To: HONORABLE MAYOR AND From: Carl W. Mosher

CITY COUNCIL

Subject: REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION Date: 11-24-03

OF GREEN BUILDING POLICIES

COUNCIL DISTRICT: City-wide

RECOMMENDATION

Accept report on implementation of Green Building Policies and recognize the seven City employees who have achieved Accreditation in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Program.

BACKGROUND

On June 19, 2001, Council adopted Green Building Policies, as developed by the members of the community with the input of City departments.

· For private sector facilities, Council directed staff to work with the community to encourage achievement of a “San José LEED^TM” Certified rating and identify and provide incentives and educational programs that help achieve those efforts.

· For City-owned facilities, Council approved the Green Building Guidelines implementation goal of a “San José LEED^TM” Certified rating for new construction and major retrofits of City facilities and buildings over 10,000 gross square feet of occupied space, effective with the FY 02-03 budget.

“San José LEED^TM” is based upon the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) whole building rating system entitled “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED). LEED^TM establishes four levels of green building certification, each based upon cumulative points earned through design conformance to published LEED^TM sustainability criteria. LEED^TM ratings begin at a base “Certified” level (26 points) and progress through three levels: Silver (33 points), Gold (39 points), and the highest level of achievement, Platinum (52 points).

Formal LEED^TM certification requires registration, application, documentation, and a verification process initiated at the start of design. The “San José LEED^TM” also incorporates specific City of San Jose policies, such as urban runoff and water conservation.

ANALYSIS

This memorandum provides information on the status of several City projects, some of which will be eligible for “San José LEED^TM” certification, and an overview of private sector projects.

Findings in Other Programs

In an October 2003 report entitled, “The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings” prepared for California’s Sustainable Building Task Force, “traditional” building costs were compared with costs associated with building “green.” In the most comprehensive analysis of the financial costs and benefits of sustainable design/green building conducted to date, the report found that an upfront investment of less than two percent of construction costs yields a life cycle savings of over 10 times the initial investment. For example, an initial upfront investment of up to $100,000 to incorporate green building features into a $5 million project would result in a savings of at least $1 million over the life of the building, assumed to be 20 years. [Note: City of San Jose facilities are built with an assumed operational life of 50 years.] The majority of this first cost is due to the increased architectural and engineering design time necessary to integrate sustainable building practices into projects. Generally, these costs are lowest when green building is incorporated into the design process early. Among the direct benefits are lower energy and water costs as well as lower operation and maintenance costs, including waste disposal. Energy and water savings can be predicted with reasonable precision and measured and monitored over time. Other benefits that may be harder to measure directly include healthier employee working conditions and increased productivity.

San Jose’s Green Building Policies are similar to those adopted by Seattle, Portland and the State of California. Since Seattle and Portland have already begun to implement their policies, and have many green projects underway, City staff hopes to gather broader industry cost and impact information as it relates to building green using the LEED^TM rating system. Seattle adopted mandatory LEED^TM Silver rating for City facilities, but it does not require that all projects go through the USGBC registration and certification process. Portland, on the other hand, does require these steps. In December 2002, the City of Pleasanton adopted a Green Building Policy that requires both public and private sector buildings to meet LEED^TM standards. To advance the State’s sustainable building goals, California is encouraging at least a LEED^TM Certified level for all state facilities, but has not adopted any mandatory standards.

Current estimates to document and report project compliance through the USGBC certification process are in the range of $20,000 to $30,000 per project, although the City of Seattle is experiencing a range of $8,000 to $25,000. In general, costs will vary on a project-by-project basis depending on the complexity of the building type, the green measures targeted, and the experience of the design firm with the LEED^TM certification process. The actual magnitude of the “cost to go green” is still being analyzed and refined by staff and will become clearer as the City continues to incorporate the Green Building Policies into future City projects. However, as the State report indicates, any additional up front first costs are more than compensated through lower operation and maintenance savings over the life of the building.

The City could incur additional costs if it instead decides to comply with the Green Building Policies through “self-certification” of its projects, using City staff that have been Accredited to “score” the green elements in accordance with LEED^TM criteria. (See Attachment A for the list of those who have achieved this designation.) These additional costs to the City will come in the form of additional resources needs to first develop the internal “certification process”, and then for the monitoring and evaluation of projects for compliance.

Environmental Services Department (ESD) staff continues to be involved in the USGBC, in particular, the State and Local Government Committee. Interaction with USGBC members provides information on achieving successful programs along with technical advances in green design, manufacturing and technologies. San Jose is also sharing its experience with other cities, include to date, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Diego and Atlanta.

City’s Implementation Efforts

None of the City projects approved prior to the FY 02-03 budget included specific funding for Green Building Policy compliance. Currently, Public Works allocates an additional 5% of construction costs to incorporate green design. To verify this working assumption, the City contracted with Hawley Peterson, Snyder Architects (HPS) to analyze costs associated with sustainable design as well as to provide design, review and LEED^TM documentation submittal assistance for selected projects. HPS met with City staff to develop a Master Work Plan based on project need, timing and budgetary constraints of the selected projects. Since the projects are in varying stages of design and construction, the HPS analysis will provide the City with a wide range of information related to costs associated with sustainable/green construction.

West Valley Library

The West Valley Branch Library, which opened in May of 2003, recently submitted documentation to the USGBC for a ‘Certified’ rating. A decision by the USGBC is expected by spring 2004. These efforts have put the West Valley Branch on track to become San Jose’s first LEED^TM certified “green” library.

The decision to construct West Valley Library to the LEEDÔ standard was made just after the 50% Construction Documents were completed. Subsequently, Department of Public Works (DPW) staff commissioned a construction cost evaluation through Don Todd Associates to estimate the additional funds needed to pay for the changes, additions, and the certification process for achieving a LEED^TM Certified rating. The estimate came in at $491,000, or about 6¼ percent of total construction costs. Subsequently, the construction bids received for the West Valley Library project exceeded the cost estimate by approximately 10%.

Because of the late decision to achieve a LEED^TM Certified rating, the costs associated with the change had to accommodate redesigning and redrawing many plans and researching and specifying a number of “greener” materials. In effect, some aspects of this building were designed twice: once to the design standards of the “typical practice” that was representative of new designs for San José City buildings under current energy codes, and once again to the design standards of LEEDÔ Certified.

Despite the higher construction cost, the money was appropriated for the project since several libraries will be built in the near future and this process will produce strategies for helping subsequent libraries meet a LEEDÔ Certified rating more cost-effectively. One such strategy will be to incorporate green building features early in the pre-design phase.

Public Safety Buildings

Staff is arranging for HPS to assist in “greening” all facets of the Police Substation and Fire Station #35, including conducting “eco-charrettes” for building design, building materials selection, plan and specification review as well as assistance in LEED^TM documentation and submittal. (An eco-charrette is a collaborative process for design professionals and their clients to create goals for environmental sustainability and energy efficiency and to identify strategies to accomplish those goals.)

Airport Master Plan-North Concourse

At the October 14, 2003, Council meeting, the Airport’s North Concourse Master Plan was discussed. In that report, staff discussed several “green” features that could allow the concourse to achieve a LEED^TM Silver rating.

ESD staff and HPS will be assisting during this process with plan and specification review as well as green material selection and LEED^TM submittal assistance.

Community Centers & Libraries

Both the Recreation Facilities Team and the Library Bond Teams are striving to be in early compliance with the adopted policies and are working to incorporate sustainable/green building principles and LEED^TM into current projects. Staff has included or will include design intent language that is consistent with the adopted Green Building Policies into the consultant agreement for the Gardner and Camden Community Centers, all of the Library Bond projects, and the joint Almaden Community Center/Library project.

In addition, HPS will be providing design review and LEED^TM submittal assistance for LEED^TM Certification for the Camden Community Center. The architects/design firms for these community centers have it in their scope to design and construct these projects to the equivalent of at least a LEED^TM Certified level (26 points). Except for the Camden Community Center, however, these projects will not be registered with the USGBC due to the additional cost.

New Civic Center

The New Civic Center will have dual plumbing to accommodate recycled water for use in all water closets (toilets), urinals, cooling towers (for air conditioning system) and the public art water feature on the plaza.

The City Employee Recycling Program (Recycle@Work) will be implemented in the new civic Center much as it is now, with individuals emptying desk-side trash and recyclables into centralized storage areas. ESD has recommended built-in permanent central stations into which the current free-standing receptacles can fit. A single-stream paper collection program is probable, with cardboard compacted at the dock and hauled as needed. The existing commingled glass/aluminum/plastic beverage containers will likely exist as is. Lunchrooms and other indoor- public spaces will have some kind of combination or side-by-side receptacles for trash/paper/beverage containers. Combination or side-by-side litter/recycling modules have been recommended for the public plaza and walkways.

Depending on whether food service is provided, enhancements such as composting food waste and restroom paper towels can be considered. Energy efficient lighting will be installed.

Existing City Hall

Public Works is currently evaluating various options related to the renovation of the existing City Hall. Once a decision has been made on the statutes and timing of this project, it is anticipated that Hawley Peterson Snyder Architects will be assisting with an eco-charrette design meeting to discuss what sustainable/green features could be incorporated into a retrofit project.

General Services

Often the most overlooked element of green building is operations and maintenance (O&M) practices in the built environment. Acknowledging that green building practices enhance both environmental quality and economic performance, the General Services Department (GS) is committed to play a lead role in supporting the application of the adopted Green Building Policies to the City’s existing building stock. In addition to their current efforts to monitor and promote citywide energy conservation and to identify cool roof and solar electric opportunities for existing City facilities, key staff members within GS are working with ESD to develop educational efforts for incorporating green building practices into the City’s O&M procedures. A key to the success will come with the full integration of the City’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy (EPP) and Green Building Policy. As the City continues to build sustainable/green buildings, it will become important to maintain those buildings using sustainable/green O&M practices. This includes the use of non-toxic cleaning chemicals, integrated pest management and proper training of staff to name a few. Failure to maintain the buildings in a sustainable manner will defeat the original intent of a green building. Only when design, construction and maintenance work in concert can the City truly be a “sustainable city.”

Private Sector

ESD and PG&E have partnered to host a series of education courses at the South Bay Pacific Energy Center, held at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Hall. These classes are held each spring and fall and are designed to provide the participants with the most current information on sustainable building practices. Courses include a wide variety of topics including, mechanical control systems, day lighting, photovoltaics and energy management systems. A broad range of professions attend these classes including architects, facility managers, government officials and staff, mechanical engineers and representatives from the construction industry. More than 30 classes are being conducted on an annual basis.

The City is investigating potential financial incentives for encouraging “green” buildings in the private sector. At this time, staff provides referrals to state incentives for “green” buildings.

Education and Outreach

The Green Building Program, though a partnership with PG&E, has continued to provide education and outreach to the public and private sectors through its educational series. Free classes are held each spring and fall through the city’s sponsorship of the South Bay Pacific Energy Center in San Jose. These classes covered such topics as photovoltaics, building commissioning, mechanical controls and sustainable/green material selection. Finally, the City has also sponsored LEED^TM Training Workshops at the local headquarters building of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and West Valley Branch Library where City employees from various departments have attended.

In addition to the educational efforts discussed above, ESD staff has provided outreach in the form of an email newsletter, the green building web site and numerous public presentations. Green Building News is a monthly/bi-monthly newsletter that is distributed directly via email to over 1,000 “subscribers”. The web site is provided to be a green building clearinghouse of information for the private sector, City staff, and the community. Presentations on the basics of green building and the City’s approach to green building related policies continue to be a topic of interest for local business interests and local college classes.

Summary/Next Steps

The San José Green Building Program has seen tremendous strides throughout the City departments in the enthusiasm, level of commitment, and creativity of the staff involved in the program. As noted in this report, numerous opportunities for incorporating the Green Building Guidelines in future City facilities are being identified. ESD staff will continue to work with DPW staff and the Interdepartmental Green Building Steering Committee to prepare a more detailed analysis of the potential costs and impacts of incorporating current capital projects into the adopted Green Building recommendations as more data is available from those projects that are moving through the design process.

PUBLIC OUTREACH

Workshops are provided to the general public as part of our partnership with PG&E.

COORDINATION

Preparation of this report and memorandum was coordinated with the assistance of the following Departments: Public Works; Airport; General Services; Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services; Redevelopment Agency; Library; Police, and Fire.

COST IMPLICATIONS

Work on implementation of the Green Building Policy meets the Budget Strategy that emphasizes prevention and expenditures that reduce costs to the City and our community.

CEQA

Not a project.

CARL W. MOSHER

Director, Environmental Services Department

Attachmen

ATTACHMENT

CITY OF SAN JOSE “LEED” ACCREDITED PROFESSIONALS

As part of the ongoing effort to train and educate City staff, several members have taken and passed the LEED^TM Accreditation Exam. Passage of this exam indicates a detailed knowledge and understanding of the LEED^TM system. The following City Staff are LEED^TM Accredited:

Name	Department
Ruben Alvarez	DPW/Architectural Engineering
Deedee Flauding	DPW/Architectural Engineering
Mary Follenweider	DPW/Architectural Engineering
Ashwini Kantak	DPW/Parks and Recreational Facilities
Lilli Matthews	DPW/Parks and Recreational Facilities
Mara Meydbray	DPW/Airport Construction division
Jennifer Seguin	ESD

Additional staff will be LEED^TM Accredited before the end of this calendar year. However, those individuals had not yet taken the exam at the time this memorandum was prepared.