SITESv2_RatingSystem

SITES v2 Rating System For Sustainable Land Design and Development

SITES v2 Rating System For Sustainable Land Design and Development

IMAGE CREDITS:

Front cover, clockwise from upper left:

American University School of International Service, Washington D.C.

Green roof, photo by Paul Davis

The Woodland Discovery Playground at Shelby Farms, Memphis, Tennessee Net and tree house adventure nest, photo courtesy of James Corner Field Operations

National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) Research Support Facility, Golden, Colorado Access bridges over bioswales within eastern plaza, photo by Robb Williamson courtesy of RNL

Blue Hole Regional Park, Wimberley, Texas Blue Hole swimming area, photo by Tim Campbell, Design Workshop

George ‘Doc’ Cavalliere Park, Scottsdale, Arizona Seating area with LED lights at dusk, photo by Bill Timmerman, Timmerman Photography

Cornell University’s Mann Library Entrance, Ithaca, New York New seating area outside Mann Library, photo by Nina Bassuk

Back cover, clockwise from upper left:

Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden at Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina Pergola in the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden, photo by Rick Fisher’s Photography

Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado View toward Visitor and Research Center, photo by National Park Service

Novus International Headquarters Campus, St. Charles, Missouri The pavilion overlooking the improved aquatic habitat, photo by SWT Design

Center for Sustainable Landscapes at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Center for Sustainable Landscapes with lagoon, boardwalk, and terraced gardens, photo by Denmarsh Photography, Inc.

Taylor Residence, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania Meditative garden labyrinth, photo by Mark Gormel

Cover flap, clockwise from upper left:

Grand Valley State University (GVSU) Student Recreation Fields, Allendale, Michigan Wildlife inhabiting the established stormwater bay, photo by Andy Schwallier, FTC&H

SWT Design Campus, St. Louis, Missouri Green roof garden showcasing many native Missouri plants, photo by SWT Design

The Green at College Park at The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas Shade structures and muhly grass garden, photo by Amar Thakkar

Scenic Hudson’s Long Dock Park, Beacon, New York Sunset at Trakas’ Beacon Point, photo by Robert Rodriguez, Jr.

Copyright © 2014 by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center of The University of Texas at Austin, the U.S. Botanic Garden, and the American Society of Landscape Architects. All rights reserved.

The SITES v2 Rating System is intended for use by persons engaged in sustainable land design and development. Such persons may use the material contained in the SITES v2 Rating System for the limited purpose of applying the guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design and development under the following conditions:

• Attribution: Material must be attributed to the Sustainable Sites Initiative.

• No Derivative Works: The material may not be altered, transformed, or built upon.

• Noncommercial: The material may not be used for commer-cial purposes.

Since 2006, the Sustainable Sites Initiative has conducted extensive research, worked with panels of experts, and conducted a pilot program to create guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design and development that can be applied on a site-by-site basis worldwide. This effort resulted in development of the SITES v2 Rating System and Reference Guide.

The SITES v2 Rating System is modeled after and aligned with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating SystemTM and draws from certain LEED resource materials such as the LEED Reference Guides authored by the U.S. Green Building Council® (USGBC®).

Representatives of USGBC participated in the development of SITES v2. Any LEED content incorporated into SITES v2 or related SITES materials are used with the permission of

USGBC.

LEED is the preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. Copyrights in the LEED Reference Guides and in the LEED Rating Systems, and the trademarks LEED, U.S. Green Building Council and USGBC, are the property of the U.S. Green Building Council, Inc.

TRADEMARk ACkNoWLEDGMENT

The Sustainable Sites Initiative™ and SITES™ are trademarks of The University of Texas at Austin. For more information, contact the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

iiiSITES v2 Rating System

Table of Contents

I. oVERVIEW oF SITES ...............................................................................................vi

Ecosystem Services: The Framework for SITES v2 .................................................ix

The Goals for SITES v2 ...........................................................................................xii

II. THE SITES V2 PRoCESS .......................................................................................xiii

Eligible Sites: Where and When to Use SITES v2 ..................................................xiv

How to Use and Understand SITES v2 ..................................................................xiv

Where to Start ........................................................................................................xxi

Certification ...........................................................................................................xxv

Updates and Addenda ..........................................................................................xxv

SECTIoN 1: SITE CoNTEXT

Context Prerequisite 1.1: Limit development on farmland (Required)

Context Prerequisite 1.2: Protect floodplain functions (Required)

Context Prerequisite 1.3: Conserve aquatic ecosystems (Required)

Context Prerequisite 1.4: Conserve habitats for threatened and endangered species (Required)

Context Credit 1.5: Redevelop degraded sites (3 – 6 points)

Context Credit 1.6: Locate projects within existing developed areas (4 points)

Context Credit 1.7: Connect to multi-modal transit networks (2 – 3 points)

SECTIoN 2: PRE-DESIGN ASSESSMENT + PLANNING

Pre-Design Prerequisite 2.1: Use an integrative design process (Required)

Pre-Design Prerequisite 2.2: Conduct a pre-design site assessment (Required)

Pre-Design Prerequisite 2.3: Designate and communicate Vegetation and Soil Protection Zones (Required)

Pre-Design Credit 2.4: Engage users and stakeholders (3 points)

SECTIoN 3: SITE DESIGN—Water

Water Prerequisite 3.1: Manage precipitation on site (Required)

Water Prerequisite 3.2: Reduce water use for landscape irrigation (Required)

Water Credit 3.3: Manage precipitation beyond baseline (4 – 6 points)

Water Credit 3.4: Reduce outdoor water use (4 – 6 points)

Water Credit 3.5: Design functional stormwater features as amenities (4 – 5 points)

Water Credit 3.6: Restore aquatic ecosystems (4 – 6 points) ivSITES v2 Rating System

SECTIoN 4: SITE DESIGN—Soil + Vegetation

Soil+Veg Prerequisite 4.1: Create and communicate a soil management plan (Required)

Soil+Veg Prerequisite 4.2: Control and manage invasive plants (Required)

Soil+Veg Prerequisite 4.3: Use appropriate plants (Required)

Soil+Veg Credit 4.4: Conserve healthy soils and appropriate vegetation (4 – 6 points)

Soil+Veg Credit 4.5: Conserve special status vegetation (4 points)

Soil+Veg Credit 4.6: Conserve and use native plants (3 – 6 points)

Soil+Veg Credit 4.7: Conserve and restore native plant communities (4 – 6 points)

Soil+Veg Credit 4.8: Optimize biomass (1 – 6 points)

Soil+Veg Credit 4.9: Reduce urban heat island effects (4 points)

Soil+Veg Credit 4.10: Use vegetation to minimize building energy use (1 – 4 points)

Soil+Veg Credit 4.11: Reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire (4 points)

SECTIoN 5: SITE DESIGN—Materials Selection

Materials Prerequisite 5.1: Eliminate the use of wood from threatened tree species (Required)

Materials Credit 5.2: Maintain on-site structures and paving (2 – 4 points)

Materials Credit 5.3: Design for adaptability and disassembly (3 – 4 points)

Materials Credit 5.4: Reuse salvaged materials and plants (3 – 4 points)

Materials Credit 5.5: Use recycled content materials (3 – 4 points)

Materials Credit 5.6: Use regional materials (3 – 5 points)

Materials Credit 5.7: Support responsible extraction of raw materials (1 – 5 points)

Materials Credit 5.8: Support transparency and safer chemistry (1 – 5 points)

Materials Credit 5.9: Support sustainability in materials manufacturing (1 – 5 points)

Materials Credit 5.10: Support sustainability in plant production (1 – 5 points)

SECTIoN 6: SITE DESIGN—Human Health + Well-Being

HHWB Credit 6.1: Protect and maintain cultural and historic places (2 – 3 points)

HHWB Credit 6.2: Provide optimum site accessibility, safety, and wayfinding (2 points)

HHWB Credit 6.3: Promote equitable site use (2 points)

HHWB Credit 6.4: Support mental restoration (2 points)

HHWB Credit 6.5: Support physical activity (2 points)

HHWB Credit 6.6: Support social connection (2 points)

HHWB Credit 6.7: Provide on-site food production (3 – 4 points)

HHWB Credit 6.8: Reduce light pollution (4 points)

HHWB Credit 6.9: Encourage fuel efficient and multi-modal transportation (4 points) vSITES v2 Rating System

HHWB Credit 6.10: Minimize exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (1 – 2 points)

HHWB Credit 6.11: Support local economy (3 points)

SECTIoN 7: CoNSTRUCTIoN

Construction Prerequisite 7.1: Communicate and verify sustainable construction practices (Required)

Construction Prerequisite 7.2: Control and retain construction pollutants (Required)

Construction Prerequisite 7.3: Restore soils disturbed during construction (Required)

Construction Credit 7.4: Restore soils disturbed by previous development (3 – 5 points)

Construction Credit 7.5: Divert construction and demolition materials from disposal (3 – 4 points)

Construction Credit 7.6: Divert reusable vegetation, rocks, and soil from disposal (3 – 4 points)

Construction Credit 7.7: Protect air quality during construction (2 – 4 points)

SECTIoN 8: oPERATIoNS + MAINTENANCE

O+M Prerequisite 8.1: Plan for sustainable site maintenance (Required)

O+M Prerequisite 8.2: Provide for storage and collection of recyclables (Required)

O+M Credit 8.3: Recycle organic matter (3 – 5 points)

O+M Credit 8.4: Minimize pesticide and fertilizer use (4 – 5 points)

O+M Credit 8.5: Reduce outdoor energy consumption (2 – 4 points)

O+M Credit 8.6: Use renewable sources for landscape electricity needs (3 – 4 points)

O+M Credit 8.7: Protect air quality during landscape maintenance (2 – 4 points)

SECTIoN 9: EDUCATIoN + PERFoRMANCE MoNIToRING

Education Credit 9.1: Promote sustainability awareness and education (3 – 4 points)

Education Credit 9.2: Develop and communicate a case study (3 points)

Education Credit 9.3: Plan to monitor and report site performance (4 points)

SECTIoN 10: INNoVATIoN oR EXEMPLARY PERFoRMANCE

Innovation C10.1: Innovation or exemplary performance (3–9 bonus points)

III. GLoSSARY

IV. ACkNoWLEDGMENTS viSITES v2 Rating System viSITES v2 Rating System

I. overview of SITES

As the world’s population grows, so does the pace of urbanization and development.

What is built on the land profoundly impacts ecological systems as well as the health, safety, and welfare of our communities. Too often, however, landscapes, infrastructure, and buildings are designed without regard to their harmful impacts on scarce resources, underlying ecological systems, and quality of life in the community. A systematic comprehensive set of guidelines and a rating system is needed to define sustainable sites, measure their performance, and ultimately elevate the value of landscapes.

The Sustainable Sites Initiative™ (SITES™) is a program based on the understanding that land is a crucial component of the built environment and can be planned, designed, developed, and maintained to avoid, mitigate, and even reverse these detrimental impacts. Sustainable landscapes create ecologically resilient communities better able to withstand and recover from episodic floods, droughts, wildfires, and other catastrophic events. They benefit the environment, property owners, and local and regional communities and economies.

In contrast to buildings, built landscapes and green infrastructure have the capacity to protect and even regenerate natural systems, thereby increasing the ecosystem services they provide. These services are the beneficial functions of healthy ecosystems such as sequestering carbon, filtering air and water, and regulating climate. Their economic value is highly significant, yet the cost of replacing these functions is rarely reflected in conventional decision-making. For example, wetlands filter pollutants and provide protection against storm surges and flooding. When wetlands are lost to development, new and costly levees, pipes, and pollution-control technology must perform the functions those wetlands previously provided naturally. Nevertheless, estimates for a project’s total cost or value typically include neither these subsequent expenses nor additional benefits such as wildlife habitat.

By aligning land design and development practices with the functions of healthy ecosystems, the SITES program demonstrates how the work of developers, property owners, landscape architects, engineers, planners, architects, and others can protect, restore, and enhance ecosystem services. For environmental designers, their clients, and the general public, SITES offers several significant benefits and values: 1) it advances best practices in landscape architecture and other environmental design professions,

2) it may help design professionals fulfill their health, safety, and welfare responsibilities for licensure, 3) clients can be assured that their project has achieved rigorous, field-tested standards for sustainability, 4) clients can market the SITES certification of their projects (as many do for the LEED® green building program), and 5) it is ethically responsible, protects natural systems for present-day use and appreciation, and preserves ecosystems and their essential services for future generations.

The central message of the SITES program is that any project—whether the site of a university campus, large subdivision, shopping mall, park, commercial center, or even a home—holds the potential to protect, improve, and regenerate the benefits and services provided by healthy ecosystems.

viiSITES v2 Rating System

SITES provides guidance and incentives that can transform land development and management practices towards regenerative design. The United States Botanic Garden, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin, and the American Society of Landscape Architects have led the development of these guidelines, which involves numerous other organizations and individuals. Development of the SITES v2 Rating System has been a collaborative, interdisciplinary effort made possible by the input of more than 70 dedicated contributors, including technical advisors, practitioners, and representatives of professional, advocacy, and educational organizations.

Since 2007, SITES has published three reports containing draft guidelines and performance benchmarks followed by extensive review of public comments. Following the release of the Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks 2009 (version 1), this Rating System was field-tested through a two-year pilot program that involved more than 160 projects. Information and knowledge gained from participating pilot projects informed the development of the SITES v2 Rating System. The SITES Rating System is intended to be a living product that will evolve over time as research and experience generate more knowledge.

This document contains the SITES v2 Rating System with credits in an abbreviated format. It is intended to introduce readers to the main goals and requirements of sustain-able land design and development within the structure of the Rating System.

For more insight and an in-depth view of the SITES v2 Rating System, please read the SITES v2 Reference Guide (www.sustainablesites.org).

viiiSITES v2 Rating System

SITES GUIDING PRINCIPLES

These principles informed the development of specific and measurable criteria for site sustainability, and can also be applied to the land design and development process.

Do no harm.

Make no changes to the site that will degrade the surrounding environment. Promote sustainable design projects on sites where previous disturbance or development presents an opportunity to regenerate ecosystem services through sustainable design.

Apply the precautionary principle.

Be cautious in making decisions that could threaten human and environmental health. Some actions can cause irreversible damage. Examine a full range of alternatives (including no action), and be open to contributions from all potentially affected parties.

Design with nature and culture.

Create and implement designs that are responsive to economic, environmental, and cultural conditions and to the local, regional, and global context.

Use a decision-making hierarchy of preservation, conservation, and regeneration.

Maximize the benefit of ecosystem services by preserving existing environmental features, conserving resources in a sustainable manner, and regenerating lost or damaged ecosystem services.

Provide regenerative systems as intergenerational equity.

Provide future generations with a sustainable environment supported by regenerative systems and endowed with regenerative resources.

Support a living process.

Continuously re-evaluate assumptions and values, and adapt to demographic and environmental change.

Use a systems thinking approach.

Understand and value the relationships in an ecosystem. Use an approach that reflects and sustains ecosystem services and re-establishes the integral and essential relationship between natural processes and human activity.

Use a collaborative and ethical approach.

Encourage direct and open communication among colleagues, clients, manufacturers, and users to link long-term sustainability with ethical responsibility.

Maintain integrity in leadership and research.

Implement transparent and participatory leadership; develop research with technical rigor;

and communicate new findings in a clear, consistent, and timely manner.

Foster environmental stewardship.

In all aspects of land development and management, foster an ethic of environmental stewardship—an understanding that responsible management of healthy ecosystems improves the quality of life for present and future generations.

ixSITES v2 Rating System

ECoSYSTEM SERVICES: THE FRAMEWoRk FoR SITES V2

The SITES v2 Rating System, and specifically its site-specific performance benchmarks, is based on the concept of ecosystem services; an understanding of natural processes;

best practices in landscape architecture, ecological restoration, and related fields; and knowledge gained through peer-reviewed literature, case-study precedents, and SITES pilot projects. By achieving these benchmarks, a project will contribute to maintaining, supporting, and enhancing natural systems and the essential services they provide.

The services provided by healthy ecosystems are the unobtrusive foundation of daily life.

Trees help regulate local climate by providing shade and acting as windbreaks. Through evaporation, transpiration, and the uptake and storage of carbon, plants moderate the climate of the world and provide a breathable atmosphere. Thousands of different pollinator species visit their respective flowers and promote the growth of myriad plants and crops. Soils and vegetation purify stormwater as it seeps through to groundwater and underground aquifers. Ecosystem services such as these occur at a variety of scales and in habitats ranging from equatorial rainforests to urban parks. Yet because these services occur largely unseen in the background and can be difficult to measure and monetize, their value is typically ignored in project design and budgeting. As a result, the ecosystem services provided by the site prior to construction are lost. Replacing these services, if it is possible to do so, would require expensive technological solutions.

An accurate accounting must take into consideration how the adoption of sustainable practices can not only be cost effective for both public and private entities but can leverage additional costs and provide multiple benefits. A growing body of research suggests that natural elements within cities and other areas generate ecosystem services that can substantially protect and improve a community’s resiliency and quality of life in a variety of ways and in a range of contexts.

xSITES v2 Rating System

ECoSYSTEM SERVICES

Ecosystem services are goods and services of direct or indirect benefit to humans that are produced by ecosystem processes that involve the interactions of living elements, such as vegetation and soil organisms, and non-living elements such as bedrock, water, and air.

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005 report separated ecosystem services into four categories: Supporting (services that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services), Provisioning (products, such as food and water, obtained from ecosystems), Regulating (benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes such as carbon sequestration), and Cultural (nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences).

Researchers have developed various lists of these benefits and services. The Sustainable Sites Initiative has consolidated the research into the following list of ecosystem services that a sustainable site can protect or regenerate through sustainable land development and management practices.

Global climate regulation

• Maintaining balance of atmospheric gases at historic levels

• Maintaining healthy air quality

• Sequestering carbon

Local climate regulation

• Regulating local temperature, precipitation, and humidity through shading, evapotranspiration, and windbreaks

Air and water cleansing

• Removing and reducing pollutants in air and water

Water supply retention

• Storing and conserving water within watersheds and aquifers

Erosion and sediment control

• Retaining soil within an ecosystem

• Preventing damage from erosion and siltation

Hazard mitigation

• Reducing vulnerability to damage from flooding, storm surge, wildfire, and drought

Pollination

• Providing for the reproduction of crops and other plants

Habitat functions

• Providing refuge and reproduction habitat to plants and animals, contributing to the conservation of biological and genetic diversity and evolutionary processes

Waste decomposition and treatment

• Breaking down waste

• Cycling nutrients

Human health and well-being

• Enhancing physical, mental, and social well-being as a result of interaction with nature

Food and renewable non-food products

• Producing food, fuel, energy, medicine, or other products for human use

Cultural benefits

• Enhancing cultural, educational, aesthetic, and spiritual experiences as a result of interaction with nature xiSITES v2 Rating System

CONSERVE

MANAGE

RESTORE

GENERATE

EXISTING

CONDITIONS

DURING SITES

PROJECT

DEVELOPMENT

FUTURE

CONDITIONS

PERFORMANCE

low high

Built sites can be modeled after healthy systems, thereby increasing the ecosystem services they provide post-development. Landscape performance increases as relationships between soil, vegetation, and organisms mature over long periods of time, becoming more complex and interdependent. The decision-making hierarchy provided by the SITES Guiding Principles (p. ix) gives projects a step-by-step framework for approaching existing site elements in order to conserve, manage, restore, or generate high-functioning ecosystems.

When healthy soil, vegetation, and habitat are found on site, management of these systems should take place to conserve biodiversity and the long-term health and vitality of the site. This management includes ensuring land design and development protect, maintain, and improve existing features (e.g., wetlands, habitat, floodplains) and appropriately remove and manage any undesirable elements (e.g., invasive species), which contribute to the loss of ecosystem function. When features such as large trees or streams have been lost to previous development, restore the landscape to regain performance benefits. On brownfields or previously developed sites with limited ecological activity, opportunities may exist to generate ecosystem services by planting native vegetation or implementing technologies such as raingardens or green roofs. Such management will ensure that future conditions will yield high-performance landscapes that provide ecosystem services.

SITES Decision-Making Hierarchy xiiSiteS v2 Rating System

THE GoALS FoR SITES V2

In the SITES v2 Rating System, a total of 200 potential points are allocated among 48 credits for a given project site. The Rating System reflects each credit’s impact on improving site sustainability and protecting and restoring ecosystem services. Projects will receive SITES certification by achieving the minimum requirements (i.e. prerequisites) and a certain specified number of points for different levels of performance. The value assigned to each credit is based on its potential effectiveness in meeting the four goals outlined below.

SITES GoALS

Create Regenerative Systems and Foster Resiliency

• Protect and restore natural resources such as soil, water, and vegetation.

• Encourage biodiversity.

• Enhance landscapes to provide multiple ecosystem services such as cleaning air and water, providing habitat, and storing carbon.

• Mitigate for evolving hazards and natural disasters.

• Plan for monitoring and adaptive management.

Ensure Future Resource Supply and Mitigate Climate Change

• Minimize energy consumption and encourage use of low carbon and renewable energy sources.

• Minimize or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, heavy metals, chemicals, and other pollutants.

• Reduce, reuse, recycle, and upcycle materials and resources.

• Conserve water.

• Increase the capacity of carbon sinks through re-vegetation.

Transform the Market through Design, Development, and Maintenance Practices

• Foster leadership in industry and professional practice.

• Use a systems-thinking, integrative and collaborative design approach.

• Use lifecycle analyses to inform the design process.

• Support local economies and sustainability policies.

Enhance Human Well-Being and Strengthen Community

• Reconnect humans to nature.

• Improve human health (physical, mental, and spiritual).

• Foster stewardship by providing education that promotes the understanding of natural systems, and recognizes the value of landscapes.

• Encourage cultural integrity and promote regional identity.

• Provide opportunities for community involvement and advocacy.

xiiiSITES v2 Rating System xiiiSITES v2 Rating System

II. The SITES v2 Process

ELIGIBLE SITES: WHERE AND WHEN To USE SITES V2

In this Rating System, a “site” is the physical location or land on which a “project” is developed. The SITES v2 Rating System applies to new construction projects as well as existing sites that include major renovations. There is no maximum size for a SITES project, but the minimum size is considered to be 2,000 square feet (185.8 square meters). For projects that were completed more than two years prior to SITES registration (i.e. completed by submitting an application and fee), the project team should closely examine the prerequisite and credit requirements to ensure that the associated documentation exists to prove compliance for certification.

The SITES v2 Rating System accommodates regional differences and various types of sites (e.g., urban, suburban, or rural locations; previously developed or undeveloped sites). Many benchmarks consider the site’s pre-existing condition and function in recommending performance criteria. While SITES can be applied worldwide, some references are specific to the Unites States; therefore, project teams in other countries are responsible for referencing and documenting comparable local resources.

The SITES v2 Rating System can apply to projects located on sites with or without buildings, including:

• Open spaces—local, state, and national parks; botanic gardens; arboretums

• Streetscapes and plazas

• Commercial—retail and office areas; corporate campuses

• Residential—neighborhoods or individual yards

• Educational/Institutional—public and private campuses; museums; hospitals

• Infrastructure

• Government

• Military

• Industrial

For sites that include buildings, the SITES v2 Rating System focuses on the area from the building skin outwards. For more details, see Where to Start on page xxiii.

The SITES program supports and encourages projects that plan to pursue simultaneous certification with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating Systems and the SITES v2 Rating System. For further guidance on the synergies and potential equivalences between the LEED and SITES rating systems, please visit the SITES website (www.sustainablesites.org).

http://www.sustainablesites.org/SITESv2 xivSITES v2 Rating System

HoW To USE AND UNDERSTAND SITES V2

The SITES v2 Rating System consists of 18 prerequisites and 48 credits totaling 200 points for measuring project sustainability. Additionally, projects that employ innovative and exemplary performance strategies can receive bonus points (see Section 10:

Innovation + Exemplary Performance). By providing performance measures rather than prescribing practices, SITES supports the unique conditions of each site and encourages project teams to be flexible and creative as they design and develop beautiful, functional, and regenerative sites appropriate for their context and intended use.

Prerequisites and credits in the SITES v2 Rating System are organized into 10 sections that follow typical design and construction phases. Achieving a sustainable site eligible for certification begins with proper site selection and site assessment, continues through site design and construction, and includes effective and appropriate operations and maintenance. SITES v2 concludes with an emphasis on education and performance monitoring in order to increase the knowledge base of site sustainability.

Prerequisite requirements must be met if a project is to be considered for certification.

All credits are considered optional; however, a certain number of credit points must be approved for a project to achieve certification (see Certification on page xxvii). Not all credits will apply to every project, but the array of credits provides multiple opportunities to achieve certification.

A brief overview of the SITES v2 Rating System follows below. It aims to provide project teams with an understanding of the overarching goals of each section and how each relates to other areas.

Section 1: Site Context

Particular attention is placed on understanding the context of where a project is located and developed. SITES requires careful planning and the protection of existing, functioning natural features that are unique, critical, sensitive, or threatened, such as farmlands, floodplains, wetlands, and wildlife habitats. These features provide essential ecosystem functions for wildlife, site users, and the surrounding community.

SITES considers previous uses of the site and rewards projects that are located on degraded sites because of the opportunity and, sometimes the urgency, to restore ecosystem services in these areas. Redevelopment also reduces pressure on undeveloped land, or greenfields. This section also looks beyond the site boundary to consider how the surrounding area can contribute to reducing pollution, improving human health and well-being, and supporting local economies and communities.

Section 2: Pre-Design Assessment + Planning

Before design begins, an integrated design team must conduct a comprehensive site assessment of existing physical, biological, and cultural conditions that will inform planning and design. This team must include experts in natural systems, design, construction, and maintenance, in addition to representatives of the community, the owners, and the intended site users.

xvSITES v2 Rating System

Section 3: Site Design—Water

Natural systems are of critical value for their ability to store, clean, and distribute available water. This section encourages projects that are designed to conserve water, maximize the use of precipitation, and protect water quality. For example, a sustainable project may harvest rainwater on site and use it, rather than potable water, for irrigation and water features. The goal is to incorporate strategies and technologies that restore or mimic natural systems.

This diagram illustrates how prerequisites and credits in the SITES v2 Rating System relate to and support the processes of the natural water cycle, shown highlighted in the blue circle above. The bottom right shows the actions that SITES encourages in gray, while the corresponding prerequisite and credit numbers are shown in the dark gray bar.

Restore Ecosystems

Aquatic

Conserve Floodplains +

Ecosystems

Aquatic

M anage

RunoffC ollect

R unoff

P1.2 P1.3

C3.6

P3.1

C 3.3C

3.5

P .2

P .2

C .4

C .5

Protect

PRECIPITATIO

N

C O

N

DE

NSATION

E

VA

P O

R

ATION /

TR

A

N

SPIRATION

WATER

CYCLE

RUNOFF /

IN

FI

LT

R

AT

IO

N xviSITES v2 Rating System

Section 4: Site Design—Soil + Vegetation

This section requires proper soil management as a design element and construction priority. In addition to serving as the foundation for robust vegetation, healthy soils filter pollutants and help prevent excess runoff, erosion, sedimentation, and flooding.

Using appropriate vegetation, managing invasive plants, and restoring biodiversity (emphasizing native species) are some key strategies that have multiple environmental, economic, and social benefits. They can reduce or eliminate landscape irrigation, increase the quality of wildlife habitat, promote regional identity, and reduce maintenance needs.

This diagram illustrates how prerequisites and credits in the SITES v2 Rating System relate to and support the processes of the natural soil and vegetation life-cycle, shown highlighted in the blue circle above. The bottom right shows the actions that SITES encourages in gray, while the corresponding prerequisite and credit numbers are shown in the dark gray bar.

C7

.6 C

8.3

C5.10

Manage InvasiveVegetation

Conserve Soil + Vegetation

Restore

Vegetation +

SoilInstall N ew

V egetation

C4.4 C4.5

P4.2C8.4

C 4.7

C .9

C .1

C .1

C

.4

C4.6 C4.7

P2.3

C4.8

Protect + P4.1

P 7.3

C .4

C7.6

C .8

P .3

D

EC

OM

POSITION /

S E

E D

S R

ELEASED

FLOWERING /

SOIL +

VEGETATION

LIFE-CYCLE

G R

O W

T H

FRUIT PRODUCTION

GERMINATION

SOIL

R

EC

YCLING

xviiSITES v2 Rating System

Section 5: Site Design—Materials Selection

Appropriate selection and use of materials can contribute to a project’s ability to support and enhance ecosystem services on the site and wherever the material exists throughout its life-cycle. The demolition, selection, procurement, and use of materials in site design and construction present considerable opportunities to decrease the amount of materials sent to landfills, to preserve natural resources, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to support the use of sustainable building products.

This diagram illustrates how prerequisites and credits in the SITES v2 Rating System, shown in dark gray, relate to and support the processes of the materials life-cycle, shown highlighted in the blue circle above.

C 5.

C

7.

C 7.

6 P

8.2 C

8.3

C .2

C .3

C .4 P

7.2 C8.4

C5.6

C .8

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Section 6: Site Design—Human Health + Well-Being

Any access to nature, whether in a park or natural area, or simply viewing green space during daily life, positively affects mental health and facilitates social connection. These effects are essential to healthy human habitat and extend to include positive physical health outcomes. This section promotes outdoor opportunities for physical activity, restorative and aesthetic experiences, and social interaction. It also encourages projects to address social equity in their design and development choices. The intent is to build stronger communities and create or renew a sense of environmental stewardship.

Section 7: Construction

Sustainable construction practices start with ensuring that contractors are aware of sustainability goals set in the initial design phase. Then, proper actions can be taken through the construction phase. This section encourages projects to protect air quality through low-emitting equipment, strive for a net-zero waste site, ensure healthy vegetation through soil restoration strategies, and protect receiving waters from polluted runoff and sedimentation.

Section 8: operations + Maintenance

To produce a design and to meet performance goals that will conserve resources and reduce pollution and waste throughout the life of the project, work with a maintenance professional during the design phase. This section promotes maintenance strategies that maximize the site’s long-term potential in providing ecosystem services. Strategies include reducing material disposal, ensuring long-term health of soil and vegetation, reducing pollution, conserving energy, and encouraging the use of renewable energy.

Section 9: Education + Performance Monitoring

This section recognizes projects for efforts made to inform and educate the public about the project goals and sustainable practices implemented in site design, construction, and maintenance. It also creates an incentive to monitor, document, and report the performance of the site over time in order to influence and improve the body of knowledge in site sustainability.

Section 10: Innovation or Exemplary Performance

This section encourages creativity and innovation in fulfilling prerequisite and credit requirements. It awards bonus points to projects that demonstrate exemplary performance above and beyond the targets established by one or more of the credits.

SITES also supports innovation by awarding extra points to projects that develop or pursue sustainable practices or meet benchmarks for sustainable performance that are not currently addressed in the SITES v2 Rating System.

Credit Format

Throughout the SITES v2 Rating System, each section is given a shorthand title (e.g., Pre-Design stands for Pre-Design Assessment + Planning) and references to prerequisites and credits have been shortened to “P” or “C”, followed by the section number, credit number and title.

Example: Pre-Design P2.1: Use an integrative design process

Section Prerequisite or Credit

Section Number

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Pre-Design P 2 .1 Use an integrative design process xixSITES v2 Rating System

PREREqUISITES AND CREDITS

A project must satisfy all prerequisites to be considered for certification. SITES considers each credit optional, but a certain number of credit points are required for certification.

See the section on Certification on page xxvii for more details. Information about each prerequisite and credit is presented in a standard format for simplicity and quick reference as follows.

Please note that this document contains an abbreviated version of the credits to serve as an introduction to SITES v2.

*These headings are excluded. For the complete resource, see the SITES v2 Reference Guide (www.sustainablesites.org).

Title previews the content of the prerequisite or credit and offers a general overview of the action to be taken.

Point level sets forth the range of points that can be earned by fulfilling the requirements of each credit. Prerequisites are required; therefore, they do not have a point range.

Intent describes the objective or benefit of the prerequisite or credit.

Requirements are the measures or benchmarks a project must meet to satisfy the prerequisite or achieve the credit. For certain credits, multiple thresholds are provided and point values reflect these incremental improvements. In some prerequisites and credits, specific pathways are outlined as Cases, Options, or Methods (see below).

Cases indicate how projects with particular pre-existing conditions should document compliance.

Options allow project teams to choose actions to satisfy credit requirements. Options are allotted credit value commensurate with their requirements.

Methods indicate techniques for achieving the credit requirements, although all methods result in the same number of points. This term appears only in HHWB Credit 6.8: Reduce light pollution.

Submittal documentation* specifies what a project must submit to prove compliance with the requirements of the prerequisite or credit. This documentation may include a site plan detailing specific criteria, calculations demonstrating a site’s performance, or a narrative explaining procedures undertaken to meet the requirements. Consistent, clear documentation is critical to prove compliance.

Documentation guidance* offers additional tools, procedures, or advice for assessing a requirement and submitting documentation. To assist projects with documentation for certain SITES credits, hypothetical project examples demonstrate the information that must be shown on maps and site plans submitted for certification review (See Where to Start—Site Plans and Maps in the SITES v2 Reference Guide for more background on these example sites).

Recommended strategies are site practices that a project team can use to fulfill the prerequisite or credit. The technologies and strategies listed in this section are not all-inclusive, and SITES encourages projects to use creative site-specific solutions to meet the requirements of a prerequisite or credit.

Economic and social benefits* describe the value of ecosystem services that a prerequisite or credit could provide. Economic benefits may take the form of avoided costs, such as lower healthcare costs due to improved air and water quality; reduced infrastructure costs because rainwater capture lessens pressure on storm sewers; or increased property values. Social benefits make take the form of improved physical outcomes (e.g., weight loss); reduced symptoms of depression and aggression; or increase in performance on creative or problem-solving tasks. The benefits listed per credit are only examples and not all-inclusive. For further information on the benefits and value of sustainable sites, visit www.sustainablesites.org.

xxSITES v2 Rating System

Definitions* clarify the meaning of certain terms used in descriptions of each prerequisite or credit. A term that is defined will be underlined. Some definitions will link to a particular prerequisite or credit. A glossary is provided at the end of the reference guide citing each prerequisite and credit in which a term appears.

Resources* provide additional guidance, information or research findings. All efforts have been made to ensure web links are current at the time of publishing, but the constantly changing nature of Internet information means they may not remain up to date indefinitely. For any SITES credits adapted from USGBC LEED credits, the applicable LEED credits are noted as the first bullet in this section.

Links to other SITES prerequisites and credits* demonstrate the interrelationships and synergies within the rating system. This graphic found in the SITES v2 Reference Guide is intended to guide project teams to higher levels of sustainability (through increased credit achievement) by outlining the connections between credits and performance criteria. Prereq-uisites and credits have a graphic (example below) that demonstrates Required and Related Links between other prerequisites and credits.

Required Links refer to any mandatory cross-credit documentation that teams must submit for a project to satisfy the requirements and intent of a given prerequisite or credit. In the graphic, Required Links are shown in blue.

Related Links indicate other prerequisites or credits that might benefit from strategies used for a given credit or prerequisite. In the graphic, Related Links are shown in gray.

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LINkS To oTHER SITES PREREqUISITES AND CREDITS xxiSITES v2 Rating System

WHERE To START

Integrated Design Team

An integrative design process is a critical component of the SITES v2 Rating System. It requires project team members of diverse disciplines (i.e., knowledgeable about natural systems, design, construction, and maintenance) to engage with each other, the client or owner, and local stakeholders and experts. This inclusive, collaborative, goal-driven approach is aimed at achieving high-performance project design and widespread buy-in from all parties involved. An integrated design team must be formed before beginning site design (see Pre-Design P2.1: Use an integrative design process) and all participants should be included in the initial review of the rating system and in determining the associated performance goals of the project.

SITES Scorecard

The SITES scorecard is a list of all the SITES v2 prerequisites and credits and their respective points. This tool helps projects note their initial goals and their progress in terms of the required prerequisites as well as the credits that the project team intends to pursue. The scorecard is a concise summary of a project’s credit goals, and SITES requires submission of the scorecard for certification review. Please visit www.sustainablesites.org to download the SITES v2 scorecard.

Prerequisites

There are 18 prerequisites in the SITES v2 Rating System, and a project must satisfy all of them in order to be considered for certification. Prerequisites represent a baseline performance for any SITES certified project. Projects must review and understand prerequisite requirements to assess whether their project is eligible, particularly those found in Section 1: Site Context and Section 2: Pre-Design Assessment + Planning.

The prerequisites are as follows:

Context P1.1: Limit development on farmland Context P1.2: Protect floodplain functions Context P1.3: Conserve aquatic ecosystems Context P1.4: Conserve habitats for threatened and endangered species

Pre-Design P2.1: Use an integrative design process Pre-Design P2.2: Conduct a pre-design site assessment Pre-Design P2.3: Designate and communicate Vegetation and Soil Protection Zones

Water P3.1: Manage precipitation on site Water P3.2: Reduce water use for landscape irrigation

Soil+Veg P4.1: Create and communicate a soil management plan Soil+Veg P4.2: Control and manage invasive plants Soil+Veg P4.3: Use appropriate plants

Materials P5.1: Eliminate the use of wood from threatened tree species

Construction P7.1: Communicate and verify sustainable construction practices Construction P7.2: Control and retain construction pollutants Construction P7.3: Restore soils disturbed during construction

O+M P8.1: Plan for sustainable site maintenance O+M P8.2: Provide for storage and collection of recyclables xxiiSITES v2 Rating System

Site Assessment

The site assessment (see Pre-Design P2.2: Conduct a pre-design site assessment) is a comprehensive data-gathering exercise in which the integrated design team assesses and maps the existing conditions and characteristics of the project site to help explore options for sustainable outcomes. This task informs future decisions about site design, construction, operations, and maintenance. SITES considers the site assessment as a roadmap to better understanding the rating system.

Vegetation and Soil Protection Zones (VSPZs)

The rating system requires projects to conserve existing healthy natural resources that are critical, rare, or sensitive, such as prime farmland, within Vegetation and Soil Protection Zones (see Pre-Design P2.3: Designate and communicate Vegetation and Soil Protection Zones). To prevent damage to vegetation, soil structure, and function, teams should identify these areas during the pre-design phase and protect them throughout construction according to VSPZ requirements. Not all sites will contain a VSPZ, because VSPZs are based on existing healthy site features.

Plans and Punchlist

Several prerequisites require projects to consider and document how a site will operate during the construction and maintenance phases. Teams must communicate the SITES goals for the project to all members including contractors and operations and maintenance personnel. This documentation also addresses requirements of other SITES prerequisites and credits.

Soil Management Plan (Soil+Veg P4.1: Create and communicate a soil management plan) Teams should complete this plan in the design phase. It details actions required for soil protection and restoration during the construction phase of the project.

SITES Punchlist (Construction P7.1: Communicate and verify sustainable construction practices) Prior to the pre-construction meeting, a team must develop a punchlist that details communication and accountability between team members and ensures that SITES goals are met throughout construction.

Site Maintenance Plan (O+M P8.1: Plan for sustainable site maintenance) Created by the integrated design team (including a team member knowledgeable in site maintenance), this plan intends to inform and structure maintenance strategies that ensure long-term site sustainability. It serves as a foundation for a more extensive operations and maintenance manual.

Defining a SITES Project Boundary

The SITES project boundary defines the limits of the project submitted for SITES certification. All maps or plans provided as credit documentation must reflect this SITES project boundary.

Generally, the SITES project boundary must be the legal property boundary. For projects located on publicly owned land or campuses that do not have internal property lines, the SITES project boundary may use the legal limits of the campus or, for SITES…