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LEED v4.1

Schools – New Construction

Location & Transportation
High Priority Site and Equitable Development

LEED CREDIT

Schools-NC-v4.1 LTc3: High Priority Site and Equitable Development 1-2 points

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Emily Purcell

LEED AP ND, WELL AP, Fitwel Amb.

CannonDesign
Sustainable Design Lead

SPECIAL REPORT

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

Requirements

Option 1. High Priority Site (1 point BD&C except Core and Shell, 2 points Core and Shell)
Path 1. Economically Disadvantaged Community Location (1 point BD&C except Core and Shell, 2 points Core and Shell)

Locate within one of the following areas:

  • Census tract* in which average household income is at or below 80% area median income (AMI)
  • Census tract in which at least 20% of population is at or below poverty rate of state, provincial, or other regional jurisdiction
  • Census tract in which unemployment is at least 150% of the state, provincial, or other regional jurisdiction.
*or local equivalent government-defined municipal tract for projects outside the U.S.

OR

Path 2. Brownfield Remediation (1 point BD&C except Core and Shell, 2 points Core and Shell)

Locate on a brownfield where soil or groundwater contamination has been identified, and where the local, state, or national authority (whichever has jurisdiction) requires its remediation. In cases of voluntary remediation by the project team, provide confirmation by the local, state, or national authority (whichever has jurisdiction) to verify that the site is a brownfield. Perform remediation to the satisfaction of the relevant authority.

AND/OR

Option 2. Equitable Development (1 point BD&C except Core and Shell, 2 points Core and Shell)
Path 1. Equity & Community Benefits (1 point BD&C except Core and Shell, 2 points Core and Shell)

Develop and implement an equity plan.

OR

Path 2. Affordable Housing in Residential or Mixed-Use Projects (1 point)

Include a proportion of new rental and/or for-sale dwelling units priced for households earning less than the AMI. Rental units must be maintained at affordable levels for a minimum of 15 years. Existing dwelling units are exempt from requirement calculations. Meet or exceed the minimum thresholds in Table 1. Projects must meet or exceed the minimum percentage of units mandated through inclusionary zoning by their local jurisdictions.

Table 1. Minimum affordable units
Rental Dwelling Units 10 percent of total rental units (or at least one unit) priced up to 60% AMI
For-Sale Dwelling Units 5 percent of total for-sale units (or at least one unit) priced up to 80% AMI
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Addenda

4/9/2021Updated: 4/20/2021
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
Revise the below LT credit intents as follows:

LTc Sensitive Land Protection
"To cultivate community resilience, avoid the development of environmentally sensitive lands that provide critical ecosystem services and reduce the environmental impact from the location of a building on a site."

LTc High Priority Site and Equitable Development
"To build the economic and social vitality of communities, encourage project location in areas with development constraints and promote the ecological, cultural, and community health of the surrounding area while understanding the needs and goals of existing residents and businesses."

LTc Surrounding Density and Diverse Uses
"To conserve land and protect farmland and wildlife habitat by encouraging development in areas with existing infrastructure. To support neighborhood and local economies, promote walkability and low or no carbon transportation, and reduce vehicle distance traveled for all. To improve public health by encouraging daily physical activity."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
11/9/2020Updated: 11/25/2020
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Under Step-by-Step Guidance for Option 2 – Path 2. Affordable Housing in Residential or Mixed-Use Projects

After "Step 3. Adjust Target Income for Each Dwelling Size" insert the following sentence:
Use Equation 2 and the appropriate bedroom (BR) factor(s) from the table below to calculate the adjusted target household income for each dwelling.

Equation 2. Adjusted target household income
Adjusted target income = Target income x BR factor

Under Step 4. Calculate Maximum Pricing, in the first bullet item beginning "For rental units..." delete "Equation 4" and replace with "Equation 3" and in the second bullet item beginning "For for-sale units..." delete "Equation 5" and replace with "Equation 4"

Under Step 4. Calculate Maximum Pricing, after the second bullet item beginning "For for-sale units..." insert the following language:

Equation 3. Maximum monthly rent
Maximum monthly rent = (Adjusted target income x 0.30) / 12

Equation 4. Maximum monthly principal, interest, taxes, and insurance
Maximum monthly PITI = (Adjusted target income x 0.28) / 12




Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
7/25/2019Updated: 7/30/2019
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
Refer to the Credit LIbrary or attached resource to view all major changes to the High Priority Site credit in LEED v4.1
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
7/25/2019Updated: 7/30/2019
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Refer to the Credit LIbrary or attached resource to view all major changes to the High Priority Site credit in LEED v4.1
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
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Documentation toolkit

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LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit is loaded with calculators to help assess credit compliance, tracking spreadsheets for materials, sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions, and examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects for you to check your work against. To get your plaque, start with the right toolkit.

LEEDuser expert

Emily Purcell

LEED AP ND, WELL AP, Fitwel Amb.

CannonDesign
Sustainable Design Lead

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USGBC logo

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

Requirements

Option 1. High Priority Site (1 point BD&C except Core and Shell, 2 points Core and Shell)
Path 1. Economically Disadvantaged Community Location (1 point BD&C except Core and Shell, 2 points Core and Shell)

Locate within one of the following areas:

  • Census tract* in which average household income is at or below 80% area median income (AMI)
  • Census tract in which at least 20% of population is at or below poverty rate of state, provincial, or other regional jurisdiction
  • Census tract in which unemployment is at least 150% of the state, provincial, or other regional jurisdiction.
*or local equivalent government-defined municipal tract for projects outside the U.S.

OR

Path 2. Brownfield Remediation (1 point BD&C except Core and Shell, 2 points Core and Shell)

Locate on a brownfield where soil or groundwater contamination has been identified, and where the local, state, or national authority (whichever has jurisdiction) requires its remediation. In cases of voluntary remediation by the project team, provide confirmation by the local, state, or national authority (whichever has jurisdiction) to verify that the site is a brownfield. Perform remediation to the satisfaction of the relevant authority.

AND/OR

Option 2. Equitable Development (1 point BD&C except Core and Shell, 2 points Core and Shell)
Path 1. Equity & Community Benefits (1 point BD&C except Core and Shell, 2 points Core and Shell)

Develop and implement an equity plan.

OR

Path 2. Affordable Housing in Residential or Mixed-Use Projects (1 point)

Include a proportion of new rental and/or for-sale dwelling units priced for households earning less than the AMI. Rental units must be maintained at affordable levels for a minimum of 15 years. Existing dwelling units are exempt from requirement calculations. Meet or exceed the minimum thresholds in Table 1. Projects must meet or exceed the minimum percentage of units mandated through inclusionary zoning by their local jurisdictions.

Table 1. Minimum affordable units
Rental Dwelling Units 10 percent of total rental units (or at least one unit) priced up to 60% AMI
For-Sale Dwelling Units 5 percent of total for-sale units (or at least one unit) priced up to 80% AMI

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.

LEEDuser expert

Emily Purcell

LEED AP ND, WELL AP, Fitwel Amb.

CannonDesign
Sustainable Design Lead

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