Baltimore City: Benefits and Burdens of New LEED Law
Starting July 1, 2009, all new construction and major renovation projects in Baltimore City must adhere to the LEED-Silver standard.
As Robbie Whelan explains in his article, Legislating LEED: Developers worry about new city law , the new law basically incorporates LEED standards into the city's building code. What does this mean for Baltimore City builders? In a nut shell:
If you don't commit to building green, you will no longer be approved for a building permit in the city. If your building or renovation does not comply with LEED, you will not be issued an occupancy permit.
There are both benefits and burdens associated with "going green." On the one hand, employees working in new commercial or renovated interiors may enjoy greater health benefits associated with cleaner air and lower emissions from furniture and materials. Building owners could enjoy potential energy savings and attract environmentally-conscious tenants. Baltimore itself could become a model "green" city, drawing tourists and national media attention.
On the other hand, one of the difficulties in holding a building to attain LEED- Silver certification is that it necessitates the involvement of the U.S. Green Building Council, the nonprofit that administers the LEED program, and its sister program, the Green Building Certification Institute, which operates LEED Online. Any transaction can be complicated by the involvement of third parties, but the real issue here is that the points needed to meet the certification requirements aren't formally "achieved" until after the building has undergone construction.
So what's the big deal?
Well, as one builder recently remarked during an event I attended, "once the building is built, it's built." While this might be a bit of an overstatement, what this really means is that Baltimore City builders are going to have to pay extra care and attention during the design and planning stages to ensure that they will be able to implement the credit requirements that they need to reach certification. They will likely have to involve key members of the project team at earlier stages and may have to educate contractors and subcontractors on the credit requirements that they intend to meet.
Going green definitely has it benefits, but as the first Baltimore City builders after July 1, 2009 are likely going to discover, it also has its burdens.
