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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008 02 11 Informational 101 Green Buildings and LEED CertificationCOMMISSION AGENDA ITEM 101 February 11, 2008 Meeting CONSENT INFORMATIONAL X PUBLIC HEARING REGULAR MGR. G" /DEPT Authorization REQUEST: Community Development Department is providing the City Commission with a brief summary of information regarding green buildings and LEED certification, as previously directed by the Commission. PURPOSE: This agenda item is to provide the Commission the requested compendium regarding green buildings and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). CONSIDERATION: Background: The ecology movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, followed by the oil embargo, fuel shortages, and energy price increases in the 1970s jump-started the movement for building energy efficiency, alternate energy sources, and the inclusion of alternate energy sources in energy efficient buildings. However, during the 1980s, politics, in combination with relatively inexpensive oil, resulting largely from the North Sea and Alaska oil field production, slowed the movement considerably. In 1993, the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment, inspired by the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, published The Environmental Resource Guide. This was a comprehensive account of the theory, practice, and technology of environmental buildings. This same gathering inspired the creation of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). USGBC: The USGBC was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1993, by David Gottfried, Richard Fedrizzi, and Michael Italiano and is a non-profit organization committed to sustainable building practices. Its mission is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built, and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life. The USGBC made two decisive moves to expedite adoption and implementation of environmental or green building practices: (1) it expanded its audience beyond the architecture professiop and (2) it actively sought to involve the private sector. February 11, 2008 Information Item 101 Page 2 LEED: In 1995, the USGBC drafted standards for green building. The name Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) was adopted in 1996 (the pilot version was launched in 1998 and a rating system in 2000). The term "smart growth" was also coined in 1996. The USGBC is now composed of more than 12,000 organizations from across the building industry, including building owners and end users, real estate developers, facility managers, architects, designers, engineers, general contractors, sub-contractors, building system manufacturers, government agencies, and non-profit agencies. The U.S. market in green building products and services grew from $7 billion in 2005 to nearly $12 billion in 2007. More than 54,500 designers, builders, suppliers, and managers have attended USGBC educational programs and by the end of 2006, there were more than 40,000 LEED accredited professionals. There are more than 70 regional USGBC chapters, including the Central Florida Chapter. The LEED rating system is now a nationally accepted building design standard or benchmark which combines prerequisites with options that rate credits for an overall score for the construction and operation of environmentally high performance buildings. Higher scores rate for progressive levels of certification -platinum being the highest/best level of certification. There are now various categories for LEED: • LEED for new construction (NC); • LEED for existing buildings (EB); • LEED for commercial interiors (CI); • LEED for core and shell (CS); • LEED for homes (H); and • LEED for neighborhood development (ND). LEED generally and LEED-NC (for new construction) addresses the building itself, but places little value on the location of the building or the ramifications of that location (e.g. whether or not it is isolated or fully interconnected and integrated into its surroundings). LEED-ND: LEED for Neighborhood Development is a rating system that integrates the 10 principles of smart growth (see Attachment "A"), new urbanism, and green building into the first national standard for neighborhood design. It is being developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) in partnership with the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). LEED-ND is amulti-disciplinary approach to integrating technology, infrastructure, and site design, building construction, and operations. Different building types have different energy use profiles. The building envelope (walls, size and location of windows, porches, awnings, and roof) are typically designed by the architect and structural engineer; the mass and building orientation are often determined by the civil engineer or site planner; and the integration of various infrastructural elements are designed by the civil and/or environmental engineer in conjunction with the traffic engineer. The preservation of important ecological and scenic vistas may involve the ecologist and/or landscape architect. February 11, 2008 Information Item 101 Page 3 LEED-ND is the integration of land use, transportation, and technology, rather than simply the location of an isolated green building - or even an isolated green development. It stresses density and a critical mass of people in complete neighborhoods in conjunction with inter- connectedpedestrian-friendly streets and sidewalks, high performance infrastructure (e.g. potable water, sanitary sewer, storm-water, solid waste, and energy), scale, and site design that all function to support various commercial activities. Thus, LEED-ND or sustainable urbanism attempts to create sustainable neighborhood businesses integrated with a permanent market of surrounding residential density (in contrast to the quintessential shopping center sprawl, that people will not and often cannot walk to, which often lasts 10-20 years and then becomes abandoned or falls into disrepair). LEED-ND or sustainable urbanism creates many transportation, business, recreation, and housing options for a broad spectrum of society (different age, socio-economic strata, and mobility impairments/abilities). LEED-ND or sustainable urbanism must maintain the focus on the pedestrian (not the car), in terms of scale and movements. For example, architecture becomes more important at walking or biking speeds than from a car at 45 mph. The subdivision of land, provision of infrastructure, and long-term design of a site must accommodate the pedestrian. Sidewalks need to be wide enough, connected, safe to walk, and inviting (e.g. not adjacent to large expanses of blank walls or parking lots). Sites need to be divided into pedestrian scale blocks, roads narrow enough and buildings high enough to create the outdoor "room effect," vehicular speeds low enough to allow safe biking and walking, and intersections safe to cross. Recent Federal Legislation: In December 2007, President Bush signed into effect the Energy Independence and Security Act (HR 6). The highlights of the bill include the following: • improve vehicle fuel economy • increased production of bio-fuels • energy savings through improved standards for appliances and lighting • energy savings in buildings and industry (green building provisions) • energy savings in government and public institutions • carbon capture and sequestration • improved management of energy policy • international energy programs • green jobs • energy, transportation and infrastructure • small business energy programs • smart grid Florida Green Building Coalition: The Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) is a nonprofit Florida corporation dedicated to improving the built environment. Its mission is "to provide a statewide green building program with environmental and economic benefits." The FGBC was conceived and founded in the belief that green building programs are most successful if there are clear and meaningful principles on which "green" qualifications are based. Membership is open to any interested individual, company, or government entity. The FGBC has the following certification programs: • Green home standard February 11, 2008 Information Item 101 Page 4 • Green development standard • Green high rise standard • Green local government standard for cities and counties and • Green commercial buildings standard. The first green home was by Fallman Design & Construction (Clermont); first green development was Verandah in Ft. Myers (by the Bonita Bay Group); first green local government (county) was Pinellas County; and the first green local government (city) was St. Petersburg. Tallahassee recently earned green local government certification and was awarded the Green City Local Government Standard Award -the second City to receive the award (St. Petersburg was the first). In August, Mayor John Marks signed the "Mayors' Green City Action Accord," demonstrating a commitment to protect the environment and promote energy efficiency. Leon County shortened its permitting process for green building. The City of Dunedin was recently certified as a FGBC green city and Martin County is seeking FGBC green local government certification. The FGBC notes that Fireman's Fund Insurance offers green building insurance coverage (www.firemansfund.com ). The FGBC, in combination with the Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA) produces the "Florida Green Building Magazine," a web version of which may be viewed through the FGBC website. The list of FGBC certified green projects in the state includes the following central Florida examples: • Avington Park, in Mt. Dora • Blue Spring Reserve, in Clermont • The Colonial 9th Grade Center, in Orlando • The Eugene & Christine Lynn Business Center (Stetson Univ.), in Deland and • Fallman Homes (the 1St Florida certified green home), in Clermont. Alys Beach, located on the NW Florida Gulf coast, between Rosemary Beach and Seaside, is another FGBC green development. The FGBC Local Government Standard designates green cities and counties for outstanding environmental stewardship. It offers a standard, based on a comprehensive list of criteria, organized in terms of local governmental functions. It emphasizes improving environmental performance through, for example, energy, water, air, land, and waste management. It further evaluates environmental practices done "in-house," incentives and ordinances to foster green practices, and educational activities to improve the environment. The standard leverages many existing programs, including, but not limited to, the Florida Main Street Designation and Tree City USA. Examples of criteria that are not included in an existing program include developing local government energy reduction plans, instituting an environmentally preferable purchasing program, utilizing green fleet management, and promoting water conservation through utilities administration. The FGBC envisions local governments creating and enforcing landscape codes that promote the preservation of natural ecosystems, conserve water, create pedestrian-friendly environments, and follow/practice the administration of green policies throughout their own organization in everything from ball field maintenance to in-house recycling. February 11, 2008 Information Item 101 Page 5 The local government standard program promotes sharing information and provides examples and resources that demonstrate how to be green and how to document quantifiable results, such as financial cost reductions, tons of CO 2 reduction, and tons or cubic yards of waste diverted from the landfill. The standard is meant to be a useful resource even for those local governments which have no interest in becoming "certified" or "registered", but are trying to accomplish a specific goal. Flexibility is important, since no two local governments are completely alike or perform all the same functions. Further, as local governments learn more about the benefits of being green, they can provide positive examples for the private sector as well as provide green incentives. As an incentive to green development, the City of Gainesville, FL, recently adopted an ordinance giving a $300 discount on building permits for certified green projects, as well as free fast track permitting (a $350 value). The City is actively promoting green building as good for the property owner or resident as well as the entire community. Green Home or Green Commercial Building Standards certification offer benefits to the owner, the builder/contractor, and the community. For the owner, there is enhanced resale profitability, enhanced efficient/affordable operation, enhanced indoor air quality, increased durability, and greater access to financing. For the builder/contractor, certification provides valuable promotion and advertising, a means to differentiate the product from that of the competition, increased customer referrals, increased market value, and fewer call-backs. For the community, certification typically means more efficient water use/conservation, storm- water management, solid waste management (more recycling and less waste to the landfill), provision of affordable/workforce housing, and the provision of affordable and reliable energy sources. University of Central Florida: The University of Central Florida (UCF), the 6th largest U.S. university, is the home of the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), which is the largest and most active state-supported energy research institute in the nation (http;//www.floridaenergycenter.org ). It includes advanced energy research (e.g. alternative transportation systems, hydrogen fuel and fuel cells), buildings research (e.g. energy-efficient buildings), and solar energy (e.g. solar water and pool heating and solar electric and distributed generation systems). UCF and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) constructed and are monitoring a 1,600 S.F. green roof on the Student Union building expansion. Primarily native plants are grown in a 4-6" media that has an under drain. A cistern stores runoff, with a return irrigation feature. The roof helps capture storm-water runoff, stabilize temperature in the building, and extend the life of the roof. This is the second green roof at UCF and the second FDEP sponsored green roof (the 1St FDEP sponsored green roof was installed at Bonita Bay). UCF President John Hitt is a member of the leadership circle of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, which works to lower campus greenhouse gas emissions. The university has committed to construct all new buildings, including its College of Medicine, to at least the LEED silver standard. February 11, 2008 Information Item 101 Page 6 American Society of Landscape Architects: In 2006, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) retrofitted its existing headquarters with a green roof that lessens the environmental impact of the structure and also creates valuable and well designed open space for the occupants. The major challenges encountered in the retrofit were listed as the existing roof access points, HVAC unit relocations, and permitting. Staff has provided this brief compilation of information on green buildings and LEED certification at the request of the City Commission. Amore detailed presentation of any or all of the programs listed herein would, most probably, require a separate workshop. RECOMMENDATION: None required ATTACHMENTS: A. 10 Principles of Smart Growth COMMISSION ACTION: February 11, 2008 Information Item 101 Page 7 Attachment A 10 Principles of Smart Growth: 1. Mix land uses. 2. Take advantage of compact building design. 3. Create a range of housing opportunities and choices. 4. Create walkable neighborhoods. 5. Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place. 6. Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental places. 7. Strengthen and direct development toward existing communities. 8. Provide a variety of transportation choices. 9. Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost effective. lO.Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions.