Springfield considers green-building policy

The proposal requires that all new city-owned buildings designed for human occupation meet the requirements of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver certification, but it comes short of actually earning the federal certification due to cost concerns.

LEED is a nationally accepted rating system for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. LEED promotes sustainability through site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality, according to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Web site, www.usgbc.org.

The city’s research indicates that the certification process adds as much as $15,000 to the project cost, making it difficult to require certification for publicly funded buildings.

“There’s a $3,000 registration fee with the Green Building Council, and then there’s a $7,000 review cost,” said Ralph Rognstad, the city’s director of planning and development. “Plus, you have to pay the architect to do all the work to prepare the paperwork for certification. … That was a cost we were trying to avoid.”

However, Emily Fox, CEO of LEED gold-certified Discovery Center, said that while she is “absolutely thrilled” about the city’s steps toward green building, she thinks obtaining certification is crucial.

“Buildings that won’t be inhabited by employees may not need to go that far,” Fox said. “But with other buildings, I think it’s an important step and adds credibility to the city’s program on sustainability and conservation. The credibility factor is huge.”

Public comment will be taken at council’s Sept. 24 meeting, during which council members may vote on the resolution.

Rognstad said that while simply incorporating green-building elements can add up to 5 percent to the total cost, all buildings designed under the new policy would look to recover the additional cost through reduced maintenance expenses or increased energy efficiency.

Discussions began with the recently approved Vision for Jordan Valley, which called for green buildings in Jordan Valley Park.

“It grew to a recommendation that the city should be building all city buildings to meet those standards,” Rognstad said.

The policy proposal also asks for such projects to strive for gold or platinum certification levels and calls for renovations and city buildings not intended for human occupation to include as many LEED benchmarks as possible.

In addition to the Discovery Center, several private projects in Springfield have used techniques that could lead to LEED certification, including the new Cycles Unlimited on East Republic Road and the planned Botanical Center in Nathanael Greene-Close Memorial Park on South Scenic Avenue.

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