Item C: Resolution Adopting Sustainable Buildings Policy

Home Browse Search

ATTACHMENT B Defining a Sustainable Buildings Policy For the City of Eugene Background On February 28, 2000, the Eugene City Council adopted Council Resolution No. 4618 providing a defi- nition and statement of intent regarding the application of sustainability principles to the City of Eugene (Attachment C). In adopting the resolution, the Council committed City elected officials and City staff to uphold the sustainability principles in Resolution No. 4618. The principles of sustainability recognize the interdependence of the built and natural environments, pro- viding the framework and tools to build and operate facilities in an efficient, healthy, and ecologically responsible manner. Green buildings seek to harness natural energy flows and biological processes, re- duce or eliminate reliance on fossil fuels and toxic materials, and improve resource efficiency. Specifi- cally, sustainable principles—when applied to the design, construction, maintenance and operation of buildings—encompass the following broad topics: efficient management of energy and water resources, management of material resources and waste, protection of environmental quality, protection of health and indoor environmental quality, reinforcement of natural systems, and integrating the design approach. Policy Considerations – What Activities are Included, What’s the Standard, How Will the Policy Be Implemented, What are the Exemptions Because of the wide variety of buildings and program activities across the City organization, there are a number of specific issues that need to be addressed to ensure that a sustainable building policy is effec- tive. Questions that must be resolved include the type and size of buildings to be covered, the potential for different funding sources to support green building practices and the extent of the City’s ability to control decisions on building projects. What Activities are Included? The City’s Sustainable Buildings Policy would apply to City owned and occupied buildings. While some local governments, including the City of Portland, also encompass “non-building” activities such as parks, open space, and street and utility infrastructure in an overall green building policy, this policy recommendation for the City of Eugene focuses on buildings, addressing these other activities only to the extent that they support individual buildings. Currently, City departments responsible for these other City activities are committed to adopting best management practices within each functional area. As there are currently no accepted standards to evaluate sustainability in these areas that are comparable to the LEED Green Building Rating System, the inclusion of these non-building activities in a Sustainable Buildings Policy is likely to have little, if any, environmental benefit over the “best management practices” approach now in place. The City’s Sustainable Buildings Policy can be expanded in the future if a more robust system for evaluating the sustainability of these non-building activities becomes generally accepted. It is recommended that the Sustainable Buildings Policy apply to all City-owned and occupied buildings, regardless of funding sources. However, there may be practical limitations on the ability to use external funding on sustainable building measures that are more than typical construction or operations costs, depending on restrictions of different funding sources. An example would be funding under a federal program that has narrow restrictions on how funds may be used. To recognize this situation, the policy provides that restrictions on the ability to invest specific funding sources in sustainable building initiatives be treated as exemptions to the adopted policy on achieving certification. However, the underlying intent is that LEED criteria be used as a guide in building construction and operation, and that