September 28, 2007
Chu Request for LEED Standards in North San Jose Project is Approved
(San José, CA) – On Tuesday, the San José City Council approved a 889 unit residential project in North San Jose requiring the applicant to implement green building practices equivalent to LEED Silver Standards. This approval is the third major residential rezoning in San Jose approved with such a requirement. Last month, the Mayor and City Council approved a private development—a 2,818 residential unit project at the Berryessa Flea Market site—the first ever with the requirement to build to the equivalent of LEED Silver standards. The approvals follow a memo drafted by Councilmember Kansen Chu requesting the Mayor and Council to implement sustainable building practices in these private developments.
“Green building practices are ultimately about conserving our natural resources.” said Chu. “These projects require a tremendous amount of resources to build and occupy. I applaud my colleagues for taking a small step towards a big issue.”
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is the standard rating system developed by the U.S Green Building Council. San José currently implements the Green Point Rating System developed by Build It Green. The rating system focuses on water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, and materials used in a construction project. More than a dozen development applications related to North San Jose are currently under review; including 10 rezoning requests for residential projects (6,351 units) and preliminary review of up to 5.5 million square feet of commercial and office space.
“San Jose should ensure that green building projects progress through the development process as efficiently as possible.” said Chu. “The San Jose Planning Department staff is working diligently to develop guidelines and staffing resources to help guide and promote incentives to developers for going green. Many of them have already implemented green building practices and they deserve to be applauded for that.”
On August 28, 2007, the Mayor and City Council approved a 1,900 residential unit project in North San José—also in District 4—with a requirement to build to the equivalent of LEED Silver standards.
In March 2007, the Mayor and City Council adopted the Green Building Policy and directed staff to “go for the Gold (LEED standard)” for city owned facilities. Staff was directed to propose a package of incentives San Jose should introduce to catalyze integration of green building practices by the private sector. The report, The Private Sector Green Building program, will go to the Transportation and Environment Committee, a standing City Council committee on October 1, 2007.
Approved in June 2005, the revised North San José Area Development Policy created a plan for the development of 26 million square feet of research and development, office, retail space, and 32,000 residential units. The plan includes a $570 million infrastructure improvement package to support a 25 year project. North San José area has become the preeminent location for driving industrial uses within the City of San José, the nations 10th’ largest city, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, California. Kansen Chu represents the 4th district in San Jose, serving the communities of Berryessa, Alviso, and North San Jose.
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Cary Chien, Councilmember's Office
office 408-535-4904
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