The project, located in New York City, is a 480,000 SF office building with 90,000 SF of retail, applying under LEED Core and Shell v.2.0. The project has 52 valet parking spaces consisting of mechanically stacked parking. We seek to achieve Credit SS-4.3 through Option 1, providing preferred parking for 5% of the spaces (3 spaces total) for low-emission vehicles. Because of the valet parking, the usual approach to preferred parking (locating it conveniently and reserving the spaces) is not straightforward, and we seek your guidance on how to proceed. 1. The approach that most closely approximates that used for self-parking is for the three preferred spaces to be at grade level and close to the valet station, thus shortening the wait. 2. A second form of preference would be that the owners of preferred spaces would be served first if more than one owner is awaiting valet service. 3. A third approach is to offer a discount to owners of low-emission vehicles, up to a number of owners equal to 5% of the parking spaces - our case 3 owners. We assume that the discount would be 5% of the value of the parking fee. We request your judgment as to whether any or all these approaches would achieve the Credit.
The applicant has requested confirmation of three different approaches as acceptable substitutes for preferred parking for low-emitting/fuel efficient vehicles. 1. Locating the preferred spaces so as to provide the shortest wait does meet the intent of preferred parking. 2. Allowing owners of preferred spaces to move to the front of the valet line is *not* an acceptable alternative to preferred parking. 3. Providing discounted parking rates is an acceptable approach. In order to establish a meaningful incentive in all potential markets, the parking rate must be discounted at least 20%. The discounted rate must be available for all customers (not limited to the number of customers equal to 5% of the vehicle parking capacity) and publicly posted at the entrance to the parking deck. Applicable Internationally.