The Green Building Program was approved by the Los Angeles City Council in 2008.
Requirement
- Meet the intent of the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Certified level. (Formal certification by the USGBC is not required.)
- Project team must include a LEED® Accredited Professional (LEED® AP). Information about local consultants can be obtained at: www.usgbc.org.
- Both by-right and discretionary projects must receive clearance prior to the issuance of a building permit.
Subject Projects
- A new non-residential building or structure of 50,000 gross square feet or more of floor area; or
- A new mixed use or residential building of 50,000 gross square feet or more of floor area in excess of six stories; or
- The alteration or rehabilitation of 50,000 gross square feet or more of floor area in an existing non-residential building for which construction costs exceed a valuation of 50 percent of the replacement cost of the existing building; or
- The alteration of at least 50 dwelling units in an existing mixed-use or residential building seven stories or more, which has at least 50,000 gross square feet of floor area, for which construction costs exceed a valuation of 50 percent of the replacement cost of the existing building.
LEED® is comprised of various Rating Systems designed by the USGBC that establish green development standards. The existing Rating Systems include: New Construction (NC), Existing Buildings (EB), Commercial Interiors (CI), Core and Shell (CS) and Homes (H).
Southern California-based Shangri-La Industries and Thompson National Properties are forming a $100 million fund to make buildings more environmentally friendly and energy efficient – a big chunk of money for the growing green building industry. The companies’ $100 million Green Building Fund will be aimed at “value-add commercial and industrial assets that can be retrofitted, repositioned or redeveloped as energy efficient and environmentally sustainable,” according to the companies’ news release.
CALIFORNIA GREEN INNOVATION INDEX (2009): The Index provides insight on a California culture that includes three decades of ambitious state environmental and energy policies, putting California on a path to energy independence and one of the lowest per capita carbon footprints in the nation, all the while growing one of the most vigorous economies in the world.