Urban Design

Green Building Policy – Municipal Buildings

To incorporate green building principles and practices into building procedures of all City facilities.

Topic Areas Addressed:

Urban Design

Keywords:

san jose, building, construction, LEED, municipal buildings

Submitting Jurisdiction:

City of San Jose

This policy addresses the environmental performance of municipal buildings, both new construction and existing buildings. The purpose of San Jose’s green building policy is to yield cost savings to city taxpayers through reduced operating costs, to provide healthy work environments for staff and visitors, and to contribute to the City's goals of protecting, conserving, and enhancing the region's environmental resources. Additionally, the City hopes to provide leadership by setting a community standard of sustainable/green building and demonstrate the City’s commitment to environmental, economic, and social stewardship.

As of July 1, 2002, all City of San José facilities are to be designed to meet the LEED Certified Rating. Specifically, the policy strives for all municipal buildings over 10,000 feet to achieve LEED Silver rating at a minimum (with a preference for achieving Gold or Platinum) and pursue LEED-EB for existing facilities. To facilitate this effort, San Jose is participating in the USGBC Portfolio Pilot Program.

Target Audience:

City of San Jose departments of Public Works, General Services, Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, Libraries, Fire, Police, Aviation

Measurable Outcomes:

Ultimately, the City has designated a goal of 4 million square feet of municipal space to be retrofit, with current progress at 1.3 million square feet. The City has already achieved a 20% reduction in energy consumption and avoided costs of more than $20 million since 2001.

Serving as an example is the San Jose West Valley Library, the first public building in San Jose – and first library ever – to achieve LEED certification. The new library achieved points in every major LEED category, including sustainable site, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation and design principles.

Legal Issues:

To mandate energy standards better than Title 24, jurisdictions must file a “Cost Effectiveness” Study with the California Energy Commission. Title 24:11, which addresses Green Building, may have implications for local green building policies that exceed it.

Originating Source:

In 2001, the City Council adopted its first Green Building Policy (Policy No. 8-13).