Washington, D.C. appears to be on the verge of becoming the largest city in America to formally adopt LEED into a building code that applies to both public and private sector projects. An article in today’s Washington Post provides details about the legislation, which is contained in a bill pending before the D.C. Council.
Under the bill, within two years all new District-owned projects, including schools, would have to meet the green standards, and in 2009, any building receiving more than 20 percent public financing would have to do the same. By 2012, every new commercial building over 50,000 square feet -- about the size of a medium-size retail store -- would have to meet the guidelines. The rules would also apply to affordable housing.