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LEED v4.1

Schools – New Construction

Sustainable Sites
Open Space

LEED CREDIT

Schools-NC-v4.1 SSc3: Open space 1 point

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View the LEED v4 version of this credit »

SPECIAL REPORT

LEEDuser expert

Michael DeVuono

PE, CPESC, LEED AP BD+C

Arcadis North America
Regional Stormwater Leader

SPECIAL REPORT

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Credit language

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

Requirements

Provide outdoor space greater than or equal to 30% of the total site area (including building footprint).

At least 25% of the required outdoor open space must be vegetated space planted with two or more types of vegetation or have overhead vegetated canopy.

The outdoor space must be physically accessible and be one or more of the following:

  • social area: a pedestrian-oriented paving or landscape area that accommodate outdoor social activities
  • recreational area: a recreation-oriented paving or landscape area that encourage physical activity;
  • diverse green space: a landscape area with two or more types of vegetation that provide opportunities for year-round visual interest;
  • garden: a garden space dedicated to community gardens or urban food production; or
  • habitat area: preserved or created habitat that meets the criteria of SS Credit Protect or Restore Habitat and includes elements of human interaction. These areas automatically meet the vegetation criteria of this credit.

Extensive or intensive vegetated roofs that are physically accessible can be used toward the minimum vegetation requirement, and qualifying roof-based physically accessible paving areas can be used toward credit compliance.

Wetlands or naturally designed ponds may count as open space if the side slope gradients average 1:4 (vertical:horizontal) or less and are vegetated. See all forum discussions about this credit »

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Addenda

4/21/2023Updated: 5/9/2023
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Revise the second sentence under Requirements to read as: "At least 25% of the required outdoor open space..."

Revise the third sentence under Beta Update to read as: "Of the total outdoor open space required, a minimum..."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
4/21/2023Updated: 5/9/2023
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
Revise the second sentence under Requirements to read as: "At least 25% of the required outdoor open space..."

Revise the third sentence under Beta Update to read as: "Of the total outdoor open space required, a minimum..."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
2/19/2021Updated: 3/1/2021
Form Update
Description of change:
The sidebar note changed to "Note: At least 25% of the calculated outdoor open space must be vegetated”.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
2/1/2021Updated: 2/5/2021
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Under the Behind the Intent, replace the second sentence to read as follows: "Projects must provide outdoor space greater than or equal to 30% of the total site area. Of the total outdoor open space calculated, a minimum of 25% must be vegetated or have overhead vegetated canopy."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
2/1/2021Updated: 2/5/2021
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
Under Requirements, in the second sentence, delete "7.5% of the total site area (i.e. 25% of the outdoor space)" and replace with "At least 25% of the calculated outdoor open space....”
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
11/9/2020Updated: 2/3/2021
Form Update
Description of change:
1. The sidebar note "Note: At least 25% of open space must be vegetated" was changed to "Note: At least 7.5% of the total site area (i.e. 25% of open space) must be vegetated”
2. The narrative instructions that ask the user to describe the open space were revised to include a label for each type of open space that corresponds with the revised v4.1 language
3. The "For projects including roof surfaces" section was removed.
4. The "For projects that are part of a multitenant complex" section was removed.

Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
11/9/2020Updated: 11/30/2020
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
1. In the second sentence, "25% of the minimum 30% total outdoor space requirement" should be removed and replaced with "7.5% of the total site area (i.e. 25% of the outdoor space)" and "vegetated space" should be added after "must be"
2. The types of outdoor spaces included in the bulleted list should be labeled for clarification as follows, respectively: social area, recreational area, diverse green space, garden, and habitat area.
3. The third bullet should be revised to read "a landscape area with two or more types of vegetation"
4. The fourth bullet should contain "; or" at the end
5. The final bullet should include this sentence at the end, "These areas automatically meet the vegetation criteria of this credit." for clarification.
6. In the second to last paragraph, "25%" should be removed for clarification.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
11/9/2020Updated: 11/30/2020
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Under the Behind the Intent section, revise the second sentence to read as follows: "Projects must provide outdoor space greater than or equal to 30% of the total site area, and 7.5% of the total site area (i.e. 25% of the minimum 30% total outdoor space requirement) must be vegetated."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
See all forum discussions about this credit »

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LEEDuser expert

Michael DeVuono

PE, CPESC, LEED AP BD+C

Arcadis North America
Regional Stormwater Leader

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

Requirements

Provide outdoor space greater than or equal to 30% of the total site area (including building footprint).

At least 25% of the required outdoor open space must be vegetated space planted with two or more types of vegetation or have overhead vegetated canopy.

The outdoor space must be physically accessible and be one or more of the following:

  • social area: a pedestrian-oriented paving or landscape area that accommodate outdoor social activities
  • recreational area: a recreation-oriented paving or landscape area that encourage physical activity;
  • diverse green space: a landscape area with two or more types of vegetation that provide opportunities for year-round visual interest;
  • garden: a garden space dedicated to community gardens or urban food production; or
  • habitat area: preserved or created habitat that meets the criteria of SS Credit Protect or Restore Habitat and includes elements of human interaction. These areas automatically meet the vegetation criteria of this credit.

Extensive or intensive vegetated roofs that are physically accessible can be used toward the minimum vegetation requirement, and qualifying roof-based physically accessible paving areas can be used toward credit compliance.

Wetlands or naturally designed ponds may count as open space if the side slope gradients average 1:4 (vertical:horizontal) or less and are vegetated.

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

Michael DeVuono

PE, CPESC, LEED AP BD+C

Arcadis North America
Regional Stormwater Leader

See all LEEDuser forum discussions about this credit » Subscribe to new discussions about Schools-NC-v4.1 SSc3