We have a former pasture with designated Heritage Trees on our site. I am considering this greenfield. Protection of the heritage trees is a great expense for us and we are fitting our building and parking around the trees. When looking at Exemplary Performance for this credit it only discusses % of site protected, which is a different obstacle to designing around trees. What do you think our chances are for an Innovation Credit?
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Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11475 thumbs up
May 16, 2010 - 10:44 pm
I would welcome other perspectives, but I would say your chances are not that great.Basically, you are saying that you had a uniquely difficult site relative to meeting the requirements of SSc5.1, and the lengths that you went to earn SSc5.1 and the specific techniques you used are worthy of special recognition through IDc1.USGBC has had a clear policy of not awarding IDc1 points for projects earning an existing credit in a unique way, for example, using a special HVAC technology to earn EAc1. This situation seems analagous—subsitute heritage trees for a HVAC system, and SSc5.1 for EAc1.From the perspective of LEED, a situation like yours is exactly why SSc5.1 exists. It doesn't call for creation of a new LEED innovation credit. It's up to USGBC/GBCI, of course—you could always try your luck by submitting.