This credit interpretation is in reference to an international airline terminal located in a dense urban setting. The project has certainly channeled development to an urban area with existing infrastructure, protected greenfields and preserved habitat by developing a site previously developed by former airline terminal. Programmatically, it is very difficult, if not impossible, for an airline terminal to meet the initial 60,000 sf/acre development density threshold for this credit. This is due to the significant amount of paved surface area that must be provided within the project boundary of an airline terminal to accommodate the taxiing and docking of aircraft. This credit interpretation is submitted to determine if the USGBC will allow for the paved "airside" areas of the airline terminals to be excluded from the calculations for this credit in the same manner that public roads and right of way areas are allowed to be excluded. Please advise if the airside exemption is acceptable to the CIR project manager or if another calculation methodology is more appropriate to demonstrate compliance with the spirit of this credit.
The project area cannot exclude the air-side infrastructure from the SSc2 calculations. The intent of this credit is to direct development into vital urban areas - reducing dependency on the automobile and putting people in places that have live-work-play environments - thereby reusing existing infrastructure and protecting greenfields. An airport terminal is a facility that serves ONE purpose; it is a transportation hub typically surrounded by miles of access roads. It does not create a critical mass of mixed use opportunities. Given the nature of these infrastructure intensive facilities and their functional and security needs, it\'s unlikely that any airport, in an urban or suburban setting, is capable of meeting the intent of the credit. The programmatic requirements for airports inherently make them unable to support the intent of this credit. Some credits are not applicable or achievable for some projects. Applicable internationally.