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Green Building Municipal Ordinance 2 May 5, 2008 • The LEED~M standards were developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a national nonprofit organization, to provide a comprehensive set of design guidelines as well as a standardized assessment tool to evaluate the environmental performance of buildings. LEEDS "' has become a national standard for green building and is endorsed by organizations across the building industry including architects, engineers, builders, manufacturers, government agencies, real estate developers and universities. The LEEDTM for New Construction rating system applies primarily to commercial, public, and institutional buildings. LEEDr"' administers a certification program offering four performance-based levels of certification: Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The LEEDTM rating system has a total of 69 possible points. No building can earn all of the available points, but there are dozens of ways a building can earn points. To achieve certification by LEEDT"', a building must satisfy seven prerequisites and meet a minimum number of points for the desired level of certification. The different levels and the corresponding point minimums are as follows: Certified: 26 points; Silver: 33 points; Gold: 39 points; Platinum: 52 points. Certification is earled through credits for each major green building component employed in the building project. These components include: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Innovation and Design. • LEED~M is now the most widely used commercial green building system nationally. Many Alameda County jurisdictions, including Oakland, unincorporated Alameda County, Berkeley, Pleasanton, Livermore, Hayward, Newark, Union City, Albany and Dublin have developed mandatory civic green building programs using LEEDT"' as a standard. • To help its member agencies implement green building practices, the Alameda County Waste Management Authority (StopWaste.Org) developed a Model Ordinance that established requirements for a mandatory civic green program, utilizing the LEED~M rating system. With guidance through the City Council Facilities Committee, staff explored the feasibility of instituting the Model Ordinance, in conjunction with key staff from the Public Works Department, the Engineering and Transportation Department and the Community Development Department. A consensus was reached on the content of the attached ordinance, which mandates a minimum certification level of Silver for eligible City-owned projects valued at $3 Million or above. "Traditional" public works projects such as roads, pump stations, and other such heavy construction infrastructure are excluded. • Adoption of this ordina~7ce will allow the City to be eligible to continue to receive Import Mitigation funds from StopWaste.Org. These funds are a block grant that the City's Recycling Program receives yearly in the amount of approximately $90,000. The block grant is contingent upon passage of the Municipal Green Building Ordinance, among other actions such as the waste diversion ordinance, by .June 30, 2008. • Green building activities in the City of San Leandro in the past two years has involved intensive staff training and public outreach. Four members of the Conmmunity Development Department (one planner and three building staff) have achieved professional certifications