October 27, 2006—San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom recently announced a directive that gives priority permit review to all new and renovated buildings that qualify for the LEED Gold rating or equivalent. The announcement was made at the start of the West Coast Green Residential Building Conference and Expo.
The US Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification program is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance “green” buildings. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability, rating performance in five key areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.
Planning Director Dean Macris has already implemented a priority review process for LEED certification. DOE projects that the directive could yield about six green buildings per year, if 20% of LEED registered buildings attempt Gold certification. The department says it is currently processing one priority green building application, with two more pending.
The bottom-line return on investment from LEED Gold buildings is estimated to produce savings of $50 per square foot, while additional costs are under $5 per square foot to build—a ten-fold return, says the USGBC. For example, the New California Academy of Sciences, slated to achieve LEED Platinum, is projected to save $337,000 per year in energy and water savings compared to the minimum standards that building codes would allow.
DOE’s Green Building Program has developed a Web-based project information and reporting tool, sfGreenPRINT that quantifies both the financial and environmental benefits that accrue to a building owner based on achieving a LEED certification.
For more information about the LEED program, visit the USGBC.
