2-H. POLICY FOR SUSTAINABLE CITY FACILITIES.pdf

POLICY FOR SUSTAINABLE CITY FACILITIES

Policy Statement:

The City of Charlotte (“City”) is committed to environmental, economic, and social stewardship of City buildings and facilities and continues to demonstrate environmental leadership in the community. Effective July 1, 2016 all newly constructed City-owned, City-managed and City-funded occupied buildings and major renovations (5,000 SF and greater) and any size renovation impacting major building systems associated with energy consumption will be designed and constructed to meet LEED Version 4 Certification Level, as a minimum and where applicable, be formally LEED certified, and achieve Designed to Earn ENERGY STAR Certification. In addition, through consultation with the Sustainable Facilities Oversight Team (SFOT), city Staff will choose existing City-owned facilities to become LEED Existing Building: Operations & Maintenance (EBOM) certified and achieve ENERGY STAR Certification over a 10-year phased approach. Staff’s work under this Policy will be guided by the City’s sustainability goals, as detailed in the Policy.

The SFOT made the determination to require a certification recognizing the value the process will bring to the City’s goal of being a global environmental leader. LEED, Green Globes or an equivalent certification process brings several benefits to the building and renovation process; these certifications have become customary practice in the building community as entities have seen the proven benefits and reduction of associated premium costs. Recognized benefits include:

• A comprehensive industry-accepted process and framework to guide design, building, renovation, operation and maintenance; and

• A community of professionals to offer support, guidance and practical experience; and

• Access to the latest technologies and practices; and

• A vehicle to measure the city against other municipal environmental leaders globally; and

• A rigorous third-party commissioning process; and

• An ongoing method to assist with measurement, verification, recording and reporting of sustainable features;

and

• Cost savings and improved working conditions; and

• A consistent city-wide method by which the city will design, construct, renovate operate and maintain its occupied facilities.

However, recognizing that no system is perfect, SFOT has written the policy to allow for flexibility where a certification process conflicts with the City’s environmental, economic or societal values.

Policy Purpose:

This Policy for Sustainable Facilities (“Policy”) is intended to direct City staff to locate, design, construct, operate and maintain sustainable City-owned, City-managed, and City-funded facilities, which meet the functionality and service delivery needs of the citizens of Charlotte while minimizing environmental impacts and conserving and protecting all resources, now and in the future. Sustainable facilities not only provide environmental benefits to the community, they result in economic savings to the City, support the region’s sustainable building industry, and protect occupant health, maximize productivity and encourage sustainable employee behaviors. All these elements are crucial for staff to address when striving to achieve the City Council’s goal of Charlotte becoming a global leader in environmental sustainability.

Definitions:

City-owned, managed, and/or funded: Facilities owned, managed or provided funding by the City.

Designed to Earn ENERGY STAR: Recognizes a design project that meets strict EPA criteria for estimated energy performance. It signifies that, once built, the building is poised to achieve top energy performance and will be eligible to earn ENERGY STAR certification.

ENERGY STAR Certification: Recognizes an existing building that meets strict EPA criteria for estimated energy performance. It signifies the building achieves top energy performance.

Internal Environmental Operations Plan: The City’s organizational framework and guiding document that sets goals and priorities aimed at making the City’s internal operations more environmentally responsible, efficient and cost effective.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design): Consensus based generalized point rating system for locating, designing, constructing, operating and certifying sustainable buildings. Rating system addresses environmental predetermined categories that include sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental policy, design and process innovation, and LEED Accredited Professional.

LEED-EBOM: Consensus based generalized point rating system for ongoing operations and maintenance of existing commercial and institutional buildings. The certification system identifies and rewards current best practices and provides an outline for buildings to use less energy, water and natural resources; improve the indoor environment;

and uncover operating inefficiencies.

Major Renovation: A renovation of at least 5,000 square feet of internal occupied space involving significant Mechanical, electrical & plumbing features of the facility.

New Construction: City-owned buildings and facilities that are to be planned and constructed on a new or existing site, including, but not limited to, new office, arena, and fire and police stations.

Occupied facility/space: A facility or enclosed space providing for human activity on a regular basis, including parking decks.

The SFOT: The Sustainable Facilities Oversight Team, an inter-departmental team responsible for the oversight & implementation of the Policy for Sustainable City Facilities.

Uniquely cost prohibitive: A cost premium greater than a 5% of the total project budget, due to the inclusion of sustainable features & associated design fees per certification of new and existing facilities.

Process:

Provided below are thirteen points that constitute the Policy. Appendix A, which is incorporated by reference, provides more detail on several of these points to better explain the intent and provide ease of implementation.

1. This Policy designates the use of the LEED™ Version 4 rating system and Designed to Earn ENERGY STAR, which provides measuring tools to ensure the City’s commitment to sustainable facilities and major renovation projects.

2. This Policy shall be guided by the City’s sustainability priorities, as outlined in the Internal Environmental Operations Plan, including:

• Preservation and restoration of natural resources, e.g., land, streams and trees; and

• Conservation of water resources and protection of water quality; and

• Reduction of energy use and carbon footprint in facilities and fleet; and

• Maximization of transportation alternatives; and

• Leading by example & encouragement of local sustainability industry; and

• Practicing waste minimization and recycling and implementing environmentally conscious practices in the supply chain; and

• Implementation of regulatory best practices while raising employee awareness; and

• Protecting occupant health, maximize productivity & encouraging sustainable Employee behaviors;

and

• Enhancing opportunities for employees to be environmental stewards.

3. Design and project management teams for all qualifying projects are required to:

• Meet LEED™ v4 Certification level or higher; and

• Submit project specific SFOT LEED™ checklist to the SFOT for approval after schematic design (35%) and construction documentation (95%); and

• Include proposed LEED™ Certification level with Request for Council Actions for design award, include approved LEED™ checklist with Request for Council Actions for construction award; and address Policy consistency on a project basis; and

• Look for opportunities to co-locate facilities, e.g., NBS and CMPD facilities, and seek innovation points under the certification process; and

• Include as a separate budget item for all capital funding requests submitted to Budget and Evaluation for new construction or major renovations, life cycle costs and benefits estimates for any sustainable features to be involved in the project, including the cost of the third-party certification, e.g., LEED, Green Globes. All submitted capital facilities funding requests will compete with other City capital needs for available funding; and

• Make every effort, to ensure that environmentally sustainable features are the last items considered for removal during value-engineering process, if the need shall arise.

4. This Policy allows for an exemption if compliance with one or more policies set forth above is demonstrated as uniquely cost prohibitive (due to site constraints, building or zoning regulations, or other unique conditions that cannot be reasonably overcome). Under these circumstances, the relevant Department head(s) in collaboration with the project management team may request the SFOT to approve an exemption from the Policy. If an exemption is granted, the design and project management team is expected to include as many sustainable features as possible and must submit a LEEDTM Version 4 scorecard indicating the sustainable features included. Commissioning is expected on exempted projects.

5. Departments may request for SFOT consideration and approval, the use of an alternative rating system to LEED™ Version 4, if appropriate.

6. This Policy directs each Department responsible for the location, design, construction, operation and maintenance of City facilities to annually report through the City’s Internal Environmental Operations Plan:

a. Achievements in sustainable design and construction; and

b. Performance of their Facility Portfolio against standardized benchmarks.

7. This Policy further requires that any staff member with facility construction or renovation project management responsibilities will earn the credential of LEED™ Green Associate or demonstrate an equivalent level of training and/or experience in the area of sustainable facilities. Department heads shall submit to the SFOT a list of these City staff and a schedule for them to earn the credential.

8. This Policy encompasses existing facilities and advocates a “Fix-it-First” focus when addressing repair and replacement of existing occupied facilities, in accordance with the City’s Community Investment Plan Program Policies for developing and implementing the CIP. This allows the City to meet energy reduction and sustainability goals while minimizing the need to build new facilities.

9. This Policy shall emphasize a site location and selection process that considers the adaptive re-use of existing City-owned and community resources (existing structures, available infrastructure, and brownfield/grayfield real properties) over the development of new facilities/structures and the development of greenfield sites. Derived resource savings that are realized shall be documented, and innovative points shall be allocated to the projects as part of the certification process.

10. Departments responsible for the operation, maintenance, and repair of existing occupied facilities shall:

a. Achieve & annually renew Energy Star Certification for all eligible City-owned occupied facilities;

and

b. Utilize LEED™ EBOM as a guidance tool; and

c. Seek LEED™ EBOM certification as deemed appropriate by City staff in consultation with the SFOT;

and

d. Energy Star Certification, or an equivalent, is necessary to proceed with LEED™ EBOM Certification. A phased 10-year certification process is planned by the SFOT selecting ‘flagship’ facilities from all Departments.

11. All newly constructed City-owned, City-managed and City-funded occupied buildings and major renovations (5,000 SF and greater), and those facilities chosen for LEED EBOM certification, shall have installed at least one communication-enabled level 2 electric vehicle charging station (preferably with two charging ports).

Where practicable, this station(s) will be publicly accessible. In certain situations, e.g., proximity to interstates, Departments should consider installing DC fast charging stations.

12. A Pay as You Go Fund to support staff’s LEED EBOM work is to be established. Each fiscal year, per the SFOT’s recommendation and as funds are available, City Council will appropriate funds to support this work.

Enterprise funds will establish a funding source to support the work in their respective departments: CATS;

Storm Water Services; Aviation; Charlotte Water; and CRVA.

13. The SFOT will review this Policy annually to determine the need for revisions due to changes in Council’s Sustainability Priorities or Goals, the availability of tools for designing sustainable facilities, the roles prescribed by the Policy, etc.

POLICY FOR SUSTAINABLE CITY FACILITIES