Develop a flexible site master plan that accommodates a number of scenarios, unanticipated changes, and recalculations down the line. 

This credit is documentation-intensive — the design team and the owner need to be prepared to incorporate the four credit requirements into the site master plan while the project is still in the early planning stage. 

The site master plan should include new buildings on the existing site, additions to the current design, addition of parking lots or hardscapes, sports fields or swimming pools, and any other construction projects that may affect the site. 

If possible, develop the site master plan in conjunction with the current project design. This allows the design team to verify that both are being addressed and the proper credits are being incorporated. 

On the other hand, documenting recalculations for the following credits can be much more difficult:

SSc6.1: Stormwater Design—Quantity Control; 

SSc6.2: Stormwater Design—Quality Control; and 

SSc8: Light Pollution Reduction. 

The four easiest credits to document—assuming you know in the early planning stages that your project will attempt this credit—are: 

SSc1: Site Selection; 

SSc5.1: Site Development—Protect or Restore Habitat; 

SSc5.2: Site Development—Maximize Open Space; and 

SSc7.1: Heat Island Effect—Nonroof.

Determine which four of the seven applicable credits are best suited for your project. Your choices might change as credits are defined and the project progresses, but it is helpful to keep a certain set of credits in mind as you run calculations and develop the existing site plan and future master plan. You must earn these four credits in your current design and the future master plan. See each of these credit pages on LEEDuser for more details on the requirements and calculations.

Record minutes at all meetings with the school board and community about this issue. For LEED documentation you will need to write a narrative on these collaboration efforts, and the meeting minutes will help write the narrative. 

Talk with the school board to determine if this credit is in line with its sustainability goals and plans for future buildings. The conversation should include estimates for population growth or decline, the possibility of funding for green building, responsible parties for implementation, and parent and community input. Also consider the impact of these sustainable design requirements on future programming and use of space.

Be sure to fully understand the requirements of each of the four credits you will be working with in your site master plan. The Documentation Toolkit provides a sample site master plan that both gives a sense of what is required to document the  credit, and lays out the credit requirements in a site-oriented way.