NC 2009 SSc4.3: Alternative Transportation—Low-Emitting and Fuel-Efficient Vehicles

LEED in Vietnam

I have a question for you. As you know in Vietnam the motorbike is the most used vehicle. Can a motorbike be considered as a Low-emission vehicle (SS cr. 4.3)?
I have got some replies on this matter from other LEED expert and they all recognize that that bikes with internal combustion engines (as opposed to electric bikes) have no emission controls that a car would have, so while they may use less fuel than a car, they produce the most possible emissions (similar to a lawnmower engine). So if I do suggest to put electrical bike parking spots, would it be enough.
In particular for a project I am working for, the architect has already designed 332 spaces for motorbike and 349 for car. If I go for Opt.1 of this credit, I need to provide 17 parking spaces say for electrical bike and 17 parking spaces for low emitting car, or can I do the total (681) and provide 5% of 681 = 34 parking spaces for electrical bike?

ZEV List

I am looking for the ZEVZero-emission vehicles. list. Your link above does not work:

California Air Resources Board, Certified Vehicles List - This site provides a list of all vehicles certified by CARBThe California Air Resources Board, part of the state government, is charged with maintaining clean air. This agency is unique at the state level: California was the only state that had such an agency before the passage of the federal Clean Air Act, and was allowed to keep it..

Can you assist?

ZEV list doesn't exist!

There is no such thing as a ZEVZero-emission vehicles. list!

Low Emitting Vehicles must be listed as a zero emission vehicle (ZEV) by the California Air Resource Board, but I wasn’t able to find any listing for these vehicles on their website at http://www.arb.ca.gov. After calling them, I have discovered that there is no easily referencable list. As such you have to know how to use their site to find this information. Here is the simplest description that I can offer:
- Go to: http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/onroad/cert/cert.php
- Only look at vehicles in the PC_LDT_MDV_MDEV column. These give a list of vehicles by model year. If you click on say the 2008 list (last modified 5-12-09), then you will look only at the last two digits just previous to the “.pdf”. So, if you look at the last bmw listing (bmw_pc_a0080249_0_z_e.pdf), you will see that these last two digits say ZE, this means it is a ZEV.
- I understand that this is incredibly difficult. I have requested that they simplify this process or provide an actual list. They will not do so. As such, I think the important thing to note is that most projects probably do not have any of these vehicles on site. These are likely all fully electric vehicles, based on my understanding of current available technologies.

Any chance USGBC can refer to data which doesn't require a Phd to find? OR that they could develop a list annually for our use?

Electric Car Charger

I understand that there is a J-1772 compliant outlet that only needs a
120v power supply. Will this be acceptable for Credit 4.3- Opt 2, Alternative Fuel Station?

Electric Car Charger

Due to the fact that new fueling/charging technologies are continuously being developed and adopted by the marketplace, the requirements for LEED SSc4.3 Option 2 have been forced to evolve over time. The latest direction, of which I am aware, was provided through the NCv2.2 CIRCredit Interpretation Ruling. Used by design team members experiencing difficulties in the application of a LEED prerequisite or credit to a project. Typically, difficulties arise when specific issues are not directly addressed by LEED information/guide Ruling dated 3/10/2009, which states that 120V electrical outlets alone do not meet the intent of the credit, but 240V capabilities would also need to be provided. The intent is to offer alternatives that service a broader range of vehicles and charging requirements. The logic for this ruling might also be applied to the J-1772 type connectors in that those drivers that require quicker charge times might rely on a 240V charger, whereas other drivers may prefer to charge their vehicles overnight, therefore a 120V charger may be preferred.

Question from my client

My client, a federal agency, has asked whether anyone has experience with complaints after occupancy from employees about fairness. This project is one with very aggressive vehicle reduction strategies - over 30%of employees must find alternative methods of transportation - and they are concerned that employees will complain that this preferred space policy is unfair to those who cannot buy a newer vehicle that meets the Green Score of 40. I sent them the latest list that shows that the compliant list of vehicles is a broad range of costs, but they are still concerned.

Does anyone have experience with post-occupancy complaints about this? In this case, specifically, the issue is not that some people will have farther to walk from their "non-preferred" space, but that those who can't get a preferred space are quite likely to get no parking space at all.

Applicability of SSc4.3 on a site with no new parking.

I am working on a building to be placed on a site adjacent to an existing building. We are adding no new parking and using that as justification for SSc4.4. The city (the building Owner) would like to designate existing parking to satisfy SSc4.3. However, SSc4.3 defaults to 0 on the parking. Has anyone successfully used existing parking to satisfy SSc4.3 in this case? Would the project boundary have to change to include the existing parking to accomodate this?

Pavement Markings for Designating Preffered Parking

The image above shows marking 'LEED' on the pavement to designate preferred parkingPreferred parking, available to particular users, includes designated spaces close to the building (aside from designated handicapped spots), designated covered spaces, discounted parking passes, and guaranteed passes in a lottery system., is this standard practice or are there other designations that people have used?

Golf Carts does it count?

Our project is located on a governement park and the way employees move around the park is by an elect. golf cart. If our building provides a 'fuel station' to charge the golf carts would this count towards SSC4.3 Opt 2? Also if we provide 3% of the FTEFull-time equivalent (FTE) represents a regular building occupant who spends 8 hours a day (40 hours a week) in the project building. Part-time or overtime occupants have FTE values based on their hours per day divided by 8 (or hours per week divided by 40). Transient Occupants can be reported as either daily totals or as part of the FTE. Residential occupancy should be estimated based on the number and size of units. Core and Shell projects should refer to the default occupancy table in the Reference Guide appendix. All occupant assumptions must be consistent across all credits in all categories. with elect golf carts (Zero Emission Vehicle) would this count?

LEV Parking Spots shared with Carpool Spots

Can the designated LEV spots be shared spots with carpool parking or do they need to be LEV pakring only?

Preferred Parking

Our government job follows the design guidelines set forth in the United Facilities Criteria (UFC). The specific UFC that we are required to follow contains a minimum requirement for VIP parking stalls to be placed along the entrance driveway and/or the area in closest proximity to the facility. Our site layout has a very small lot that contains the handicapped stalls and VIP stalls, and this lot is the closest to the building entrance. Further away is a large parking garage that serves a majority of the facility. We are unable to locate the LEED "preferred parkingPreferred parking, available to particular users, includes designated spaces close to the building (aside from designated handicapped spots), designated covered spaces, discounted parking passes, and guaranteed passes in a lottery system." stalls in this small lot, but will locate them in the parking garage with the most convenience to the elevators/stairs/exits. Is this approach acceptable?