Green Communities and Building Design
Contents
- Introduction
- About Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™)
- General Information on Green Building Design
- Green Building Programs of Local and State Governments
- Financial Incentives and Grants for LEED™ Buildings
- Articles and Reports on Green Building Design
- Selected MRSC Library Holdings - Green Building Design
- MRSC Related Pages
Introduction
Green building practices provide an opportunity to create environmentally-sound and resource-efficient buildings through an integrated approach to design. Northwest communities, including Seattle and Portland, have emerged as leaders in the green communities and green building movement. A green building is a structure that is designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource-efficient manner. Green buildings are designed to meet objectives such as protecting occupant health; reducing operation and maintenance costs; using energy, water, and other resources efficiently; and reducing the overall impact to the environment. Green building design and green communties are related to the broader concepts of "smart growth" and sustainable development. "Smart growth" includes policies, regulations and strategies to encourage compact efficient development, which is sustainable and thus promotes economic viability while protecting the natural environment for future generations.
In 2005, the legislature passed ESSB 5509, Chapter 12, Laws of 2005, which requires LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver certification for projects funded in the state capital budget. This requirement applies to projects larger than 5,000 gross square feet of space and affects any entity, including public agencies and public school districts, that receives state funds for construction. Certain types of facilities, including affordable housing, are exempted from the LEED™ standards.
This Web page includes links to general information on green communities in general and green building design as well as to innovative green building programs of local governments in Washington and other states. If you have information to share or are aware of other Web sites that we should link to, please contact Carol Tobin, Public Policy Consultant, or call (206) 625-1300.
About Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™)
The LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Members of the U.S. Green Building Council developed the LEED™ system. This system gives points for environmentally beneficial building attributes, with ratings from certified, silver, and gold to platinum for the highest ranked buildings. See The LEED™ Green Building Rating System - Explained for a general introduction. In Seattle, any public building project of 5,000 or more square feet of occupied space must achieve a LEED Silver rating.
LEED Standard for Neighborhood Development - The LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building into the first national standard for neighborhood design. LEED for Neighborhood Development is a collaboration between the U.S. Green Building Council, the Congress for the New Urbanism, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. The pilot program for LEED for neighborhood development is underway in 2007-2008.
General Information on Green Building Design
The following are general links to information on green building design and organizations supporting green building:
- U.S. Green Building Council - Coalition of building industry leaders working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places. U.S. Building Council's LEED™ main site.
- Tool Kit, State and Local Government, U.S. Green Building Council, Nov. 2002
- Built Green Washington - Umbrella site for all green home building programs in Washington State
- California Green Building Design and Construction
- Green Building Case Studies from California and other states
- Building Green.com, by publishers of Environmental Building News
- Cascadia Region Green Building Council - Northwest chapter of the Green Building Council; covers Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia
- Puget Sound Online, Green Building Programs
- Sustainable Sources - Includes green building professionals directory, bookstore, green building solutions, sustainable building sourcebook, articles, and more
- Green Building Alliance, Smart solutions for the built environment (based in Pittsburgh, PA)
- Smart Communities Network, Green Buildings Introduction - Includes links to policies, programs, principles, codes, ordinances, articles, and related information
- Green Building Policy Documents, Portland Web site - Includes links to Portland, Seattle, and cities in California and other states
- U.S. EPA Green Buildings - Addresses energy efficiency and renewables and green building materials
- National Association of Home Builders, Green Building
- Oikos Green Building Library - Emphasis on green building materials, building design, and energy conservation
- Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center, Green Building - Guide to green building for project developers and for design, construction, and facility operation professionals
- Natural Resources Defense Council, Green Enterprise
- Green Communities Initiative grant program
- Building Green: From Principle to Practice - Provides a five-step guide to planning a green building project, from inception and design through marketing
- Global Green USA, Green Building Cities and Schools - Four initiatives to foster sustainability including Green Building Resource Center
- Green Building Institute - Nonprofit organization working to advance environmentally sustainable building practices through providing green building education
- Green Building Pages - Green building products and resources database
- Seattle Area Built Green Web site, Master Builders of King and Snohomish Counties
- Green Infrastructure.net, sponsored by The Conservation Fund and the USDA Forest Service
- GreenerBuildings.com - Resource center for environmentally responsible building development
- Sustainable Connections, Green Building Resources.
Green Communities and Building Programs of Local and State Governments
These are links to specific governmental green building programs, policies, and documents.
Washington Green Building Programs
-
Seattle
- Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment and Sustainable Infrastructure/Building
- Seattle Department of Planning and Development, Green Building - Includes links to policy, case studies, resources and more
- Seattle Sustainable Building Policy (Word file)
- Seattle Design Tools & Strategies for Sustainable Building - Tools to facilitate implementation of Seattle's green building policy; includes LEED™ information, sustainable resource guide, cost-benefit analysis, life-cycle assessment, etc.
- Seattle City Light Sustainability Page
- Seattle "Northwest Regional Sustainable Building Action Plan," 1999.
- SeaGreen: Sustainable Affordable Housing, Office of Housing, City of Seattle, 2002.
-
King County
- King County Green Building
- King County Green Building Initiative
- King County Green Building & Low Impact Development, Customer Information Bulletin 55, July 2005 (
)
- King County Ordinance No. 15118, 2005.
- Snohomish County
-
State
- ESSB 5509, Chapter 12, Laws of 2005 ()
- Washington State Department of Ecology, Green Building - Includes general information and innovative green building techniques and regional information on green building resources and organizations.
- Washington State Department of General Administration, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™)
- Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, High Performance Building Guidelines
- ESSB 5509, Chapter 12, Laws of 2005 (
-
Other Washington Jurisdictions
- Bellingham Green Resolutions and Activities and Bellingham tops in environmental achievements, May 2008
- Kirkland Green
- Built Green of Clallam County
- Built Green – Kitsap County Homebuilders Association
- Built Green – Olympia Master Builders
- Lincoln County Green Building
- Issaquah Sustainable Building Programs
- Tacoma Green Buildings and Climate Action, May 2007, PowerPoint
- Whatcom County Green Building and Whatcom County Conservation
- Woodinville Recycling Living Green, Building Green.
Portland, OR Green Building Programs
- Portland, OR, Green Building home page - Includes a wealth of information including financial incentives
- Portland, OR Reports, Green Affordable Housing Guide, March 2002 and G/Rated Tenant Improvement Guide, Creating a High Performance Work Space, January 2004.
Green Building Programs from Other States
- Austin, TX Green Building Program and "Green by Design: 7 Steps to Green Building" (1.5 MB)
- Berkeley, CA Energy & Sustainable Development - Buildings
- Boston, MA Draft Code Provisions, Green Building Requirements, January 2007 ()
- Chicago, IL Green Building
- Dallas, TX Environmental Management System
- Massachusetts Green Neighborhoods - Open Space Residential Design in Massachusetts - Links to open space residential design documents and related information
- New York State Green Building Program, Department of Environmental Conservation
- Oakland, CA Green Building Resource Center
- San Diego County, CA, Green Building Program
- San Jose, CA Green Building Program
- Santa Barbara County, CA, Green Building Guidelines, October 2001 ()
- Santa Monica, CA Green Building Program and Green Building Program Requirements - One of the first jurisdictions to adopt green building requirements for private development projects
- Scottsdale, AZ Green Building Program.
Green Purchasing Programs of Local Governments
- Clark County – Environmentally Responsible Purchasing
- King County Environmental Purchasing Program
- King County Environmental Purchasing Bulletin #19: Resources for Green Building and Sustainability
- King County Environmental Purchasing Bulletin #61: Seattle's Leadership in Green Building
- King County Environmental Purchasing Bulletin #62: More on Seattle Green Building.
Financial Incentives and Grants for Green Buildings
Many communities with green building programs provide financial incentives for LEED™-certified buildings and green building projects. There are a few special grant programs available for green buildings and sustainable projects. Seattle and Portland offer LEED™ financial incentives for private commercial and multifamily residential projects.
- Green Communities, The Enterprise Foundation and Natural Resources Defense Council - Grants, financing, and technical assistance to projects that meet Green Communities criteria for affordable housing
- Resource Venture, Green Business Solutions, Seattle Public Utilities
- Green Building Pages, Funding and Partnerships
- Smart Communities Network, Funding Opportunities
-
Seattle
-
Portland, OR
- Financial Incentives for Commercial Development, Portland's Green Building Resource
- Financial Incentives for Residential Development, Portland's Green Building Resource
Articles and Reports on Green Building Design
- "Breaking Down the Barriers: Challenges and Solutions to Code Approval of Green Building," (247 KB), by David Eisenberg, Robert Done, and Loretta Ishida. Development Center for Appropriate Technology, Tucson, AZ, 2002
- “Building Green: Onus or Bonus,” Zoning News, April 2005 - Chart of jurisdictions listing green building requirements and programs ()
- “A Cautionary Tale, Amid our green-building boom, why neglecting the old in favor of the new just might cost us dearly,” by Wayne Curtis, Preservation Magazine, Jan./Feb. 2008
- "Doing Well by Doing Good: The Benefits of Green Development," Excerpt from Green Development: Integrating Ecology and Real Estate, Rocky Mountain Institute, 1998
- "The Federal Commitment to Green Building: Experiences and Expectations," Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, September 2003
- "Growing Greener: Putting Conservation into Local Codes," (898 KB) Randall G. Arendt, Natural Lands Trust, November 1997
- "The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings: A Report to California's Sustainable Building Task Force," (3.13 MB) October 2003
- "Green Building Costs and Financial Benefits," (476 KB) by Gregory H. Kats, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, 2003
- “How Green is Your Neighborhood,’ by Bryan Walsh, Time, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007
- “It's Way Too Easy Being Green, The decidedly dupable system for rating a building's greenness,”
By Daniel Brook, Slate, Posted Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007 - "It's Not Easy Being Greenest: 10 Cities to Watch," by Brianne Goodspeed, E Magazine, July/August 2006.
Selected MRSC Library Holdings - Green Building Design
- Selected MRSC Library Holdings - Green Building Design [Note: Clicking on this link will take you to a list of documents available on loan through the MRSC library.]