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The project site is classified as "prime farmland," but is in a developed area with buildings all around. Can I still comply with this credit?

Our project site is in what FEMA refers to as "Zone D"—an area that has possible but undetermined flood hazards, as no analysis of flood hazards have been conducted. How can we tell if we comply with this credit?

Is it possible to be exempted from the wetlands requirements under this credit if we protect or restore equivalent wetlands elsewhere?

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NC-2009 SSc1:Site Selection

A Learning Center to Support Farming on Prime Farm Land

We have a project in a rural area sited on an existing farm. The project is very small in scale and will have a very small development footprint to preserve the land and to make as little impact as possible. The project is a learning center for the owner's adjacent farming operation. 96%+ of the existing farm will be farmed as usual, while 3-4% will be converted to the building and the gravel access drive to the building. Considering the scale and purpose of the project, is compliance with SS Credit 1 at all possible? When considering the intent of the credit (such as not building an office park on a former potato field), I believe we are in compliance--but if I consider the strict language of the credit (do NOT build on prime farmland no matter what) then I tend to believe the project can not achieve this credit. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Thanks very much for your input.

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Profile picture for user sgeithner
Susann Geithner
Principal
Emerald Built Environments
LEEDuser Basic Member
900 thumbs up

Fri, 07/08/2011 - 17:33

Unfortunately you do not meet the criteria of the credit even thought I understand your argument. You might want to submit an CIR in order to get an exception for your case. But one can also argue you could still not use actual farm land and do your project. Also make sure you are in compliance with the MPRs and the 2% for building footprint vs. site. It sound like you will be very close to the cutoff. Best of luck with your project.

Fri, 07/08/2011 - 18:08

Hi Susann--Thanks very much--I get your logic. Regarding your comment about MPR #7, the gross floor area of our project building is more than 2% of the gross land area within the project LEED boundary. Since we are impacting only a small percentage of the owner's property and literally not touching much of it, we will be drawing a reasonable LEED boundary that only includes that land impacted, and lands that are associated with/supports normal building operations. Thanks again!
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Steve Loppnow
Sustainability Account Manager
Stok
LEEDuser Expert
177 thumbs up

Sun, 02/26/2012 - 23:06

If the project is on Prime Farmland, it sounds like the answer is no. Did you confirm that the farm is Prime Farmland against the referenced definition? If the credit is not critical to your score you can always submit and make your case, or submit a CIR to confirm your case prior to submittal.

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