- Los Angeles, Dallas pass green development standards
- GE Real Estate snags Energy Star executive
- RREEF, Advance Realty Endorse BOMA sustainability program
- Liberty Mutual offers green building insurance
Major Cities Accelerate National Greening Trend
Sending a firm message to private developers, U.S. mayors are continuing to accelerate the greening trend, city-by-city.
Los Angeles and Dallas, the nation’s second and eighth largest cities by population, became the latest in a string of big urban areas to pass private sector green building laws last month.
In Los Angeles, a city once characterized by its dense smog, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council have set targets to cut carbon emissions by more than 80,000 tons by 2012, with real estate playing a crucial role. Under the new laws, LEED certification is mandatory for all new commercial buildings greater than 50,000 square feet and multifamily structures greater than 50 units. The City said it would speed up approvals and tinker with the building codes to ease the sustainable transition, and would offer expedited processing for projects that pursue LEED Silver, a higher rating.
“Our city is growing fast and growing up, and we’re holding the private sector accountable to their commitment to be friends to our environment,” stated Villaraigosa, noting that Los Angeles already has stringent green building provisions for municipal buildings.
“Now it’s time for green building to go private,” he said.
To support the initiative, the city will increase its number of LEED-Accredited Professionals and create an interdepartmental Sustainability Team to monitor the green building standard and its effect on the private development community.
In Dallas, far from the coastal cities where green building measures have been quicker to take hold, a LEED-mandate on all commercial structures regardless of size is being phased in over the next three years.
Beginning next year, buildings less than 50,000 square feet will be subject to greater energy and water efficiency requirements, while buildings more than 50,000 square feet must meet 85 percent of LEED certification points. LEED certification will become mandatory in 2011, with specific requirements for water and energy related credits. “We’re at the lead of the major cities in this country,” Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert said about the green building provision. ” We had industry come in and really embrace it. We crafted it to make sense for everybody.”
Dallas also recently passed green building requirements for the residential sector, which will be phased in similar to their commercial counterparts.
In the absence of a strong federal push, large cities have begun studying the merits and feasibility of localized green building standards with increasing frequency. Last year, Boston and Washington, DC, became the nation’s first major cities to extend green building mandates to the private sector. San Francisco, the 14th largest U.S. city, is expected to pass similar legislation this summer, and blanket green building provisions have also been proposed in neighboring San Jose, the nation’s 10th largest city.
Tags: Going Green
