicant commits to having project achieve a minimum LEEDT"' "Certified" rating.
LEEU Pilot fundine criteria
• Grants will be individually negotiated. Minimum basis will be $15,000 for projects that
commit to achieving a LEEDT"' "Certified" rating. Grants of more than $15,000 wili be
considered for projects that commit to LEEDTM "Silver" or above.
• Projects must be registered with the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).
• Incentive is paid when a Letter of Agreement is signed.
• LEEDTM Pilot grants can be used for soft costs only, not limited to the following:
• LEEDTM certification application process and fees.
• Professional services such as energy, daylight and LCA (Life Cycle Analysis),
that are beyond standard services.
• A building design charette facilitated by the applicant or consultant with building
design decision participants described above, to establish energy efficient, water
efficient and sustainable building goals early in the building developmenU
programming process.
• LEEDTM Pilot Grants cannot be applied to hard (construction) costs.
•.If the project fails to meet USGBC certification, the applicant shall reimburse Seattle City
Light with all incentive funding received.
s:\plan\pb-items\memos\mwLEED I26PB.doc
t.I;ED'''"'' r~~~~t veritlcation, e~~~luatiou, ~ud documentation criteria
To verify that all agreed upon green measures are installed and to ensure that project experience
is shared with the community, the applicant is required to:
• Document that all green measures selected have been completely installed.
• Participate in a project evaluation by:
Completing a LEEDTM Project Evaluation form.
Consenting to interviews of all building design decision participants.
Providing ongoing utility cost and operations data.
• Provide information to be used to create and publish a case study, including:
Interviews with the building design decision participants.
Photos and data about the project and its green features, including utility bills.
Copies of USGBC LEEDTM certification documentation.
Next Steps
A Commercial Green Points or LEED type of program is a major initiative for the city of
Boulder. We believe that significant input from the local design and building community is
needed to inform recommendations on program development and implementation. With this in
mind, the city has retained the consultant services of Ensar Group, Inc. in order to present a two-
day community workshop that will focus on the specific requirements of LEED, including the
associated costs and benefits of ineeting the requirements. The workshop is intended to serve as
both an educational tool and a forum to generate ideas and feedback. Local contractors,
architects, engineers and builders are being invited to participate in the workshop so that they
may be introduced to the LEED program and offer feedback on approaches the city should
consider to further facilitate green building in commercial construction. Planning Board
members are invited to attend this workshop. Details on dates, location, and agenda will follow.
Questions about this workshop will be addressed at the December 6 Planning Board meeting.
cc: Christine Andersen, Deputy City Manager for Environmental Services
Peter Pollock, Planning Director
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A: LEED project checklist and calculator
s:\plan\pb-items\memos\mwLEED 126PB.doc
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