LEED Certifications for Parking Garages No Longer Allowed

In the latest Update to LEED Interpretation (LI) 10079 & 10080, the 75% maximum limit on area devoted to vehicle storage & circulation has been removed.

As of October 1, 2012:
So as not to penalize projects for consolidating parking in garages, and to make this LEED Interpretation more consistently applicable across a broad spectrum of project types, please note that the specific limit on the amount of parking a project may include is hereby removed. Instead, the USGBC wishes to clarify that parking areas themselves are not now, nor have they ever been eligible for LEED-certification. It is the "gross floor area" of a project (which, by definition excludes parking areas) which is the basis for determining LEED certification fees and the focus of the certification analysis. Like other features of the site or location, parking, whether structured or at-grade, has an impact on certain credits, but it does not actually receive LEED certification."

This isue can be very confusing when it comes to detail.
1.
Gross floor area (based on ASHRAE definition) sais that the calculation "excludes floor area dedicated to the parking and circulation of motor vehicles". Typically, on underground parking floors, there are rooms with other usage type.
In our project (Retail and Office-Mixed Use) there is a 3-storey underground parking lot with circulation, but there are also technical rooms (AHU, utility connections, chillers), vertical communication (stairways), changing rooms and showers for bicycle users, stuff rooms, storage rooms etc. Usable floor area of these rooms should be substracted from gross floor area calculation and include only parking places with circulation (exterior faces of exterior walls)?
2.
It also sais that the calculation "excludes air shafts, pipe trenches, and chimneys". Does this also apply to internal shafts and chimneys (clear dimensiohttp://www.leeduser.com/sites/all/themes/leeduser/images/form-submit.gifns) and each should be substracted from the gross floor area calculation?

We have a project that is being designed, and there is a parking garage being build on the site as well. The garage will be supporting the LEED building 100% (meaning no other buildings will be using the garage). Do we need to include the materials and the energy use of the garage with our LEED project, or is the garage not included whatsoever? The project is LEED 2009 BD+C.

The change applied to parking garage certification is unfortunate and short sighted. the 75% rule appears also to apply to warehouse, transportation centers, and other spaces that contribute to the triple bottom line as well as global climate change. Parking garages preserve space for alternative uses with its high density getting cars off the street, open space parking, storm water management and countless other benefits. Parking garages meeting MPR (namely 1 FTE) could be relegated to CI certification but BD+C should apply so long as minimum program requirements are met.

request clarification for reversal or recommendation to use CI for new parking structure certfication.

Tristan:

Has this shown up yet in the Policy Manual or only in the LEED Interpretation dated May 9, 2011 as you've cited?

This is unforutnate since motor vehicles aren't going away anytime soon, as much as we'd like to think otherwise.

The thoughtful and creative sustainable strategies extended to the design of parking structures can significantly REDUCE the impact of vehicles on the environment and WHY shouldn't they receive the same certification opportunities? Why should the structure itself be penalized for what is housed within it?

Let me give you an example: we received certification for the BCBSM parking structure project in Detroit in 2007. On the same site that previously accomodated only 125 surface parking spaces, we constructed a parking structure that provides for over 1800 spaces ON THE SAME SITE! Talk about density and the ability to maintain open land for other Civic/landscaping opportunities! We also installed the 2nd-largest green roof in the State of Michigan on top of this deck in order to not only provide an area for a walking track for BCBSM's employees, but also to assist in our overall storm water catchment system which is considerable!

Why shouldn't these same strategies that apply for other (non-parking) structures NOT earn certification for these structures!

We are so disappointed! Is this written in stone?

I see a wave of backlash coming!

If what you say is true, there is no motiviation in the industry to make these structures anything other than dumb-boxes.