Working on a NC project on a private college campus and wondering how rigid USGBC is in defining "publicly available". As an example, the public can enter the library but cannot check out material without having an affiliation (generally monetary) with the university. In general, services are plentiful within 1/4 mile and while not closed of from the public, are highly focused towards students and staff.
Is a private university campus viewed differently, in the eyes of LEED, than a public university?
Blake Jackson
Sustainable Practice LeaderTsoi/Kobus & Associates
13 thumbs up
January 23, 2017 - 11:28 am
Gina, it really depends on the specific LEED reviewer's interpretation. If you have another use available to you, you may want to use it instead to document compliance with greater certainty (presumably you're documenting Surrounding Density & Diverse Uses?). If you need this to count, I would make the argument that the public is allowed to enter and can peruse materials for personal use during business hours without the need of an affiliation. I know that I do this with the Harvard Library often, which is right around the corner from my office, when they have on hand a reference material we need access to and do not have ourselves. To my knowledge, there is no distinction between public and private universities in the eyes of LEED, and in the past, I have gotten away with this on private university LEED documentation - although I used public libraries and gyms, rather than university amenities for my purposes.