Option 1 documentation

Hi Sue,

We were able to find tax database maps/info for Boston, Cambridge, and New York. You may be able to find something similar for other locations. This saved us a tremendous amount of time b/c they supply the lot size, total SF, and number of floors. For residential, they usually have the number of units, too.
Also, definitely focus first on the densest buildings/lots. If you cross the threshold, you don't have to worry about the rest of the buildings.
Hope that helps. It's still tedious regardless.

Any additional information on how to find the densities for this credit? We have talked to a number of local governments and none have this information available. We were referred to the tax assessors office but they charge a pretty significant amount to send us what they have.

Has anyone else found useful resources for this credit? Our project is in an incredibly dense downtown location but if we can't confirm the densities then we can't prove credit compliance.

Has anyone found the density information needed to document LTc4 (LEED v4) in Washington, DC? The lot size isn't too hard to find on the city's online real property tax site. But I haven't yet found a source for building gross square footage that is required to document Option 1 of this credit.

I tried finding the DC info before and spent several hours going in circles. I eventually gave up on documenting this option b/c of that. 

Accessing the database for DC building areas is very challenging. Here are the steps:

• Go to: https://pivs.dcra.dc.gov/#!/resultDetails
• Search by Square Number (you can get this from the real property tax site - sometimes this process doesn't work if you search by building address)
• Once you get to the Property Information Summary page, select to "Download & Print"
• In the dialog box, select "Physical Characteristics"
• Open the CSV file:  the building area is under "GBA"; if it's multifamily, the number of units is under "Units"; if it's single family, the number of bathrooms/bedrooms/etc. is indicated.

Good Luck!

The www.openstreetmap.org tool might be helpful as a recognition of built buildings around an area.

Though this tool cannot estimate a total floor area nor buildable land estimation; Option 1 requires a lot of area counting and calculations.

For San Francisco, the Assessor Summary Report (provided for most, but not all properties) in the Planning Department's Property Information Map https://sfplanninggis.org/pim/ has what one would need to perform LEED's Density Calcs.

Any resources for Germany?

Any resources for NJ?

Any resources for CA?

For many denser, urban areas in the US googling the address of properties can point to commercial real estate leasing sites like realtytrac or loopnet  - these sometimes have the site and building sf areas pulled from public GIS databases, but results can vary. 

Esri open Data could be a good source too: http://hub.arcgis.com/pages/open-data  But I'm lucky enough to have access to an ArcGIS license for this documentation, and even with it there can be some tedious manual work if there are multiple data sets that don't easily merge (like, if the county tax assessor generates the building area data but the city has the GIS data that puts the parcels on a map, and the ID numbers are formatted differently...)

Curious if anyone has submitted for this credit with just a map showing the project is in a dense downtown area? So far I've only had to document this credit in lower-density areas where the calc is necessary to figure out which threshold is achieved, but next time I have a project in downtown Chicago it will be very tempting to just skip the numbers...

We achieved this credit under LEED v2009, for a project in downtown Denver. We used the Tax Assessor's website which had lot areas and development sq. footage.  It was still pretty tedious.  Good task for interns.

I recently received a comment stating that the 1/4mi boundary for Option 1 had to be an offset from the LPB.  Can someone please explain how exactly we are to do this? What software is being used for this and how does the extra work help encourage the team to development in areas with existing infrastructure?  How does including the LPB promote walkability, and transportation efficiency and reduce vehicle distance traveled? 

My wish is that when we push current and future sustainable building initiative(s), we work smarter not harder...  Can we please get some tools to do the job? Perhaps a youtube video demonstration could be a helpful approach.   

Hi Dustin, totally sympathize & agree with your frustrations on this one. As a first step, do you think the offset vs circle radius will make a big difference to the calculation on your project? Like, if you open Google maps and draw some 1/4 mile lines from your boundary, does that add a lot of land but no new buildings? If not, I'd contact LEED Coach or customer service and ask if they can override the comment, that you don't think it's worth doing the extra calculation for no change to the credit threshold.

I'd be happy to chat about how I've done this on past projects but the problem I keep running into is that there is no intersection of free software / time saving / reliable data. If you don't have access to expensive mapping software and usable city/county building data...you're not going to be able to do this calculation with much accuracy. (And I've complained about this before here, but I do have that software, and a degree in using it, and this credit still takes all day!) 

I agree with all of these comments. The offset vs radius is totally arbitrary; it's almost like they had to really brainstorm to come up with something they could change for v4. The inconsistent measuring across the LT credits for offset vs radius vs walking distance is frustrating and adds time to the already arduous documentation process to have to create multiple diagrams showing very similar info.

I digress.

We often use AutoCAD to generate the offset, especially b/c the civil site plans for applicable projects is usually already in CAD, so it's often the path of least resistance. When that wasn't available, or practical for the project (like with CI projects), we approximate it in Google Earth, Illustrator, Powerpoint...whatever program the person generating the graphic is most comfortable with using several distance markers in the map and then connecting them.

Definitely also agree on the time required to find all the necessary info. Even with a database--which in many cases is not available--it takes a disproportionate amount of time to complete the process. I often face pushback from PMs who just don't understand the time and process needed for this 1-2 points. 

@Dustin thinking on this a little further...does your campus have a GIS program? you might have a librarian or student worker who can at least get the offset and its area on a map pretty easily. 

Yes @Emily's thank you for both of your feedback.  We have many resources here at UF in which I am utilizing one of our GIS senior coordinator who doesn't buy into the practice.  I like the idea of using autoCAD and will look into this moving forward.  My thoughts are that because of the time spent on properly documenting the requirements my take is that the design team doesn't get to utilize this information to make more informed decisions on how the building is placed on the site.  Further I am unclear how placing the LPB (building, landscapes, hardscapes, etc.) offset supports the intent.  If we want to make things more sustainable and the process has to be digestible otherwise we are getting caught up with high-level thinking which is not practical in the real world.  Okay, enough ranting, we are 100% committed to developing a better built environment for future generations.  

Hello Dustin, 

I have not personally used but I heard IES Virtual Environment is able to document both Option 1 and Option 2 of this credit.  You might want to check this out software (available at: https://www.iesve.com/software/download/ve) and guidelines (available at: https://www.iesve.com/downloads/help/VE2014/Navigator/LEEDv4/LEEDv4Density.pdf). 

Thanks! 

I see that IESVE imports information from OpenStreetMap.  Our main campus is covered however there are a number of buildings outside that are not. Definitely good advise @Bipin.  Thank you! DS

A recent review comment I recieved mentioned the following:

"The documentation indicates that only the site area for the buildings included in the calculation as buildable land. However, all buildable land within one-quarter mile of the project boundary must be included."

I am confused how to measure all buildable land, for instance, do i just do an area measurment of the buildable land?  i was lucky enough to find city bldg information to help me get residential/commercial information, but i am unclear how to capture the buildable land? 

And, I've created a spreadsheet for the calculations, so would i just add the buildable land area and then enter zero for the total building area (sqft)?

Thank you!

Courtney

Thank you!

Courtney

Hi Courtney,

Yes, you should add the buildable land area to your spreadsheet and then enter zero for the total building area (sqft)?

Kara

If you're doing many projects outside metro areas with easy, free density information (D.C, etc.), you may find the Urban Footprint tool a useful resource. It's not free but has a lot to offer.  https://urbanfootprint.com/

Hi Courtney, Did you receive an answer? I have similar questions.

 I am unclear on a few things in the "Buildable Area". Some text says, exclude parking garages, other text says exclude "structured parking", is this the same and does that imply to exclude parking garages only and include parking lots? What about the green space surrounding a building and the parkway at the edge of a municiple road? 

Hello Nicole, 

The project buildings and non-habitable space such as, parking garages should be excluded. I think the parking garages and structured parking is same in this scenario. 

As per definition - buildable land the portion of the site where construction can occur, including land voluntarily set aside and not constructed on. When used in density calculations, buildable land excludes public rights-of-way and land excluded from development by codified law. Based on the definition of buildable land, you can decide whether to inlcude or exclude - the green space surrounding a building and the parkway at the edge of a municiple road. Hope this helps! 

Hi Bipin, Thank you for your response! Yes, this is helpful. Not to belabor the clarification, :), but is your interpretation of a parking lot, i.e. a paved and striped surface without vertical structure, included in the definition of "structured parking"? I understand garages.

Other examples: I have several projects with a campus like setting as well and the sprawling parking lots make it a challenge to meet some of the connectivity and density credits, as you can imagine. If the walking distance can eliminate the parking lot, we have a much more convenient location. Any insights?

Nicole, By structured parking (I mean)- Basically parking decks, any single or multi-storeyed building parking. (Any physcial structure with vertical structure). I do not mean structured in a sense arranged parking in a sprawling parking lot. 

Parking lot - as you said above. Parking lots are required to be reported as buildable land area. You might want to check v4.1 for walkable project location, if that best fits your project location too. 

Thank you, this was my understanding from previous iterations.