SR-510-009 (3)
EPWM:CP:SM:GR\EPD\LEEDEXP.DOC
Council Meeting: May 17, 2005 Santa Monica, California
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Direct City Attorney to Prepare Ordinance to Expedite Plan Check and
Permit Processing for LEED?-Registered Buildings
Introduction
This report requests that City Council direct the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance
that would expedite plan check and permit processing for LEED? (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design)-registered building projects in Santa Monica.
Background
In 1996, Council adopted Green Building Guidelines designed to encourage
developers and property owners to invest in ?green? or high performance buildings that
are designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in a more sustainable and
resource-efficient manner. In December 2000, Council adopted a Green Building
Ordinance that requires construction and ?substantial remodels? of commercial and
multi-family buildings to achieve energy performance levels beyond the State?s Title 24
standards, and to use construction materials with recycled content. Council also
adopted a Construction and Demolition Waste Ordinance requiring projects valued
over $50,000 to divert at least 60 percent of construction and demolition waste from
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landfills. These ordinances and the Guidelines, when combined with existing City
requirements related to resource conservation, pollution prevention, and transportation
management, constitute the basis for the City?s Green Building Program. The
program?s goal is to accelerate the design and construction of energy and resource
efficient buildings throughout Santa Monica.
During the development of the Green Building Program, the City held focus groups to
solicit input from architects, developers, businesses, and residents on how to structure
an incentive program that would accelerate the design and construction of high
performance buildings in Santa Monica. The stakeholders identified expedited plan
check and permitting as their preferred incentive. At the time, the City?s permit, plan
check and inspection processes were undergoing redesign to achieve overall
timeliness. The City was concerned that expedited permitting for green buildings might
create equity issues with other types of desirable development in Santa Monica such
as affordable housing. The U.S. Green Building Council?s LEED?-NC (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design-New Construction) Green Building Rating System
was not yet developed, and defining a green building performance level to warrant
expedited permitting would be problematic. It was decided that expedited permitting
could not be offered immediately.
LEED?-NC was introduced in 2000 and has steadily gained acceptance by the
building industry as the national standard for evaluating and rating a building?s energy
and environmental performance. In recognition of LEED??s growing emergence as the
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national green building standard, the City Council adopted a policy effective July 1,
2001, that requires all new construction and major renovations of City facilities to meet
the Silver level of LEED? wherever feasible. To date, the City?s Public Safety Facility,
Main Library, Virginia Park, the Civic Center Parking Structure and Big Blue Bus
campus projects have been or are being designed to achieve LEED? Silver
certification.
Discussion
In response to the designation of affordable housing as a Council budget priority in
2000, the City granted affordable housing projects and City projects ?expedited status?
in the plan check and permitting process. Projects with expedited status are tagged to
be reviewed as soon as a plan check technician is available. Expedited status
generally shortens the plan check review process to three weeks. Last year, the City
completed a thorough evaluation of its planning and permitting functions to identify
obstacles slowing the plan check and permitting process and to implement measures
designed to streamline the process. The implemented measures have resulted in
improved customer service and faster turnaround for all applicants. It is now possible
for the City to provide green building permit applicants with expedited status and
respond to Council?s commitment to sustainability without eroding general plan check,
permit and inspection services.
LEED?-NC addresses the design and construction of multi-family residential,
commercial, and industrial buildings. Single-family homes are not included in LEED?-
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NC, but a LEED? for New Homes rating system is currently being tested and will be
evaluated by the City for future inclusion. Every project applying for expedited status
must be registered with the U.S. Green Building Council. The USGBC website allows
the City to track the project?s progress achieving LEED? certification. The City could
thereby ensure that every project that has received expedited permitting has completed
the documentation submittal for certification. Staff believes it is unlikely that these
expedited projects will fail to receive a LEED? certification following project completion
but will monitor the actual experience of these projects over two years following
implementation of the Code changes to determine if non-achievement is a serious
issue.
Across the nation, approximately 4% of all new commercial space is being built to
LEED? standards. Because most new construction projects in Santa Monica will not
be suitable for LEED? certification, staff expects less than 4% of projects to take
advantage of the expedited permitting process. There are currently three LEED?
certified buildings in Santa Monica: Colorado Court, NRDC?s Robert Redford Building,
and the City?s Public Safety Facility. Colorado Court and the Public Safety Facility
were expedited under current policy. If the number of LEED? registered plans that are
taken in by the City increases to a level where the overall plan check timeframe is
impacted, the policy will be reviewed and revised.
Budget/Financial Impact
Expediting plan check and permitting for LEED?-registered buildings will have no
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budget or fiscal impact on the City.
Recommendation
This report requests that City Council direct the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance
to expedite plan check processing and permitting for LEED? (Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design)-registered building projects in Santa Monica.
Prepared by: Craig Perkins, Director, Environmental and Public Works Management
Joan Akins, Administrative Services Manager
Susan Munves, Energy and Green Building Program Administrator
Greg Reitz, Green Building Advisor
Paul Foley, Senior Planner
Tim McCormick, Building Officer
Ben Yousefi, Assistant Building Officer
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