Ellen Honigstock, a member of the Urban Green Council Chapter Task Force for LEED Regionalization 2012, shares their initial findings on recommendations for LEED RPC 2012:
The USGBC recognizes the importance of projects that address region-specific environmental issues in their design; these Regional Priority credits were first introduced in the LEED 2009 rating systems.
Urban Green Council, along with all the other chapters of the USGBC, is currently evaluating which credits to prioritize in LEED 2012 for the five boroughs in New York City and Rockland and Westchester Counties.
Starting in late summer 2011, the Urban Green Council Chapter Task Force for LEED Regionalization 2012 began to meet monthly. Shortly thereafter, the Chapter Task Force (CTF) identified five general categories of regional priority issues: Water, Air, Energy, Ground and Resources.
Focusing first on what the important issues should be rather than where they might occur, the CTF compiled a comprehensive list of 17 possible priority issues. These priorities were compared with the ones identified in LEED 2009 Regionalization in order to maintain as much continuity as possible. The list was also compared with the recommendations in the Urban Green Council Green Codes Task Force Report to identify which environmental issues would benefit most from green incentives, rather than from proposed legislation.
What follows are the ten priority issues identified for the seven counties within Urban Green Council’s chapter boundaries:
Four priority issues are shared by all seven counties. The NYC counties share three additional priority issues, while the counties of Rockland and Westchester share three other unique priority issues. With the exception of “Respiratory Illnesses Related to Air Pollution,” the CTF determined that all of the highest priority issues applied to various counties in their entirety.
With regards to “Respiratory Illnesses Related to Air Pollution,” the CTF determined to follow the New York State Emergency Department Visits Data for Asthma rates for 2007-2009.
ZONES & REGIONAL PRIORITIES:
Priority issues that are common for all 7 counties are marked with asterisk (*).
Zone 1: Regional Priorities for 5 counties of New York City:
- Air: Respiratory Illnesses Related to Air Pollution
- Resources: Solid Waste Management*
- Energy: Building Operations Optimization*
- Water: Storm Water Management and Pollution Prevention
- Energy: Energy Efficient Design*
- Ground: Local Food Production and Access to Fresh Food
- Ground: Habitat Restoration and Conservation*
Zone 2: Regional Priorities for Westchester and Rockland Counties:
- Energy: Energy Efficient Design*
- Energy: Building Operations Optimization*
- Energy: Development of Renewable Energy Resources
- Resources: Design for Reuse and Recycling
- Energy: Access to Public Transportation
- Resources: Solid Waste Management*
- Ground: Habitat Restoration and Conservation*
We’d like to thank the current active members of the Urban Green Council Chapter Task Force for their time, efforts and contributions.
- Ed Barbieri, Costentini Associates
- Kathleen Bakewell, Brook Farm Group LLC
- Daniel Bersohn, Buro Happold
- Gina Bocra, ENNEAD Architects LLP
- Craig Copeland, Pelli Clark Pelli Architects ( CTF Leader)
- Eleonora Encheva, Pelli Clark Pelli Architects
- Martin Dettling, Albanese Organization, Inc
- Chris Garvin, Terrapin Bright Green
- Ellen Honigstock, Urban Green Council
- Timothy Howell, Ecological, LLC
- Jason Loiselle, Sherwood Design Engineers
- Sarah Michaels, Urban Green Council
- Jennifer Preston, BKSK Architects LLP
- Whitney Smith, Cosentini Associates
As we move to the next phase of the process to determine which credits in LEED 2012 should align with the regional priorities, we’d like to invite additional members to join the conversation. Please email Craig Copeland: ccopeland@pcparch.com if you are interested.
