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Why open space?
This credit is intended to promote sites with large areas of vegetated open space that promote biodiversity and recreation—which can also add an amenity to your project, help with natural stormwater management, and mitigate the urban heat islandA densely populated area in which pavement and buildings absorb, store, and release solar energy, making the vicinity warmer than it would be if the pavement and buildings were not present. effect.
Difficulty varies by location
It’s generally quite easy for rural and suburban projects to meet the requirements of this credit—this is especially true for schools, particularly those that have sports fields...
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14 Comments
0% Open Space Requirements
I'm working on a project located in high density urban area which means 100% of the site can be built in the ground floor. How do i have to calculate 25% in this case? (The building footprintBuilding footprint is the area on a project site used by the building structure, defined by the perimeter of the building plan. Parking lots, parking garages, landscapes, and other nonbuilding facilities are not included in the building footprint. equals 89% and there are additional green roofs as well)
I'm sorry for the dumb question, I found the answer but: why only vegetated open space is applicable in this case?
You can also use pedestrian-oriented hardscape to help you meet the credit requirements (assuming you are achieving SSc2). In order to meet the credit requirements, however, make sure the vegetated green roofs you noted make up at least 25% of your open space areaOpen space area is usually defined by local zoning requirements. If local zoning requirements do not clearly define open space, it is defined for the purposes of LEED calculations as the property area minus the development footprint; it must be vegetated and pervious, with exceptions only as noted in the credit requirements section. Only ground areas are calculated as open space. For projects located in urban areas that earn a Development Density and Community Connectivity credit, open space also includes nonvehicular, pedestrian-oriented hardscape spaces..
Pedestrian Area
Does pedestrian areas located in the roofs count as open space?
If your project is achieving SSc2 Development Density and Community Connectivity, you can include vegetated roof areas as part of your calculation.
Setting a LEED boundary
I have a CS project within a large area of future grow. There will be three different buildings on site. The only one pursuing LEED certification is this CS. There will be a central chiller plant, sewer treatment plant, fire protection and potable waterPotable water meets or exceeds EPA's drinking water quality standards and is approved for human consumption by the state or local authorities having jurisdiction; it may be supplied from wells or municipal water systems. pumping station to serve all those buildings. This is a serice area oustide of the CS building. The question is, can I set the LEED boundary leaving this service area with the associated roads and walkways outside of the LEED boundary? I'm planing to set the boundary just for the buidling, parking space right next to the building and a green area to restore. Is this aproach of setting the LEED boundary to my convenience OK?
It sounds to me like this LEED boundary is appropriate, since you are including the areas supporting and affected by the current project.
I would recommend you review the LEED MPRs and updated campus guidance for more background, however, to be sure.
This is really confusing to me Tristan, I'm sorry. I have reviewed a lot of information regarding MPR's and AGMBC, and still with doubts.
This is a new project that was registered under regular CS 2.0, no LEED campus approach was thought at that time, the owner only wanted one building to be certified, the first one. The other three wouldn't be certified but would share the same services.
I want to keep it flexible, in case he wants to certify another building later. What I'm really concern about is that at this time the boundary is set so the services (sewer treatment plant, central plant, storm drain treatment, potable waterPotable water meets or exceeds EPA's drinking water quality standards and is approved for human consumption by the state or local authorities having jurisdiction; it may be supplied from wells or municipal water systems. pumping, etc) are within the boundary. It is not clear to me that if I want to certify the other buildings, then I wouldn't be able because the services are part of an already certified building, regardless that they are servicing these new buildings. So do you think in order to keep it flexible, it will be better to leave these services out of the boundary?
I agree, it is complex. What are you reading in the MPRs or AGMBC that makes you unsure what to do?
What's your personal opinion regarding the last paragraph,
"I want to keep it flexible, in case he wants to certify another building later. What I'm really concern about is that at this time the boundary is set so the services (sewer treatment plant, central plant, storm drain treatment, potable waterPotable water meets or exceeds EPA's drinking water quality standards and is approved for human consumption by the state or local authorities having jurisdiction; it may be supplied from wells or municipal water systems. pumping, etc) are within the boundary. It is not clear to me that if I want to certify the other buildings, then I wouldn't be able because the services are part of an already certified building, regardless that they are servicing these new buildings. So do you think in order to keep it flexible, it will be better to leave these services out of the boundary?"
What you're worried about is not an issue, in my opinion. The usual problem with LEED boundaries is that people leave something out that should be included. That is what the MPRs are guarding against. I would say it's the right move to include all those services now. If they're included in LEED calculations now, you shouldn't be penalized for not including them in the future since they are already certified. But please review the campus guidance to make sure you understand how to approach this comprehensively.
Local zoning requirements
On CS V2.0.
According to my Country's local zoning requirements, you should build a maximum of 70% of the total land, but if you have pervious paving you can count that as open space. So you could have 100% of the property with a pervious paving and you still meet the requirement.
So according to Option 1, I should exceed by 25% the LZR.
Clearly the intent of the credit is to have vegetated open space. But there is a conflict on the definition of open space cause it reads: "is the property area minus the development footprintThe development footprint is the area affected by development or by project site activity. Hardscape, access roads, parking lots, nonbuilding facilities, and the building itself are all included in the development footprint. OR AS DEFINED BY LOCAL ZONING REQUIREMENTS". The conflict is because for my LZR, pervious paving is open space and for LEED it would count as part of the development area, but at the same time according to the upper case definition, it is fine because you are meeting LZR.
So what should I do, should I count pervious paving as open space or not??
Does it affect your credit compliance?
I would consider the intent of the credit and tty to not count the paving as open space, at least not all of it.
The following piece of the credit language also seems very relevant here:
For projects in urban areas that earn SS Credit 2. Development Density
and Community Connectivity, pedestrian-oriented hardscape areas can
contribute to credit compliance. For such projects, a minimum of 25% of
the open space counted must be vegetated.
Yest it does affect my credit compliance.
Thanks for your advise.
Regards.
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