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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 2C: Amendment to Sustainable Building Policy ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Adoption of Resolution 4887 Amending the Sustainable Buildings Policy Adopted By Resolution No. 4884 Meeting Date: August 14, 2006 Agenda Item Number: 2C Department: Central Services Staff Contact: Glen Svendsen www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 682-5008 ISSUE STATEMENT When the City Council adopted the Sustainable Building Policy, Resolution 4884, a change to the exception policy was incorporated. This change, as worded, unintentionally made it mandatory that the two reasons for requesting an exception both be met, rather than having either condition be sufficient for requesting an exception. This agenda item is an amendment to Resolution 4884 that clarifies the waiver language to provide that meeting either condition is a basis for requesting an exception from the council, achieving the intent of the original revision to the exception policy in Resolution 4884. BACKGROUND On July 10, 2006, the council adopted Resolution 4884, establishing a Sustainable Building Policy for the siting, design, construction, operation and maintenance of City buildings. This resolution included requirements that buildings 10,000 square feet or larger achieve a “Silver” certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Section 5 of Resolution 4884, as initially recommended by staff, also provided for reduction or waiver of this certification requirement if specific conditions were met, or if the City Manager found a reduction of waiver to be in the public interest. If achieving a Silver certification was not “cost-neutral,’ the two specific conditions for requesting a reduction or exception to certification were: 1) that the requirement to achieve Silver certification would result in costs 10% or greater than standard City construction; or 2) if an outside agency providing the majority of funding for a project did not recognize LEED certification as an acceptable project expense. During the July 10 meeting, the council amended the proposed resolution to require City Council approval of any reduction or waiver of the certification requirement. However, in doing so, the language of the amendment inadvertently made it mandatory that both provisions be met for requesting an exception to certification. This resolution changes Section 5 of Resolution 4884 to clarify that the two conditions for requesting an exception to the certification requirement are independent, and projects meeting either condition would require City Council approval of a reduction or waiver of the certification requirement. L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060814\S0608142C.doc RELATED CITY POLICIES There are no City policies directly related to this resolution. COUNCIL OPTIONS The council can adopt the proposed resolution, which would change the language of the exception policy to meet the original intent of the earlier amendment to Section 5. The council could choose not to adopt this resolution, and Section 5 of the Sustainable Building Policy would continue to require both conditions for an exception to certification. In either case, City Council approval would be required on a case-by-case basis before an exception would be granted. There are two potential impacts of not adopting this resolution. One would be that larger, City-funded projects would be required to meet LEED Silver certification requirement, regardless of the incremental cost impact, since the project is not receiving a majority of funding from an outside source. This is most likely to occur if the City project involves construction that is significantly different from the type of buildings on which the LEED system was based. The second scenario is a project funded primarily by an outside agency that does not recognize “non- traditional” sustainable features as eligible project expenditures, regardless of whether or not those features cost more than traditional construction techniques. An outside-funded project would only be eligible for an exception to the certification policy only if total costs were 10% or more above traditional construction costs. In this case, for a project to move ahead, the City would have to fund any sustainable features not accepted by the funding agency, regardless of whether those features add to the total project cost or not. The result would be loss of outside funding that could otherwise be used for the project, and an increase in the City’s share of a project’s cost. CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION The City Manager’s recommendation is to approve the proposed resolution, including Exhibit A, revising the language of Section 5 of Resolution 4884. SUGGESTED MOTION Move to adopt Resolution 4887amending the Sustainable Buildings Policy adopted by Resolution No. 4884. ATTACHMENTS A. Proposed Resolution __________, including Exhibit A B. Proposed Section 5, in legislative format comparing current and proposed language C. Resolution 4884, including Exhibit A, as adopted by Council July 10, 2006 FOR MORE INFORMATION Staff Contact: Glen Svendsen] Telephone: 682-5008 Staff E-Mail: glen.l.svendsen@ci.eugene.or.us L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060814\S0608142C.doc ATTACHMENT A RESOLUTION NO. 4887 A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS POLICY ADOPTED BY RESOLUTION NO. 4884. The City Council of the City of Eugene finds as follows: A. On July 10, 2006, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 4884, which adopted a Sustainable Buildings Policy for Buildings Owned and Occupied by the City (the Policy). B. It is necessary to amend paragraph 5 of the Policy to clarify that the basis for exemption described therein requires that the Council approve the exemption based on the existence of at least one, but not necessarily both, of the circumstances described in 5 (a) or 5 (b). NOW, THEREFORE, based upon the above findings, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EUGENE, a Municipal Corporation of the State of Oregon, as follows: Section 1. The amended Sustainable Buildings Policy for Buildings Owned and Occupied by the City attached as Exhibit A is adopted. Section 2 . A copy of this Resolution shall be appended to Resolution No. 4618 and Resolution No. 4884. Section 3 . This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption. The foregoing Resolution adopted the _____ day of _____________, 2006. ___________________________________ City Recorder L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060814\S0608142C.doc Resolution 4887 - Exhibit A Sustainable Buildings Policy For Buildings Owned and Occupied by the City Purpose The purpose of a Citywide policy on sustainable buildings is to demonstrate the City of Eugene’s commitment to environmental, economic, and social stewardship, to yield cost savings to the City’s taxpayers through reduced operating costs, to provide healthy work environments for staff and visitors, and to contribute to the City’s goals of protecting, conserving, and enhancing the region’s environmental resources. Additionally, the City is in a position to set a community standard of sustainable buildings practices. Policy 1. The City of Eugene shall incorporate principles of sustainability in the planning, financing, siting, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of buildings owned and occupied by the City and associated facilities. TM a. All City of Eugene buildings and facilities should use the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) as a guide for the sustainable operation and maintenance of City buildings. Implementing LEED-EB criteria on an inventory-wide basis is intended to maximize sustainability benefits within existing resources, and provide a means of benchmarking environmental and financial performance improvements in City practices. Certification of existing buildings under LEED-EB will be evaluated for technical and economic feasibility and pursued at the highest feasible level of certification on a case-by-case basis as funding is available. b. All new construction and additions encompassing 10,000 gross square feet or more of building area TM should achieve a Silver certification level of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System for New Construction (LEED-NC). A higher equivalent rating (Gold or Platinum) should be sought where practicable as funding is available. c. New construction encompassing less than 10,000 gross square feet of building area should achieve the equivalent of at least a LEED Silver certification level where technically feasible. Projects of any size for which certification is not feasible due to technical reasons, should use LEED-NC as a guide to incorporate as many sustainable features as economically feasible. d. Building renovation projects should use LEED-NC as a guide and will be evaluated for certification on a case-by-case basis, as the feasibility of incorporating sustainable features within the context of the existing building will vary widely from project to project. 2. It is City policy that sustainability elements should be considered part of the standard costs of building, renovating, and preserving public assets. One of the goals adopted by the City Council is that ongoing financial resources will be adequate to maintain and deliver municipal services, including funding for the planning, siting, design, construction, maintenance, and operation of City buildings and associated facilities. Budgeting for new construction, renovations and additions to City facilities should include the costs of incorporating sustainable features and achieving certification goals. 3. Implementing LEED criteria and achieving certification will be at the highest level technically and economically feasible. The feasibility of incorporating sustainable features and achieving LEED certifications will be based on whether criteria can technically be implemented, and where there is a net economic benefit. L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060814\S0608142C.doc Building sustainably may increase the initial cost of public building construction, renovation and, potentially, preservation. However, many sustainable features reduce long-term costs of building operation and maintenance. The City will use life-cycle cost and length of payback of initial costs to determine economic feasibility. 4. The level of LEED certification for projects requiring the City to obtain financing will be identified at the time the project budget is adopted by Council. By establishing the level of LEED performance during the budget process, any additional costs of LEED certification can be included in the project financing. 5. Construction of buildings owned and occupied by the City may be exempt from LEED-NC certification based on a finding that certification would not be economically sustainable. The ability to fund public building pro- jects must also meet the test of reasonableness. In the case where certification at the Silver level is not cost- neutral, the requirement for certification may be decreased to a ”Certified” level or waived if (a) the costs related to certification are more than 10% above the estimated cost of construction without those measures, or (b) the additional costs are related to sustainability goals and certification requirements which have not been formally accepted by an external organization providing the majority of funding for a City project; and (c) in addition to (a) or (b), the City Council approves the exemption. To ensure the application of this exemption is used judiciously, a finding of the need for certification at lower than the Silver level or waiver of the certification requirement will be made prior to construction of a project. 6. A report evaluating the City’s implementation of sustainable building practices will be submitted to Council each year. To ensure that the City-wide application of the sustainable building policy is implemented in the most cost-effective way, the application of the policy needs to be monitored, and the performance of the various City programs with building activities evaluated and reported annually to the City Council. L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060814\S0608142C.doc ATTACHMENT B Proposed Changes to Section 5 Sustainable Buildings Policy For Buildings Owned and Occupied by the City 5. Construction of buildings owned and occupied by the City may be exempt from LEED-NC certification based on a finding that certification would not be economically sustainable. The ability to fund public building projects must also meet the test of reasonableness. In the case where certification at the Silver level is not cost-neutral, the requirement for certification may be decreased to a ”Certified” level or waived if (a) [if] the costs related to certification are more than 10% above the estimated cost of construction without those measures, or (b) [if] the additional costs are related to sustainability goals and certification requirements which have not been formally accepted by an external organization providing the majority of funding for a City project[,]; and (c) in addition to (a) or (b), the City Council approves the exemption. To ensure the application of this exemption is used judiciously, a finding of the need for certification at lower than the Silver level or waiver of the certification re- quirement will be made prior to construction of a project. L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060814\S0608142C.doc ATTACHMENT C RESOLUTION NO. 4884 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING A SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS POLICY FOR BUILDINGS OWNED AND OCCUPIED BY THE CITY. The City Council of the City of Eugene finds as follows: A. On February 28, 2000, the Eugene City Council adopted Resolution No. 4618 which defined “sustainability” and set out a statement of intent regarding the application of sustainability principles to the City of Eugene. That Resolution also affirmed the commitment of City elected officials and City staff to upholding those principles. B. The principles of sustainability recognize the interdependence of the built and natural environments, providing the framework and tools to build and operate facilities in an efficient, healthy, and ecologically responsible manner. Green buildings are important in that they seek to harness natural energy flows and biological processes, reduce or eliminate reliance on fossil fuels and toxic materials, and improve resource efficiency. C. When applied to the siting, design, construction, maintenance and operation of buildings, sustainable principles 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. D. It is in the public interest to adopt a sustainable buildings policy for buildings owned and occupied by the City in order to demonstrate the City’s commitment to enhance the region’s environmental resources, and to yield cost savings to the taxpayers through reduced operating costs. NOW, THEREFORE, based upon the above findings, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EUGENE, a Municipal Corporation of the State of Oregon, as follows: Section 1. The Sustainable Buildings Policy for Buildings Owned and Occupied by the City attached as Exhibit A is adopted. Section 2 . A copy of this Resolution shall be appended to Resolution No. 4618. Section 3 . This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption. The foregoing Resolution adopted the 10th day of July, 2006. ___________________________________ City Recorder L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060814\S0608142C.doc Resolution 4884 - Exhibit A Sustainable Buildings Policy For Buildings Owned and Occupied by the City Purpose The purpose of a Citywide policy on sustainable buildings is to demonstrate the City of Eugene’s commitment to environmental, economic, and social stewardship, to yield cost savings to the City’s taxpayers through reduced operating costs, to provide healthy work environments for staff and visitors, and to contribute to the City’s goals of protecting, conserving, and enhancing the region’s environmental resources. Additionally, the City is in a position to set a community standard of sustainable buildings practices. Policy 1. The City of Eugene shall incorporate principles of sustainability in the planning, financing, siting, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of buildings owned and occupied by the City and associated facilities. TM a. All City of Eugene buildings and facilities should use the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) as a guide for the sustainable operation and maintenance of City buildings. Implementing LEED-EB criteria on an inventory-wide basis is intended to maximize sustainability benefits within existing resources, and provide a means of benchmarking environmental and financial performance improvements in City practices. Certification of existing buildings under LEED-EB will be evaluated for technical and economic feasibility and pursued at the highest feasible level of certification on a case-by-case basis as funding is available. b. All new construction and additions encompassing 10,000 gross square feet or more of building area TM should achieve a Silver certification level of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System for New Construction (LEED-NC). A higher equivalent rating (Gold or Platinum) should be sought where practicable as funding is available. c. New construction encompassing less than 10,000 gross square feet of building area should achieve the equivalent of at least a LEED Silver certification level where technically feasible. Projects of any size for which certification is not feasible due to technical reasons, should use LEED-NC as a guide to incorporate as many sustainable features as economically feasible. d. Building renovation projects should use LEED-NC as a guide and will be evaluated for certification on a case-by-case basis, as the feasibility of incorporating sustainable features within the context of the existing building will vary widely from project to project. 2. It is City policy that sustainability elements should be considered part of the standard costs of building, renovating, and preserving public assets. One of the goals adopted by the City Council is that ongoing financial resources will be adequate to maintain and deliver municipal services, including funding for the planning, siting, design, construction, maintenance, and operation of City buildings and associated facilities. Budgeting for new construction, renovations and additions to City facilities should include the costs of incorporating sustainable features and achieving certification goals. 3. Implementing LEED criteria and achieving certification will be at the highest level technically and economically feasible. The feasibility of incorporating sustainable features and achieving LEED certifications L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060814\S0608142C.doc will be based on whether criteria can technically be implemented, and where there is a net economic benefit. Building sustainably may increase the initial cost of public building construction, renovation and, potentially, preservation. However, many sustainable features reduce long-term costs of building operation and maintenance. The City will use life-cycle cost and length of payback of initial costs to determine economic feasibility. 4. The level of LEED certification for projects requiring the City to obtain financing will be identified at the time the project budget is adopted by Council. By establishing the level of LEED performance during the budget process, any additional costs of LEED certification can be included in the project financing. 5. Construction of buildings owned and occupied by the City may be exempt from LEED-NC certification based on a finding that certification would not be economically sustainable. The ability to fund public building pro- jects must also meet the test of reasonableness. In the case where certification at the Silver level is not cost- neutral, the requirement for certification may be decreased to a ”Certified” level or waived a) if the costs related to certification are more than 10% above the estimated cost of construction without those measures, b) if the additional costs are related to sustainability goals and certification requirements which have not been and c) the formally accepted by an external organization providing the majority of funding for a City project, City Council approves theexemption. To ensure the application of this exemption is used judiciously, a finding of the need for certification at lower than the Silver level or waiver of the certification requirement will be made prior to construction of a project. 6. A report evaluating the City’s implementation of sustainable building practices will be submitted to Council each year. To ensure that the City-wide application of the sustainable building policy is implemented in the most cost-effective way, the application of the policy needs to be monitored, and the performance of the various City programs with building activities evaluated and reported annually to the City Council. L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060814\S0608142C.doc