“I think it’s a very important step that the city needs to take in order to lower our carbon footprint,” said Councilman Frank Quintero, who called for the report in February.
Planners will present the council with three options: promote existing energy-saving incentives, develop a city-specific set of guidelines, or co-opt national standards.
Quintero said he would push for the last in the form of green buildings codes established by the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council. The system, known as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design,, rates projects according to the number of points they garner for folding environmentally sensitive construction techniques and building features into a design.
Reduced water usage, access to public transportation, reuse of an existing building, efficient cooling systems and solar panels are some of the categories in which buildings can score points and achieve varying levels of certification, bragging rights and, in many cities, financial incentives.
In exchange, the building’s impact to a city’s infrastructure is reduced, and the environment can breathe a little easier, city officials said.
Buildings alone account for 70% of electricity consumption in the United States, produce 39% of all carbon dioxide and consume close to 13% of all potable water, according to the building council.
A growing list of cities have tailored the council’s certification system, which can add between 2% and 5% to the total cost of a project, in different ways to meet the needs and appetite of their respective communities.
Los Angeles recently applied the “spirit” of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification system to private development after requiring the standards to be incorporated in all new public buildings since 2003, according to L.A. city planners.
