Section 2: Individual LEED Credit Reviews
LEED Credit SS-5.2:
For example, GSA's new courthouses have
significant security-driven setback requirements
Reduced Site Disturbance
that result in relatively large site areas surrounding
the buildings. In some instances, these landscaped
Development Footprint
site areas may exceed the local zoning requirements
for open space by 25 percent.
While GSA is technically not required to meet local
Intent
zoning regulations, it is generally assumed that
Conserve existing natural areas and restore
surpassing local zoning requirements for open
damaged areas to provide habitat and promote
space is the only viable way to earn the credit. The
biodiversity.
alternative credit requirement (to provide open
vegetated site areas equal in size to the
Requirement
development footprint) is not considered viable for
most GSA projects, because the site area is
Reduce the development footprint (defined as
typically limited, and the development footprint
entire building footprint, access roads and
includes the building and all hardscape, access
parking) to exceed the local zoning's open space
roads, and parking areas.
requirement for the site by 25%. For areas with
no local zoning requirements (e.g., some
Creating an alternative building design with a
university campuses and military bases),
smaller building footprint was considered outside
designate open space area adjacent to the
of the scope of the study.
building that is equal to the development
footprint.
Basis for Cost Assumption
(1 point)
For the purposes of this study, Credit SS 5.2 was
pursued only in the Courthouse model--the scope
of the Office building modernization does not
Cost Impact = 2
include site work, and it is assumed that most of
GSA's existing office building sites will not meet
the credit criteria.
1
2
3
4
5
As noted in credit SS-5.1, a Base Case site was
GSA
No
Low
Moderate
High
defined for the Courthouse, which includes
Mandate
premium,
premium
premium
premium
(no cost)
psble svgs
(<50K)
(50-150K)
(>150K)
approximately 0.8 acres of landscaped area (26
percent of the entire site). It was generally assumed
Practical Applications
that this amount of open landscaped space would
exceed some local zoning requirements by 25
Factors that determine the viability of this credit
percent. No construction cost premium is assumed
include the following:
for these cases.
Because it cannot be assumed that all GSA projects
Local zoning requirements for open space
will meet the credit criteria, the credit is assumed to
The amount of design flexibility in a project
be earned in only half of the Courthouse scenarios.
(i.e., can a taller building with a smaller
The credit is included in the "low cost" cases but
footprint be developed in lieu of a lower
not in the "high cost" cases.
building with a larger footprint)
The amount of hardscape and landscape
programmed for the open site areas
While it is generally assumed that the urban nature
of most GSA project sites will limit the
applicability of this credit, there are situations
where projects may comply with little difficulty.
GSA LEED COST STUDY
39
Previous Page
