Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 4887 =~::::.... COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 4887 A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS POLICY ADOPTED BY RESOLUTION NO. 4884. PASSED: 8:0 REJECTED: OPPOSED: ABSENT: RECUSED: CONSIDERED: August 14, 2006 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 14th day of August, 2006. 10\ Cl ~ City Recor~ Resolution 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 com- mitment 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 con- tribute 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. 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 tech- nical 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 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. Proj ects 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 certifica- tion 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 certi- fications will be based on whether criteria can technically be implemented, and where there is a net Sustainable Buildings Policy -- Exhibit A to Resolution No. 4887 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 ini- tial 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 certifica- tion 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) 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 provid- ing 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. Sustainable Buildings Policy -- Exhibit A to Resolution No. 4887