New to LEED-ND...submitting for certification

Courtney,
Thank you for your inquiry and for the chance to better explain the rating system structure. If you would like to set up a time for a quick call to discuss your options over the phone or have any follow-up questions, feel free to email us at neighborhoods@usgbc.org.

The multiple stages of LEED ND certification were created to allow projects at any stage of planning and construction to engage with the rating system, confirm their approaches and reap the benefits of certification. Which stage you are able to pursue is dictated by the land use approvals and construction progress at the time the project submits for certification review, which it sounds like you are familiar with.

Projects can pursue certification under any stage, presuming their approval and construction progress meets the cut off. You do not have to begin at Stage 1 and progress through 2 and then 3. The benefits accrued at each stage are different and targeted for the project's needs.

- The Stage 1 Conditional Approval letter is intended to provide third party support for projects seeking land use entitlements or variances, looking to garner public support or to bolster early funding applications. Engaging with ND early on also helps to ensure that planning and design are in line with the LEED ND principles.

- Stage 2's Pre-Certified Plan certificate is meat to support developers seeking funding, marketing to potential tenants and proving to the public the project's sustainable merits by conferring the benefits of certification without having to wait until full build out on what can often be a long development timeline.

- Stage 3 is considered the full certification and entitles projects to a LEED ND plaque. Because the project is completed, full documentation of each prerequisite and credit can be expected to prove compliance. In some instances, earlier stage projects cannot be expected to know these details and are allowed to submit binding commitments instead.

Depending on your approval and construction status, you may have limited choices for which stage to pursue. If you have multiple options, the choice is yours to decide what benefits of certification are most useful to the project and when you would like to take advantage of them. Waiting until Stage 3 is certainly an option, but it may be worth engaging earlier.

Because Stage 1 and 2 are considered preliminary and don't require full documentation for all prereqs and credits, they have expiration dates to encourage projects to return for further verification. These details are available in the Certification Policy Manual.

LEED ND does not offer a split review process, however there is the option to have the prerequisites from the Smart Location and Linkages category reviewed first for an additional $2,250 if that is something you want to double check before progressing further. Otherwise, all desired prereqs and credits must be completed before review can begin.

It is worth mentioning that the Stage 1, 2, and 3 structure only applies to LEED ND v2009 and that LEED ND v4 utilizes a slightly different structure (LEED ND: Plan and LEED ND: Built Project). The specifics are very similar however slightly simplified.

Best,
Casey Studhalter

It might be best to set up a call. Email neighborhoods@usgbc.org with your info and some suggested times and we can set something up.

In some instances the forms for Stage 1 and Stage 2 allow projects to upload a commitment letter for the details that can't be expected to know at this point. They would still need to provide that and any required documentation or details per the form for every prerequisite and all of the desired credits. Sample forms are available on usgbc.org/sampleforms and provide the official documentation requirements in each instance.

To Casey: I'm sorry, but I don't understand your comment above, "Because Stage 1 and 2 are considered preliminary and don't require full documentation for all prereqs and credits, they have expiration dates to encourage projects to return for further verification. These details are available in the Certification Policy Manual."

1. I can't find anything in the Certification Policy Manual referencing this. Can you please provide a link to the latest policay manual that would apply to a LEED ND v2009 project?
2. Is there a way to find out in advance what documentation exactly is not required under Stage 2?
3. Is the LEED ND v2009 scorecard the same for Stage 2 as Stage 3 or are there certain pre-requisites and credits left out under Stage 2?
4. If we were to certify under Stage 2, why would we have to "return for further verification"?

Gwen, sorry for the confusion. I hope this helps but know that you can reach our customer service team at http://www.usgbc.org/contactus if you still have questions that you would like to talk through.

1. The most recent version of the Certification Policy Manual that governs a LEED ND v2009 project is available in LEED Online and also at http://www.usgbc.org/resources/leed-certification-policy-manual. It is dated January 1, 2012. The LEED ND specific appendix begins on page 61.

2. To see exactly what documentation is required for each prereq or credit, at each stage of certification I would encourage you to download the PDF forms. These are the final word on the required documentation. The documentation required for some prereqs/credits changes between Stage 1, 2 or 3 because projects aren't expected to know certain details in the early planning phases. Because of this, you will see that each Stage has a different form. The forms are all available in LEED Online, but can also be downloaded at http://www.usgbc.org/sampleforms/v3. You will need to filter for "LEED ND: Plan" or "LEED ND: Built Project" - both will display the same full set of forms.

3. The scorecard is the same across all 3 stages of certification. Projects can earn all possible points at any stage and area also subject to all of the prerequisites and credits. Documentation requested may differ, but they're still there.

4. Projects certified under Stage 1 or 2 are not required to return for Stage 3. Some projects find it valuable to return once completed to demonstrate that the project was built as designed and to earn the right to display a LEED ND plaque, as only Stage 3 projects are eligible for the physical plaque. The award for Stage 2 is a certificate and Stage 1 is a letter of support.

Once again, very helpful! Thank you very much, Casey.