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Green building policy demonstrates city is working toward sustainability
By Eli Segall
The city of San Jose has updated its green building policy to require all municipal buildings 10,000 square feet or more to achieve at least LEED silver certification. The ultimate goal is to achieve the gold or platinum certification level.
The city council on March 6 unanimously approved the revisions, which also cover building expansions and apply to all new projects budgeted for the 2007-08 fiscal year and thereafter. Exceptions to the policy will be allowed on a case-by-case basis.
Councilmember Judy Chirco and then-councilwoman Linda LeZotte introduced the policy last year.
Under the green guidelines, city staff will examine projects still in the pipeline to see if those projects can achieve silver status.
City staff is also formulating a list of incentives to entice private developers to go green. The original green building policy, adopted in 2001, offered no incentives.
Possible incentives include rebates, tax credits, decreased developers' fees and fast-tracked permitting process, said Mike Foster, the San Jose green building coordinator.
To spread awareness, the city will host a green building summit June 7 for residential developers.
"We'll try to see what incentives would help them build more green homes in San Jose," Foster said.
LEED--Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design--is a nationally recognized verification process administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, an umbrella group of environmentally friendly developers. There are various certification levels--certified, silver, gold and platinum--which are awarded based on total "green" credits earned.
Chirco said the council's decision sends a message to markets that support green design that San Jose intends to lead the way in this area.
The city's first green building policy was created to guide city projects in an eco-friendly direction using LEED principles; it did not, however, mandate verification. As a result, the policy has had a marginal impact, city officials say.
Only one building has achieved LEED certification: the West Valley Branch Library, which opened in 2003.
One example of uncertified green is San Jose City Hall, which opened in fall 2005. The 530,000-square-foot complex installed a host of energy-saving measures that PG&E estimated will reduce the city's annual energy bill by $190,000. The multi-building complex has large windows for increased natural light, sensor-activated water faucets and lights that automatically shut off in unoccupied rooms.
Requiring LEED certification will save the city more money, said Jeff Stephens, communications chair of the building council's Northern California chapter. He cited specifically: reduced water bills with waterless urinals and low-flow toilets; solar panels and natural light to lower electricity bills; and the use of recycled building materials. The incorporation of these green elements into the design and by adopting a green building policy demonstrates San Jose's efforts toward sustainability.
