My question is similar to Rebecca Hart's question below.
My LEED CI project falls under case 1, option 2. We are providing much less parking spaces of what the local zoning requires, the municipality has approved this. This results in approximately 15 parking spaces (available only for visitors, disableds and carpools) serving a new office building for 350 people. The requirements of this credit says that the project must provide at least 9 carpool spaces.
The project would like to provide 2 carpool parking spaces which is reasonable for 15 parking spaces (13% of the parking spaces). Does anyone have an idea of how we can achive this credit with these conditions? It would be sad not to meet this credit when we reduce the number of parking spaces dramatically and also will have carpool places that occupies 13% of the total number of parking spaces.
Thank you for all of you thoughts!
/Mathilda
Rebecca Hart
6 thumbs up
August 9, 2013 - 6:18 am
Mathilda, as it seems no-one else here as experience of this, I am going to submit a CIR. As far as I am concerned, the intent of the credit is being met int terms of limiting parking to encourage public transport usage and through providing preferred parking to car pool users. I'll let you know what happens!
Mathilda Jonsson
Environmental Certification Engineer (LEED AP BD+C)Skanska
41 thumbs up
August 12, 2013 - 5:12 am
Rebecca, that would be great to hear what response you get. Thank you!
Michelle Robinson Schwarting
148 thumbs up
August 12, 2013 - 11:17 am
There's a LEED Interpretation that is applicable to CI 2009 projects and hopefully answers this for you:
http://www.usgbc.org/leed-interpretations?keys=5218
The Ruling says:
The project is asking if providing preferred carpool parking for 5% of total parking capacity is an acceptable alternative compliance pathway for achieving SSc3.3 under LEED CI. The answer depends on the amount of parking available to employees. Per a previous LEED CI SSc3.3 CIR ruling dated 1/27/2007, based on a scenario with limited parking access for employees, using LEED-NC v2.2 SSc4.4 Option 1 as a compliance path to determine the number of preferred parking spaces for carpools is reasonable for the LEED-CI project. "Limited parking access for employees" is defined as 20% or less of employees having access to parking. If more than 20% of the parking is available to employees then the requirements of SSc3.3 as defined in the LEED CI reference guide need to be met Project teams will need to adequately demonstrate how parking is restricted to employees to pursue this alternative compliance pathway.
Mathilda Jonsson
Environmental Certification Engineer (LEED AP BD+C)Skanska
41 thumbs up
August 13, 2013 - 1:46 am
Can't believe I missed that. Thank you Michelle! This helps me alot.
Rebecca Hart
6 thumbs up
August 14, 2013 - 4:58 am
Thank you from me too. How did you manage to find that? I had looked! Anyway, does that mean I can just submit our evidence for this without a CIR as long as I follow these guidelines and make reference to this interpretation?
Juliana Moreira
Senior Sustainability ConsultantWSP
6 thumbs up
July 4, 2014 - 7:22 am
Just to follow on from Rebecca's question, we did submit our proposal and refered to interpretation ruling no. 5218. It was accepted by USGBC without any issues and no additional CIR was required.