CalGreen and LEED Requirements for SSc4.3

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/carpool/carpool.htm
has a list of eligible "clean air" vehicles. Whoever comes up with the correlation between ACEEE 40+ and ZEV, ULEV, SULEV and ATPZEV deserves a lifetime of preferred parking.

This list has both FEV and ZEV eligible cars for LEED.
http://greenercars.org/news.htm
NEW! LEED MY 2000–2012 Low Emission Vehicles — comprehensive list of MY 2000 to MY 2011 vehicles that scored 40 and above in our rankings

I am trying to help a client implement the LEV/FEV preferred parking. A November 1, 2011 addendum changed footnote number 2 for this credit to state: “For the purposes of this credit, low-emitting vehicles are defined as vehicles that are classified as Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) by the California Air Resources Board. Fuel-efficient vehicles are defined as vehicles that have achieved a minimum green score of 40 on the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) annual vehicle rating guide.” This complicates the credit requirements because the footnote used to read: “For the purposes of this credit, low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles are defined as vehicles that are either classified as Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) by the California Air Resources Board or have achieved a minimum green score of 40 on the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) annual vehicle rating guide.” It was clear it was an either/or situation.

I used to direct owners to the ACEEE list because it was so straightforward. Do vehicles that use these spaces now have to meet both requirements, i.e., be on both lists to qualify?

If so, has the ACEEE list, as noted above, been vetted to cross reference the California ARB ZEV list? Or do only ZEV or ZEV /Bin 1 Emission standards apply? If so, that is only 20 cars, which can’t be right.

Is there truly a California ARB ZEV list like ACEEE’s? Or do we use the http://www.driveclean.ca.gov/ website and search for certain parameters, like a Smog Score of 10 (ZEV, Bin 1 per http://www.driveclean.ca.gov/Know_the_Score/Understand_the_Smog_Score.php) to find ZEVs?

That is a great question. I have always interpreted this credit to be for low emitting and/OR fuel efficient vehicles, but if you read the credit language, there actually is no OR. You are right that it is now very ambiguous whether a vehicle must meet both of these standards or whether just one will do. It would be great if someone from USGBC could weigh in on this issue.

The credit language says that parking must be provided for LE and FE vehicles. It's like saying that the barn stall has to hold horses and donkeys—no one gets the impression that the horses must also be donkeys.I also don't see how the footnote confuses matters. I think you have to really read into the verbiage to argue that it changes the substance of the matter.I'm not seeing the same ambiguities that others are seeing. But if I'm missing something, please help me understand!

Tristan - Horses and donkeys - that’s a great way to look at it. Based on earlier posts on this subject, it seemed others were interpreting (as I was) that there was a need to seek out vehicles that met both standards. The separate definitions in the footnote change seemed to further reinforce that mindset of two standards but using the horses and donkeys analogy, it appears I can use either one or both, which would be "and/or" like Ellen mentions.