Op-Ed: City Should Adopt LEED Certification Standards

On March 15, UMd. for Clean Energy, the University of Maryland student-run environmental group that I am a part of, proposed to the College Park City Council that all future construction or extensive modification of non-residential and multi-family residential buildings in the city be required obtain a LEED Silver certification. We also proposed that all new city government buildings be required achieve LEED Gold certified.   A green building standard like this would ensure that builders develop in a way that is best for the community and the environment. We chose LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, because of the program’s flexibility. Developers can achieve certification not only by making buildings more energy efficient, but also by reducing the pollution created while building, reducing storm water run off, reusing building materials, or by dozens of other methods. Such a standard is good for the planet and the community.   The organization behind LEED requirements is the non-profit trade organization called the U.S. Green Building Council. When developers seek certification, all projects receive direct oversight by a USGBC consultant, so the College Park government has no need to hire enforcement officials. Additionally, increased energy efficiently lowers power consumption and can save money in the long run. LEED has become one of the most widely used green building certification programs in the US. In Maryland, four cities and three counties have already instituted LEED-based green building standards similar to the one that UMd. for Clean Energy is proposing.   One of the primary concerns expressed at a previous College Park City Council meeting was that developers would no longer want to build in College Park if they were required to get a LEED Silver certification. In preparation for Tuesday’s presentation, UMd. for Clean Energy interviewed seven developers building in College Park. Some felt that LEED was not a good system for certain types of buildings, such as wooden ones. However, several developers noted that LEED certifications could be used a powerful marketing tool, and almost every developer said that these requirements were highly unlikely to stop them from building in College Park. As a testament to the fact that LEED standards do not scare away developers, Clifford Lee, the Commercial Permits Coordinator for one of the cities that has instituted a similar LEED requirement, said that he “has seen no evidence of such an effect.”     LEED is a reputable standard that benefits the community by reducing new buildings’ impacts on the surrounding environment. To implement such a standard would bring College Park to the forefront of sustainability statewide, and help influence the Prince George’s County Council to institute standards for the entire county. LEED-based green building standards will help make College Park a more livable community.