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<br />majDr renovation projects to be certified LEED
<br />Silver status and for all city-supported develop-
<br />ment projects to be LEED certified. The city
<br />adopted these task force recommendations the
<br />following month.
<br />In the Boston zDning cDde, all proposals
<br />subject tD Large Project Review under Article
<br />80B must meet this new requirement, unless
<br />they entered the review process prior to the
<br />first public notice on the zoning change. The
<br />same exception applies to Development
<br />Impact Project plan and planned development
<br />area development plan applicatiDns.
<br />"Large projects have the greatest envi-
<br />ronmental impacts and the greatest opportu-
<br />nities to improve," says John Dalzell, senior
<br />architect with the Boston Redevelopment
<br />Authority. "AdditiDnally, with larger and more
<br />advanced project planning teams, their ability
<br />to change practice and lead the industry was
<br />far better than smaller project teams. And
<br />finally, these projects already undergo a sig-
<br />nificant development review process; the new
<br />regulations present little or no additional per-
<br />mitting burdens."
<br />Large Project Review addresses eight
<br />components: transportation, environmental
<br />protection, urban design, historic resources,
<br />infrastructure systems, site plan, tidelands,
<br />and development impact project. Prior to this
<br />amendment the environmental protection
<br />component included a section on green build-
<br />ing, which involved an a'ssessment of the proj-
<br />ect to determine if it complied with LEED,
<br />which rating system was most appropriate,
<br />and the level of environmental perfDrmance
<br />that the building would achieve. While the city
<br />did ask develDpment teams to submit LEED
<br />score sheets fDr their projects, accDrding tD
<br />Dalzell; "this was not required nDr did we set
<br />a minimum Dutcome Dr sCDre."
<br />Numerous cities have adopted LEED cer-
<br />tificatiDn requirements fDr municipal and
<br />other public buildings. But only a handful of
<br />cities have incDrporated LEED certification
<br />requirements into their zoning ordinances,
<br />and before Boston joined this group, they
<br />focused Dnly on height and density bonuses.
<br />This appears to be the start Df a trend in
<br />the region and across the cDuntry. According
<br />to David Dixon, FAICP, of Goody Clancy, the city
<br />of Cambridge, MassachusellS, is in the
<br />process of adopting comparable zoning, and
<br />other cities in which he is working "are con-
<br />sidering or are already well along toward
<br />incorporating certification into zDning as a
<br />
<br />source of incentives or directly into codes ,Dr
<br />other regulatory tools as a precondition tD
<br />building approvals."
<br />In addition to LEED, Boston has its own
<br />credit system. The Boston Green Building
<br />Credits program covers four categories: mod-
<br />ern grid, histDric preservation, groundwater
<br />recharge, and modern !nDbility. To be eligi-
<br />ble for these credits, developers must sub-
<br />mit a plan to the BRA that meets certain
<br />Boston Public Health Commission prerequi.
<br />sites. For this zoning amendment, four of the
<br />26 credits required for minimum LEED certifi-
<br />cation may be Boston Green Building
<br />Credits, with one point awarded for each of
<br />the four categories.
<br />
<br />The 8ostonGreen
<br />
<br />BuUding Task Force
<br />. '--
<br />
<br />recommended requiring
<br />all city-owned new
<br />
<br />. " . l .
<br />COnSTrUCT10n ana major
<br />renovation projects to
<br />be certified LEED Silver
<br />
<br />.1. _:::--V'-,'lr~nj
<br />stalus anLllul dd ,--lLy-
<br />
<br />supported development
<br />projects to be LEED
<br />certified.
<br />
<br />The BRA will ensure compliance with
<br />Article 37 through its overall Large Project
<br />Review authority under Article 80, Section
<br />80B-6. A Boston Interagency Green Building
<br />Committee, created by Article 37, advises the
<br />BRA. The committee includes city agencies
<br />involved in the building and permitting
<br />process.
<br />''The codification of sustainability into
<br />zoning and building codes will help urban
<br />designers return to a broader focus that inte-
<br />grates sustainability into a wide range of
<br />urban design concerns that touch on the full '
<br />range of human experience and quality of life
<br />as well as our responsibility to the natural
<br />environment," says DixDn. "Any increased
<br />attention to sustainability, in fomn of green
<br />building, inGeased transit funding, emphasis
<br />on TOD [transit-oriented ,development], or in
<br />other fomns generally has a very positive
<br />impact on urban design."
<br />
<br />This is just the first step that the mayor
<br />plans tD take with regard to green building in
<br />Boston. "The mayor has set a progressive and
<br />aggressive vision for Boston to become a
<br />leader in green buildings on a regional,
<br />national, and international level," says
<br />DalzelL "As the building industry and market
<br />adapts tD [these new] regulations the city will
<br />look at actions that improve performance and
<br />expand [this] practice across the city and
<br />across sectors."
<br />Because these projects typically spend at
<br />least a year in the project planning and pemnit-
<br />ting phases, the city is still waiting to find out
<br />the outcomes. However, they have noted an
<br />increase in the number of projec'"lS seeking tEED
<br />certification, and anecdotally have heard "if we
<br />are going to do it, let's getthe full credit."
<br />
<br />Megan Lewis, A/CP, is a senior research associate
<br />at the American Planning Association. She is
<br />project manager for an APA research effort
<br />examining the connections betweenenei-gy and
<br />planning titled Planning Our Way to a New
<br />Energy Future. For more information, see the
<br />project website at www.planning.orgjenergy.
<br />
<br />
<br />VOL 21l. !~C~. C
<br />
<br />Z::;ning PractiCE is a mer;thty pub~k_=tbfi of the
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<br />P..merkan Piar,r:;ng AS5oclatkH1. 5ubscti~tjo~s
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<br />P2Ut i=arm;r~ FAiC? Execui:3ve D~rectc:; \f!!Ei1arn R.
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<br />Ki.e~n, Ale;::, Dir:?CtOi" CrT Research.
<br />
<br />Zoning Practice (ISSN 1548-0135) is produced at
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