Sustainable Land Development Today - October 2007 - (Page 42)

SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES Redefining Neighborhoods LEED-ND offers a new slant on creating communities. By Terry Miller Launched in late June of 2007, the LEED-ND (Leadership in Energy and Envirnmental Design for Neighborhood Development) pilot program is challenging the traditional American concept of “neighborhood.” The LEED-ND program strays from the inclination to define neighborhoods by physical and spatial means. Rather, it offers a framework of predominantly performancebased criteria by which to create and recognize the quality of new communities. LEED-ND strongly emphasizes project location as well as planning, design and construction approaches that do not infringe on environmentally-critical areas, are pedestrian-oriented and are comprised of high performance buildings. The program further examines the impacts on, while concurrently leveraging, the existing infrastructure and larger surroundings. This expands neighborhoods to a vertical plane to include urban residential towers as well as redevelopments that are acres wide. The first national standard for neighborhood design, LEED-ND is a partnership between the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Congress for New Urbanism and the Natural Resources Defense Council. LEED-ND has four categories: smart location and linkage; neighborhood pattern and design; green construction and technology; and innovation and design process. The framework helps spur comprehensive thinking about smart development and offers a clear standard to help guide project owners and recognize their efforts. Incorporating the principles of smart growth, new urbanism and green building, the program treads new ground by aiming to take green building performance beyond, but not past, the building scale. Neighborhood-scale developments generally have longer design and con42 October 2007 Sustainable Land Development Today struction schedules, so LEED-ND allows projects to participate at three different phases: optional pre-review, which happens before land entitlement; approved plan; and completed neighborhood development. Nine pre-requisites serve as the baseline requirements for projects to attain LEED-ND certification that cover proximity to existing water and wastewater infrastructure; public transportation access; community services within walking distance; avoidance of floodplains, prime agricultural soils, wetlands and habitat; open (as opposed to gated) communities; higher density; and construction activity pollution prevention. Currently, there are 238 projects participating in the LEED-ND pilot that span the globe and range from .1 acre to more than 12,000 acres. Green Building Services Inc. (GBS) is working on four pilot program projects that address a variety of neighborhood classifications including two urban towers, a multi-block infill redevelopment, and a multi-acre revitalization of a previously developed site. One example is the Eliot Tower, an urban condominium tower that adds density and vibrancy to downtown Portland, Oregon. Located on the streetcar line in Portland’s cultural district, the “vertical neighborhood” project offers residents a diverse and less auto-dependant lifestyle. Developer John Carroll believes that the USGBC’s recognition of the value and importance of high density developments through LEED-ND is an excellent step forward. “I think every developer should participate in the program,” says Carroll. “We know we have to accommodate the needs of building occupants, so it makes sense to include density, public transportation and access to services as part of our planning process.” The USGBC selected Eliot Tower as one of 60 projects to participate in a focus group. Gathering feedback from the team’s direct experience with the new program, the USGBC will use this information to help shape the final version. The focus group will offer teams the opportunity to learn from others and discover which issues all participants face, as well as which ones are particular to certain project types. The Washougal Blocks in Washougal, Washington, is another LEED-ND pilot project that GBS is assisting through the process. The four-block catalyst redevelopment includes mixed-use, office and retail space and a community plaza in the heart of downtown Washougal. All of the buildings will also be designed and constructed to LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC) standards, which benefits the project’s LEED-ND performance as well. Wes Hickey of Lone Wolf Development says the pursuit of LEED-ND certification fit in with his vision for the project. “This type of development helps build community, and we want to set an example of how to do this right,” says Hickey. “As a result, we’ll have a stronger, happier and healthier community.” A green community can be defined as comprising four different parts: nature, people, buildings and infrastructure. Each part supports itself as well as the other parts in a way that produces no harm or waste, essentially creating a system that performs as nature would if left to itself. These mutually affirming relationships are the nexus of opportunity to create truly green communities. Planning and designing communities to function like nature is an extremely challenging and complex proposition. The impact of the four parts needs to be evaluated at various scales in space and time. LEED-ND represents a starting point to

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Land Development Today - October 2007

Sustainable Land Development Today - October 2007 Contents Our Voice Your Voice Editorial Board Mapping the Development Process Looking at a New Dimension The Environmental Liability Continuum GPS System Makes the Grade Regulations: Reactions Mixed Trends: Communications Easements Business Management: Recycling Sustainable Practices: LEED-ND Energy: Community Propane Systems Transportation: Mountain Solutions Recommended Reading Calendar Products/Services Showcase Classifieds Advertiser Index The Last Word

Sustainable Land Development Today - October 2007

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