Title
LEED and the Climate Action Plan
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff will review the City’s Municipal Code requirement for a minimum LEED rating for City-owned projects, the completed LEED projects and the future for this process.
This report is for information only.
BACKGROUND
On February 6, 2006, the City Council adopted a resolution that endorsed as reference standards for the City several leading publications for commercial and residential green building and sustainable landscaping. The resolution endorsed and promoted the use of the U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system for new commercial construction and remodeling. In May 2008, the Council subsequently approved an ordinance to mandate a Silver LEED rating for City-owned projects. The City also received Import Mitigation Funds from the Alameda County Waste Management Authority, also known as Stop Waste of approximately $90,000 yearly upon the implementation of the minimum Silver U.S. Green Building Council LEED rating for all City projects valued over $3 Million for several years thereafter.
The goal of the ordinance was to promote economic and environmental health in the City, through the design, construction, and operation of the City’s own facilities. The ordinance was to provide leadership to both the private and public sectors by incorporating green building practices in City buildings. Green building practices enable the City to reduce its energy consumption and cut carbon emissions from its building operations.
Analysis
The Climate Action Plan has set goals for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, energy and water conservation, enhancement of public health, conservation of biological resources and ecological habitats and leadership in green buildings standards. The implementation of the LEED standards helps the City reach the goals of the Climate Action Plan.
The LEED Silver rating has been required for all City projects of renovation and new construction valued over $3 Million since 2008. The threshold has been indexed for inflation and is now $4.1 Million in 2020. The City has completed the following LEED projects to date:
• Senior Community Center
• Estudillo Callan Garage
• Water Pollution Control Plant Administrative Building
• Farrelly Pool (Construction Phase)
In 2011, the California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen) was adopted by the State as a green building code that imposes energy efficiency and other green standards on new construction in an effort to achieve reduction in natural resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. There is a general alignment between CALGreen and the LEED rating system, the leading green building certification system. A major difference is that LEED provides third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, stewardship of resources, and sensitivity to resource impacts.
Compliance with CALGreen sets a project up for success in obtaining LEED certification. CALGreen’s mandatory measures categories (i.e., Planning and Design, Energy Efficiency, Water Efficiency, etc.) are similar to the LEED’s five basic environmental categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality. Unfortunately, compliance with CALGreen will not achieve LEED certification by itself and therefore the LEED verification process it is still recommended if the goal of the City Council is to achieve the more complete LEED Certification.
ATTACHMENT
Attachment to Staff Report
LEED and the Climate Action Plan - Presentation
PREPARED BY: Keith R. Cooke, Director, Engineering & Transportation Department