November 28, 2007—The Los Angeles Planning Commission approved November 15 what it calls one of the most ambitious green building programs of any big city in the nation, requiring large new developments to be 15% more energy efficient. The new rules, which also restrict water use, aim to cut the city’s emissions of greenhouse gases.
One of more than 720 mayors nationwide who have pledged to meet the targets of the Kyoto Protocol, LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has pledged to lower the city’s greenhouse emissions 35% below 1990 levels by 2030. Statewide, California’s landmark 2006 global warming law mandates a cut in carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
Under the LA 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 US Green Building Council. The standards—known as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED—would reduce the amount of energy used in large developments to well below what is required by California’s building code, the strictest in the nation.
In the next few months, the commission will recommend even tougher measures, including certification by the green building council to ensure that new buildings achieve the promised savings. The city receives about 200 permit requests for large residential, commercial, and industrial buildings each year, amounting to about 9% of new construction in Los Angeles.
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.
More than 25 cities nationwide already require LEED certification for publicly funded buildings, such as fire stations, schools, and libraries. In Los Angeles, which embraced green building for municipal projects in 2002, 48 buildings have been designed to LEED standards. All new schools built by the LA Unified School District must meet green building standards, and the LA Community College District has 44 LEED-certified buildings under construction or in design.
For more information on the LA Green Building Program (.pdf file), visit online.
