Hello!
I am having a little bit of trouble understanding what would constitute an intervening rights-of-way for a potential extra point in Option 1 of the Surrounding Density and Diverse Uses for Warehouses. If my project site is surrounded by 2-way roads, so 2 opposing lanes of traffic, are these considered intervening rights-of-way? Does this mean I cannot consider parcels on the other side of the road, opposite the project site, and try to get the extra point for Option 1?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Adolfo Silva
PrincipalEcovert Corporation
63 thumbs up
December 2, 2021 - 12:28 pm
I'm also wondering about this question.
David Posada
Integrated Design & LEED SpecialistSERA Architects
LEEDuser Expert
1976 thumbs up
December 3, 2021 - 3:44 pm
Our understanding is you can consider the parcels on the other side of the street or road, which helps earn a third point if that parcel has been previously developed for industrial or commercial purposes.
The meaning of "adjacent sites" has caused some confusion. At first glance, the glossary definition might be interpreted as: Only consider parcels physically touching your site boundary, and not parcels on the other side of the right-of-way. (ROW = public land designated for circulation, such as a street or road, including any public sidewalks, whether it’s built or not.)
Adjacent definition in BD&C and ND:
“Adjacent site: a site having at least a continuous 25% of its boundary bordering parcels that are previously developed sites. Only consider bordering parcels, not intervening rights-of-way. Any fraction of the boundary that borders a water body is excluded from the calculation.”
In the LEED ND Reference Guide, there is more detail:
“The circulation network [public right of way] itself does not constitute previously developed land; it is the status of property on the other side of the segment of circulation network that matters.” And:
“When determining infill and adjacent status, if the project site is next to a street right-of-way, the team must consider the previous development status of property on the other side.”
You’ll find these in the ND Reference Guide Introduction in the LEED Credit Library online – choose LEED ND: Plan, version 4, and look under ‘Getting Started’ on the left. Scroll down to ‘Maintaining Consistency in the Application.’ Some of the diagrams illustrating Infill and Adjacent sites show adjacent sites on the other side of a public street.
When the Adjacent site definition says “only consider bordering parcels, not intervening rights of way” we’ve interpreted that to mean: Only consider the use, area, and density of bordering parcels, and don’t include the area of the public street between your parcel and the one across the street. That way the area of the public street doesn’t reduce your calculated density.
The Buildable Land definition further down confirms that interpretation:
“When used in density calculations, buildable land excludes public rights-of-way and land excluded from development by codified law or LEED for Neighborhood Development prerequisites. Buildable land (Figure 8) is an important element of a project because it is the denominator in the calculation of land-use densities.”
Hope that helps!