This Bird's Eye View text is from USGBC's MPR Supplemental Guidance Revision #2. See the Credit Language tab for the MPR requirements.

INTENT

Because LEED is a rating system for buildings, it is appropriate to restrict the amount of land associated with a LEED certified project.

SPECIFIC ALLOWED EXCEPTIONS

None

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND CLARIFICATIONS

Calculation method for determining gross floor area to site area ratio

[ Gross Floor Area (gsf) / Site Area (sf) ] x 100

EXAMPLE

A 4,000 square foot building is located on a five acre (217,800 sq ft) site:

[4,000/ 217,800] x 100 = 1.8%

This building must claim only 4.6 acres (200,000 sq ft) within its LEED project boundary to meet the 2% building area to site area minimum.

There is no maximum ratio

There is no maximum building area to site area ratio.

Addressing conflicts with MPR #3

If a LEED project boundary must be adjusted in order to meet this MPR, the adjustment must be done such that the new boundary also complies with MPR #3, Must Use a Reasonable Site Boundary. If there is a conflict, this MPR takes precedence. In other words, the project team may eliminate land that is usually required by MPR #3 to be within the project boundary, in order to comply with this MPR. However, the elimination must be done in a reasonable fashion; the project team cannot remove land specifically because it would not comply with another MPR, prerequisite, or credit requirement.

Projects without land in the LEED project boundary comply by default

If there is not any land included within the LEED project boundary (as will typically be the case with LEED-CI projects), the project will be in compliance with this MPR by default.

Treatment of land used with SSc5 Site Development –Protect or Restore Habitat in LEED-EB: O&M Off-site land used to earn Sustainable Sites credit 5 in LEED-EB: O&M must be included in the calculations for this MPR.