In an email that was circulated yesterday, USGBC President Rick Fedrizzi announced that his organization’s long-awaited next generation rating system, LEED Version 3.0- which will be known as LEED 2009- will debut for public comment on Monday, May 19. Generally speaking, LEED 2009 will reorganize credits from each of the existing LEED systems into a Bookshelf System, individually weigh credits based on environmental impact, and offer regional bonus credits. However, one of gbNYC’s more specific interests with respect to LEED relates to municipal and state level legislation that either provides an incentive for or mandates LEED-compliant construction.
May 16th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 1 comment | ContinuedAll Posts Tagged With: "green building legislation"
Green Building Initiative Joins Chase for High-Performance Building Standard
Almost a year ago, USGBC announced that it was developing a new building standard in cooperation with ASHRAE and IESNA. Standard 189P for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings remained open for public comment through the end of last July. Though modeled on it, 189P is not the same thing as LEED. It’s intended to contain a series of performance-related criteria- including targets for energy and water efficiency- that buildings must satisfy in order for municipalities to issue a certificate of occupancy for new buildings or major renovation projects. The Green Building Initiative has announced that, it too, is in the process of developing a similar standard based on its Green Globes tool.
May 7th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 1 comment | Continued
Managing Risk in Sustainable Building Conference Set for February 7-8 in Chicago
In its 2006 Green Building White Paper, Building Design + Construction magazine called upon the legal profession to examine the potential liability issues that could arise from green standards. It asked the American Bar Association or a leading law school to lead the charge and critically analyze the legal implications that green building regulations might implicate. As far as I can tell, the first conference that will begin to dig into these issues is taking place next week in Chicago. Sponsored by the Alberti Group, it’s not too late to register for Managing Risk in Sustainable Building: Policy, Performance & Pitfalls.
January 28th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 2 comments | Continued
Call for Green Building Legislation in the Garden State, Future for Green Apartment Buildings, and Eco-Friendly Concrete
gbNYC selects green news items of note that were reported across the New York City area during the week of January 15, 2008; descriptions and links are after the jump.
January 20th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
The State of Sustainable Building: Ten Notable Green Quotables
Chapter 1 of the 2007 Building Design + Construction Green Buildings White Paper, “AEC Industry Continues to Embrace Green Building, But Is It Still Only a Niche?,” includes three pages of quotes from industry stakeholders regarding, among other things, their attitudes towards the role of A/E/C professionals in green building, prevailing green market conditions, defining [...]
January 10th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 2 comments | Continued
San Francisco’s Proposed Green Building Legislation: Progressive or Plain LEED Creep?
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 [...]
December 20th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 1 comment | Continued
Brooklyn Bridge LEDs, Orange County LEED Legislation, & NYC Energy Conservation
Brooklyn Bridge’s 160 lights to receive LEDs by next year at a cost of $500K
City to spend $67M on implementing 132 energy conservation projects over the next few months
Majora Carter presents at Conversations on the Environment in Kansas City
Green building slow to permeate New Jersey commercial real estate market
Orange County (NY) passes green building legislation, [...]
Pittsburgh Approves Green Density Bonuses, Will Consider LEED Mandate for Public and TIF Projects
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 [...]
November 29th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
NAHB to Congress: Keep Dangling Green Building Carrots, Don’t Wave Sticks
In testimony yesterday before the House Small Business Committee, the National Association of Home Builders emphasized its belief that voluntary energy efficiency programs and tax incentives remain the best approach for reducing residential energy consumption across America rather than blanket federal mandates. Pennsylvania home builder Frank Thompson told the Committee that “Congress should be promoting [...]
October 19th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 1 comment | Continued
Schwarzenegger Vetoes California Green Building Legislation
Governor Schwarzenegger has vetoed the trio of green building bills which we presented here a few weeks ago. AB 888 would have required most commercial buildings in California to earn LEED Gold by January 1, 2013, while the other two bills (ABs 1058 and 35) were to apply to homes and public buildings, respectively. The [...]
October 18th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 2 comments | Continued
Surety Industry Raises Red Flags Over D.C. Green Building Act
Concerns over LEED creep (the application of LEED mandates to private projects) include the potential for awkwardly- or hastily-drafted legislation to change the risk structure associated with a given green construction project for various project stakeholders. For example, back in early August, the Surety and Fidelity Association of America (“SFAA”) and the National Association of [...]
October 11th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 1 comment | Continued