In the review process for our project. We have received teh following comment:
"It is unclear whether all of the community services are available to the general public. Note that it is the intent of this credit that basic services are available to everyone, and are not restricted to campus occupants and staff."
We have claimed certain services, like the student health center, which to me provides a "BASIC SERVICE" however based on this review team's interpretation I guess we can't count it. Has anyone else run into this problem? There is absolutely NO text in the rating system guide that says "basic services must be available to everyone" My argument is that these services are eligible to everyone within a 1/2 mile radius because it covers the entire campus. Any advice?
Thanks in advance.
Edgar Farrera
Director of SustainabilityCircuit of the Americas
22 thumbs up
February 8, 2012 - 11:11 am
Shannon., I've had the exact same comment come up on college projects and on military installations. To me, the review comments are unreasonable, because it seems as if the definition of "gen public" should be within the context of the facility. However, I wasn't able to get these items resolved to my satisfaction when I was working on those projects.
Emily Catacchio
Sustainability SpecialistWight and Company
610 thumbs up
February 8, 2012 - 6:42 pm
Shannon and Edgar,The key sentence in the credit requirments is "For mixed-use projects, no more than 1 service within the project boundary may be counted as 1 of the 10 basic services, provided it is open to the public." This indicates, albeit not very explicitly, that all services must be open to the public to qualify.
Michelle Teague
Architect, LEED ConsultantPolk Stanley Wilcox Architects
39 thumbs up
February 9, 2012 - 2:05 pm
I appreciate you guys posting these experiences here. I'm documenting university campus projects as well, and have been trying to steer clear of univ. buildings to satisfy the requirements. The point about the military base is very well put and I'd like to see a clarification come out in an addendum. University campuses are less clear, but in both cases campus facitlities are open to students, employees, staff and spouses. They provide a basic service thousands or tens of thousands in their surrounding community need, which includes access for the users of your project. If the service was there but excluded the users of your project or the majority of the surrounding community I would support the reviewer.
In the case of the health center, check and see if memberships are available to the general public or if it is only for employees & students. Perhaps they offer kids or community classes.
Kathryn West
LEED AP BD+C, O+M, Green Globes ProfessionalJLL
154 thumbs up
April 29, 2014 - 5:14 pm
Similar question- I am certifying a building on a college campus. It's a stadium. Am I allowed to count a classroom building on campus as a school? I'll resarch this in the Campus Guidance documents but if anyone knows... I'd appreciate the information!
The classroom building is open to the public.