Legislative Update
By George Green
Pending Building Code Standard
May Spur More Green Development
OVER THE PAST DECADE, POLICYMAKERS AT THE
local, state and national levels have instituted a flurry of
measures to encourage sustainable commercial real
estate development. In fact, 130 local jurisdictions, 30
states and 13 federal agencies have mandated green
building practices for government structures.
Because residential and commercial properties consume 39% of the nation’s electrical output, policymakers
have long focused on energy efficiency gains in this sector. Given the focus on high energy prices, green development and energy conservation play a greater role in
the public policy debate. Consequently, MBA is closely
monitoring national legislation to ensure that the introduction of green building mandates will be coupled with
the proper incentives to allow these properties to be
Given the focus on high energy prices, green
development and energy conservation play
a greater role in the public policy debate.
both cost effective and financially supportable.
Some major cities like Washington, DC, Los Angeles
and Boston have recently passed legislation that will
require private-sector construction and rehabilitation
projects of a certain size to follow green standrads. Both
Washington, DC and Los Angeles base their requirements on the LEED Green Building Rating System. San
Francisco is considering a similar guide.
However, this is not always the ideal solution. LEED
was not meant to be incorporated into building codes.
The program was actually formulated to institute best
practices for sustainable development. By using it as a
baseline standard for all private construction, the bar
may be placed too high for some projects that may no
longer be economically viable if a high level of LEED certification is required. Finally, concerns have been raised
that outsourcing the certification process to a third-party
vendor usurps the authority of local building code
enforcement agencies.
Furthermore, the absence of a building code-based
green development standard has prevented many governments from widely adopting environmentally friendly
20 REALESTATEFORUM JULY 2008
construction guidelines for private-sector projects.
In order to address this problem, three industry organizations—the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating
and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Illuminating Engineering
Society of North America and US Green Building
Council—have teamed to develop a new sustainable
building standard, ASHRAE/IESNA/USGBC Standard
189.1, High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. This measure will be accredited by the American National Standards Institute and can
be readily incorporated into building codes.
Intended to be a baseline for green building construction, Standard 189.1 is anticipated to be released
by year-end. It specifies minimum requirements in the
following areas: sustainable sites, water-use and energy
efficiency, the building’s impact on the atmosphere,
materials and resources, indoor air quality and construction and operation plans—many of the same elements
addressed in the LEED process.
The goal of Standard 189.1 is to reduce energy costs
by a minimum of 30% and water usage by a minimum
of 25% over existing standards.
By 2010, between 5% and 10% of commercial real
estate construction is expected participate in the LEED
certification process. By incorporating Standard 189.1 in
building codes, local jurisdictions will have a viable option
for ensuring a baseline level of sustainable practices for
the remaining 90% to 95% of new construction that will
not be LEED certified.
Standard 189.1 marks an unprecedented milestone in
the evolution of green development by providing governmental bodies an important tool to adapt building code
standards that mandate a baseline level of sustainable
development for all commercial construction. In addition,
it preserves the option of private-sector developers to
participate in the more rigorous LEED or Green Globe
certification process.
The views expressed in this article are those of the
author and not Real Estate Media or its publications.
George Green is associate vice president of commercial/multi-family policy for the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington,
DC. He may be contacted at ggreen@mortgagebankers.com.
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