LEED legislation

An insightful letter to the editor that suggests many potential green construction law issues appears in the February 2008 issue of The Construction Specifier magazine. Written by Anne Whitacre of Gehry Partners' Los Angeles office, Another Perspective on Green draws attention to the LEED mandates that continue to be enacted in the author's hometown of Seattle. In the letter, Whitacre raises her concerns about both local green building incentives and public mandates; her comments ring particularly salient in light of the recent Managing Risk in Sustainable Building conference at DePaul's Real Estate Center in Chicago a couple of weeks ago, as well as freshly proposed Seattle-based legislation that would expand a green building mandate at the county level.

• Asbury Park Press calls for all new construction in New Jersey - public and private- to comply with LEED standards
• Future is green for high-rise residential construction in the New York City area
• Orange County (NY) municipalities considering green building legislation that would apply to both public and private projects
• PA concrete company goes green as it builds $81 million parking garage in Atlantic City
• Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) visits PNC Bank’s Hamilton, New Jersey green branch to tout his 2007 High Performance Green Buildings Act

At a press conference last week that was held at Tishman Speyer’s LEED Silver hopeful 555 Mission Street, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom proposed municipal LEED legislation that, if enacted, would be among the most rigorous in the country applying to private construction. Mayor Newsom has vowed to fast-track his signature on the legislation should the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approve it. It's unclear when the Board will debate and vote on the measure.

The legislation would require commercial and residential projects greater than 25,000 square feet, or taller than 75 feet, to earn a LEED Certified rating from USGBC in 2008. In 2009, the requirement for commercial projects would increase to Silver and, in 2010, Gold. Residential projects would require a Silver rating beginning in 2010.

Beginning in 2009, mid-sized commercial buildings would need to meet three LEED credits. This requirement would increase to four credits in 2010, six in 2011, and seven credits in 2012. The text of the proposed legislation does not appear to be available online, and it’s unclear how the ordinance defines small and mid-sized buildings. Nevertheless, all mid-sized buildings would be required to satisfy a checklist based on LEED during 2008.

Small and mid-sized residential buildings would need to receive 25 points under California-based non-profit BuildItGreen’s GreenPointRated rating system beginning in 2009. This requirement would increase to 50 points in 2010 and 75 points in 2012 (2011 for multi-family residential buildings with five units or more).

San Francisco already requires all public projects to earn a LEED Silver rating. The proposal is based on the work of a Task Force featuring a number of local owners and A/E/C stakeholders that Mayor Newsom assembled earlier this year. The Task Force provided the Mayor with a 47-page report (which at one point was available online, but I've been unable to track it down) back in June.

On Monday, Pittsburgh’s City Council approved a new green building incentive, and entertained a second which it will vote on sometime next year. The first, and less controversial bill, will allow LEED-certified buildings to rise 20 percent higher and include 20 percent more floor area than other buildings in their zoning district. For example, the 55-foot ceiling in many city areas would translate into an additional 11 feet- or an entire extra floor of office space. The incentive won’t apply to residential buildings, and developers must participate in a public hearing and then receive approval from the City Planning Commission before proceeding. The city itself will receive a lien on any buildings that seek the density bonus to ensure that the developer achieves certification.

The second bill, which was also introduced by Councilman William Peduto, would require that all new or substantially renovated public buildings greater than 5,000 square feet or with a project cost of $2 million achieve a LEED Silver rating. Moreover, private projects funded through Pittsburgh’s TIF program would also need to achieve Silver. (TIF, or tax increment financing, is where government borrows funds to finance development and then pays the debt down from the taxes that are thereby generated.)

TIF programs are not without criticism, nor are LEED legislative schemes that are tied to private development.