A new unpublished mandatory requirement for LEED NC is that if the project includes any lease spaces non-mandatory Tenant Green Guidelines must be provided to the future tenants.
The above occurred on a project with less than 10% lease spaces. The spaces included HVAC VAVs and were core and shell spaces. The worst case occupancy and usages were assumed when the spaces were included in the LEED points submitted: Bikes, Parking, Energy with No Efficiency Claimed for Lighting, Ventilation, Water Use, Construction IAQ Practices and Testing. Everything was covered for what is in the scope-of-work for the project.
Evidently, the above is not enough. The LEED NC v2.2 and 2009 Reference Guide make no mention of a mandatory requirement to provide Tenant Green Guidelines. During a conference call with Sarah Alexander of the GBCI, she confirmed that this a clear requirement for any project with any amount of core and shell space. She based the requirement on LEED interpretations from 2004 and 2005 that were for Core and Shell projects using LEED NC as the rating system rather then LEED CS.
It doesn't seem to matter that our project is LEED NC. Evidently these guidelines have been required of all LEED NC projects, apparently since 2004. I have worked on over 100 LEED NC projects and this has never been demanded.
Tenant Green Guidelines are an optional credit for LEED CS. To earn the credit the Guidelines must be part of a lease agreement. For LEED NC the phantom requirement is for Tenant Green Guidelines is not optional and they are not mandatory.
Has any one else been subject to this new phantom requirement? I want to find out if the GBCI has forced ALL LEED NC projects with any amount of CS space to provide Tenant Green Guidelines.
Samantha Harrell
LEED Project Reviewer certificate holder115 thumbs up
April 12, 2012 - 12:04 pm
Hi Hernando,
LEED Interpretation 5232 supports this requirement and is applicable to NCv2.2 and v2009 projects. By applicable I mean that the LI database indicates that project teams and reviewers may refer to the ruling for projects using NCv2.2 and v2009, if reasonable and appropriate.
Hernando Miranda
OwnerSoltierra LLC
344 thumbs up
April 12, 2012 - 12:23 pm
Yes, that interpretation is about how to earn an Innovation Credit using Mandatory Green Tenant Guidelines. It was posted in 2009 long after the project I discussed was registered. The project did not apply for an ID credit at any time.
We were told by the GBCI that an ID credit can not be earned based on an interpretation from 2004. The interpretation you listed states otherwise.
Regardless of whether you pursue an ID credit, it is now mandatory, per the GBCI, to include non-mandatory Tenant Green Guidelines for any LEED NC project with any amount of Core and Shell space. Earning and ID credit is not possible according to the GBCI per a conference call I had with them on 04/11/2012.
Samantha Harrell
LEED Project Reviewer certificate holder115 thumbs up
April 12, 2012 - 12:51 pm
Yes I'm aware that's its mandatory now, and I'm not sure why the LEED Interpretation 5232 was filed under the Innovation in Design section. The inquiry states "This is a general guidance Credit Interpretation Request, not specifically addressing ID credit." Anyway, this particular LEED Interpretation applies to all NC v2.2 projects registered on or after 9/2/2009 with unfinished tenant spaces, and the reviewer can choose/is supposed to apply it to all NC v2009 projects. There may be other LIs published earlier that established the same or a similar requirement. Check the Applicability tab under the LEED Interpretations the GBCI has referred you to. The tab indicates which rulings were written specifically for projects using a particular rating system and therefore must be applied based on the project's registration date.
Hernando Miranda
OwnerSoltierra LLC
344 thumbs up
April 12, 2012 - 1:14 pm
Looks like you have a mistake that you are trying to impose without correcting the mistake.
There are no LIs with a mandatory requirement to provide non-mandatory Tenant Green Guidelines for LEED NC projects. If you can find one please post it and the applicable date.
Please make sure the LI you look for is not the infamous parking structure that was 100% core and shell and was certifying under LEED NC. In that odd case, yes Tenant Green Guidelines should have been required, should have been mandatory, and an ID credit should not have been earned. That project should have been LEED CS with an option to provide the guidelines as allowed by that system. LEED CS evidently was not available to that project when it was registered. So, the LI properly stated what that odd project needed to do for a LEED NC rating.
That project is infamous because it appears to be one of the reasons that there is a new special rule to prevent such a project for earning any LEED rating unless the amount of occupied space meets specific requirements.
Samantha Harrell
LEED Project Reviewer certificate holder115 thumbs up
April 12, 2012 - 1:17 pm
As stated above, LEED Interpretation 5232 (9/2/09) requires, for LEED-NC projects, that for unfinished tenant spaces, tenant guidelines must be established ensure that future build-outs will meet the prerequisites and credits that have been pursued. The ruling was written for projects using LEED-NC v2.2 and must be applied based on the project's registration date. Project teams and reviewers may refer to the ruling for projects using LEED v2009 system, if reasonable and appropriate. This is a general guidance LEED Interpretation, not intended for Innovation in Design credit.
Bill Swanson
Sr. Electrical EngineerIntegrated Design Solutions
LEEDuser Expert
731 thumbs up
April 12, 2012 - 1:31 pm
All v2.2 CIR were voided after being incorporated into the v2009 Reference Guide. This CIR would only be applicable to v2.2 projects registered after 9-2-09.
Hernando Miranda
OwnerSoltierra LLC
344 thumbs up
April 12, 2012 - 1:47 pm
The project was registered long before 2009. The LI would not apply. Yet is incorrectly being applied to this project.
The LEED NC 2009 Reference Makes no mention of tenant guidelines except for core and shell projects.
It is interesting to read the defense provided by a LEED project reviewer for a requirement that is being imposed that is not properly documented.
Samantha Harrell
LEED Project Reviewer certificate holder115 thumbs up
April 12, 2012 - 2:05 pm
Hi Bill,
LEED Interpretation 5232 may also be applied to v2009 projects at the reviewer's discretion, as indicated by the single check mark under the Applicability tab. Many of the v2 CIRs were 'recycled' as LEED Interpretations that 2009 project teams and reviewers can apply to their projects. In some cases LEED Interpretations (formerly known as CIRs) may not be applicable to a project depending on the rating system used, but this will be noted in Applicability tab under each LI.
Hernando Miranda
OwnerSoltierra LLC
344 thumbs up
April 12, 2012 - 2:09 pm
At the reviewer's discretion? What are the rules for reviewer's discretion?
Samantha Harrell
LEED Project Reviewer certificate holder115 thumbs up
April 12, 2012 - 2:13 pm
Hi Hernando,
Your first post states that GBCI based the requirement for your project on LEED interpretations from 2004 and 2005 that were for Core and Shell projects using LEED NC as the rating system rather then LEED CS. My suggestion to you was to check the Applicability tab associated with the LEED Interpretations the GBCI has referred you to. The tab indicates which LI rulings were written specifically for projects using a particular rating system and therefore must be applied based on the project's registration date. I have referenced LEED Interpretation 5232 as an example in an attempt to dispel the belief that tenant design and construction guidelines are a 'phantom' requirement. :)
Samantha Harrell
LEED Project Reviewer certificate holder115 thumbs up
April 12, 2012 - 2:19 pm
Hi Hernando,
A single check mark under the Applicability tab for a particular LEED Interpretation indicates that "Project teams and reviewers may refer to the ruling for projects using this rating system, if reasonable and appropriate." In the case of LEED Interpretation 5232, a reviewer will apply this ruling to NC projects registered after 9/2/09 if s/he discerns from the submittal documentation that an NC project has unfinished tenant space.
Hernando Miranda
OwnerSoltierra LLC
344 thumbs up
April 12, 2012 - 2:40 pm
This is a LEED NC v2.2 project not a LEED 2009 project. There is no applicability tab for LIs.
The 5232 LI was not applied to the project. The old LEED CS as LEED NC CIRs (LIs) were applied to a project that is not LEED CS. More than 90% fully built out than has 100% of the project is included in all of credits as required: Lighting with no efficiency claim, ventilation and water use at maximum spaces type occupancy. Everything was included to certify 100% of the building.
You haven't made a good case why a project that includes everything that is required to certify 100% of a LEED NC project plus a small amount of LEED CS spaces must provide non-binding tenant guidelines. The non-binding is meaningless, and the GBCI staff acknowledge that is meaningless yet it must be provided because a reviewed used their "discretion" to create a review issue.
Hernando Miranda
OwnerSoltierra LLC
344 thumbs up
April 13, 2012 - 11:27 am
I received confirmation this morning from Sarah Alexander of the GBCI that non-binding Green Tenant Guidelines are required for all LEED NC projects with CS areas regardless of when the project was registered. Any amount of CS space triggers the requirement.
The GBCI stated they ary considering adding this requirement as an MPR for LEED 2009. If it doesn't get added as an MPR it will still be enforced.
There you have it, straight from the GBCI management: A requirement that will likely remain an unpublished requirement.
Hernando Miranda
OwnerSoltierra LLC
344 thumbs up
April 13, 2012 - 12:01 pm
Green Tenant Guidelines are non-binding, but...
To earn the water efficiency credits the a mandatory requirement must be enforced on the tenants to either not install any plumbing fixtures related to the LEED water use credit, or if stub outs are included a mandatory lease requirement must be provided to install plumbing fixtures at least as efficient as what is installed in the base building.
This phantom requirement continues to evolve as I write this.
Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11474 thumbs up
April 30, 2012 - 3:32 pm
I heard from Sarah Alexander, and she was concerned about being misquoted here. She provided the following information to me.Just to clarify, the issue of unfinished spaces within LEED 2009 projects has been addressed by LEED Interpretation #10102 that was published on 11/1/2011 for MPR#2 which incorporates guidance on how to treat unfinished spaces in LEED 2009 projects, into the Minimum Program Requirements.For information purposes, you can see the following historic CIRs/LEED Interpretations that reference the need for non-binding tenant guidelines for NC v2.2/v2.1/v2.0 projects that include unfinished spaces (note this is not an exhaustive list of LEED Interpretations, merely illustrative examples):LI 3900 (historic NCv2.0/NCv2.1 admin CIR of 2/22/2005)LI #2595 (NC v2.2 7/29/2009) and LI#5216 (NC v2.2 7/29/2009)LI #10027 (NC v2.2 5/9/2011)LI #5255 (NC v2.2 4/20/2007)LI #1868 (NC v2.2 8/27/2007)LI#1968 (NCv2.2 12/19/2007)LI#5232 (NC v2.2 9/2/2009)
Hernando Miranda
OwnerSoltierra LLC
344 thumbs up
April 30, 2012 - 5:34 pm
To further clarify what happened and my quoting of Sarah Alexander.
All of the LIs are dated after the registration date of the project in question. Every single one.
The GBCI did provide any clearly documented reference that Tenant Guideline were required for all NC projects registered before 2/22/2005.
For the first LEED review (combined design and construction) no LIs were referenced. Only a requirement without a foundation basis. The LIs were not identified until the second review. No opportunity was provided to refute the source of the TI guideline "requirement."
The only applicable reviewer basis made was LI 30013 (2004 vintage) which is in regards to a 300k SF parking structure, with 20k of CS space, evidently 0k of NC space and was certifying under LEED-NC. A very odd LEED project. Not at all related to a project more than 90% occupied by the owner with the TI spaces fully accounted for in the submitted documentation.
The reviewer also quoted LI 3900 but not until the second review where it was impossible to claim the applicable date was after-the-fact.
The GBCI ended up with tenant guidelines that required non-efficient, code minimum plumbing fixtures. It is odd to earn LEED WEc3 points for NC-v2.2 and enforce green tenant guidelines, encouraging tenants to pursue LEED-CI, that would prevent a tenant from meeting a prerequisite under LEED-CI 2009.
This oddity has to do with the fixtures a tenant could install, kitchen sinks, and not what the base building provides (full restrooms). Only the restroom fixtures were water efficient for the project, not kitchen sinks.