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LEED v2.2
New Construction
Sustainable Sites

Site Development—Protect or Restore Habitat

LEED CREDIT

NC-v2.2 SSc5.1: Site Development—Protect or Restore Habitat 1 point

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Credit language

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© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

Option 1
On greenfield sites, limit all site disturbance to 40 feet beyond the building perimeter; 10 feet beyond surface walkways, patios, surface parking and utilities less than 12 inches in diameter; 15 feet beyond primary roadway curbs and main utility branch trenches; and 25 feet beyond constructed areas with permeable surfaces (such as pervious paving areas, stormwater detention facilities and playing fields) that require additional staging areas in order to limit compaction in the constructed area. OR
Option 2
On previously developed or graded sites, restore or protect a minimum of 50% of the site area (excluding the building footprint) with native or adapted vegetation. Native/adapted plants are plants indigenous to a locality or cultivars of native plants that are adapted to the local climate and are not considered invasive species or noxious weeds. Projects earning SS Credit 2 and using vegetated roof surfaces may apply the vegetated roof surface to this calculation (if the plants meet the definition of native/adapted), in which case the requirement is 20% of the total site area. This option is intended for urban sites with little or no building setback (i.e. zero lot line). Greenfield sites are those that are not previously developed or graded and remain in a natural state. Previously developed sites are those that previously contained buildings, roadways, parking lots, or were graded or altered by direct human activities. See all forum discussions about this credit »

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Cost estimates for this credit

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Checklists

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Documentation toolkit

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Credit achievement rate

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Get the inside scoop

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USGBC logo

© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

Option 1
On greenfield sites, limit all site disturbance to 40 feet beyond the building perimeter; 10 feet beyond surface walkways, patios, surface parking and utilities less than 12 inches in diameter; 15 feet beyond primary roadway curbs and main utility branch trenches; and 25 feet beyond constructed areas with permeable surfaces (such as pervious paving areas, stormwater detention facilities and playing fields) that require additional staging areas in order to limit compaction in the constructed area. OR
Option 2
On previously developed or graded sites, restore or protect a minimum of 50% of the site area (excluding the building footprint) with native or adapted vegetation. Native/adapted plants are plants indigenous to a locality or cultivars of native plants that are adapted to the local climate and are not considered invasive species or noxious weeds. Projects earning SS Credit 2 and using vegetated roof surfaces may apply the vegetated roof surface to this calculation (if the plants meet the definition of native/adapted), in which case the requirement is 20% of the total site area. This option is intended for urban sites with little or no building setback (i.e. zero lot line). Greenfield sites are those that are not previously developed or graded and remain in a natural state. Previously developed sites are those that previously contained buildings, roadways, parking lots, or were graded or altered by direct human activities.

XX%

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Got the gist of SSc5.1 but not sure how to actually achieve it? LEEDuser gives step-by-step help. Premium members get:

  • Checklists covering all the key action steps you'll need to earn the credit.
  • Hot tips to give you shortcuts and avoid pitfalls.
  • Cost tips to assess what a credit will actually cost, and how to make it affordable.
  • Ideas for going beyond LEED with best practices.
  • All checklists organized by project phase.
  • On-the-fly suggestions of useful items from the Documentation Toolkit and Credit Language.

In the end, LEED is all about documentation. LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit, for premium members only, saves you time and helps you avoid mistakes with:

  • Calculators to help assess credit compliance.
  • Tracking spreadsheets for materials purchases.
  • Spreadsheets and forms to give to subs and other team members.
  • Guidance documents on arcane LEED issues.
  • Sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions.
  • Examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects.
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