Los Angeles planning commision has made LEED certification the law for all new buildings larger then 50,000 sf or 50 units.
I thought that points were not the point, now they are law?
LAtimes
The first recommended measures include wiring buildings for solar-energy systems, using high-efficiency heating and air conditioning units, and installing toilets and shower heads that use less water. In addition, half of demolition and construction waste would have to be recycled, and low-irrigation landscaping would be mandated for lots greater than 1,000 square feet...
The business community was sharply split on the measures. The California Building Industry Assn. said the rules would raise home prices and cause a bureaucratic "train wreck." But the Los Angeles Business Council, an influential group of developers and architects, lauded the effort as "practical and realistic . . . a tidal change in altering the way we perceive future development in the city."
"Los Angeles' ambitious green building proposal would vault the city to a position of national leadership," said Glen Brand, director of the Sierra Club's Cool Cities program. But he also called for lowering the threshold for L.A.'s private buildings to meet LEED standards to 25,000 square feet of floor space.
Boston was the first city to extend green building rules to the private sector. San Francisco and Washington, D.C., have also made their codes greener. Pasadena and West Hollywood have passed even stricter rules than those proposed in L.A.
By Margot Roosevelt, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 16, 2007
5 Comments
but how are they going to enforce that?
you only get the leed certification after the building is already done (in most cases) because you can't submit the LEED sheet before that.
so they'll make the permit depend on the preliminary score sheet? and then if you don't get all the points you hoped for?
this seems to be based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the leed program: what it's about, how it works, and why it MIGHT be good. i'm kinda hoping that usgbc wasn't in on this decision.
This sounds to me like a de facto extension/intensification of Title 24 requirements (in CA, you can actually use Title 24 as a way of measuring your energy savings for LEED). Honestly, it really only sounds different in degree from what we're currently doing, not different in type. And even if it is going to be different, at least LEED is somewhat performance based, not just a bunch of tick-boxes like Title 24.
my bad
Under the L.A. rules, new buildings with more than 50 units or 50,000 square feet of floor area would be required to meet national standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council...
I'm interpreting this as just have to 'meet' LEED certification requirements, not actually be certified.
For developers willing to submit their projects to the council for silver certification, the commission Thursday approved a measure to expedite permits that could save builders from two months to a year.
Plan checks already took long enough - I imagine that this will just up the permit fees and lengthen the approval process as they verify all your submittal. Should be good business for us LEED-APs, not that I want to work for the city....
brilliant.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.