LEED Certification and AFV Preferred Parking Signs

Yesterday, the North Texas Commission (NTC) rounded out the 5th year of the Topic: North Texas Webinar Series presented by Verizon with a detailed look at LEED Certification and preferred parking for alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs). The EPA rated Dallas as #7 in the country for total number of green buildings. Also, Dallas is one of the first cities in the country to implement a comprehensive and mandatory green building code. Under the city’s Green Building Ordinance, all new projects must meet minimum requirements for the Dallas Green Construction Code, or be LEED Certified. Robert Kent, former Director of Public Policy for the North Texas Commission and now director of The Trust for Public Land Dallas office, joined us at the NTC office to discuss the AFV preferred parking program he established. For a full video of the webinar, please view this link. For the presentation slides, check out the NTC slideshare account.

About LEED

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the nation’s premier green building certification system. Administered by the U.S. Green Business Council (USGBC), over 57,ooo commercial and institutional projects are currently participating in LEED, comprising over 10.5 bullion square feet. Currently, the USGBC offers five rating systems for LEED, including:

1. Building Design & Construction

2. Interior Design & Construction

3. Building Operations & Maintenance

4. Neighborhood Development

5. Homes

Projects seeking LEED Certification earn points within various credit categories, such as Location & Transportation, Sustainable Sites, Energy & Atmosphere or Materials & Resources. The more points a project earns, the higher it’s level of LEED certification:

1. LEED Certificated – 40-49 points

2. LEED Silver – 50-59 points

3. LEED Gold – 60-79 points

4. LEED Platinum – 80+ points

Alternative Fuel Vehicles for LEED Certification

AFVs are cars, trucks and other automobiles that run on fuels other than traditional gasoline. They could be electric, natural gas, hydrogen, bio-diesel, ethanol or propane. The USGBC offers AFV-specific points towards LEED certification within the Sustainable Sites Credit Category.

SSc4.3: Alternative Transportation—Low Emitting and Fuel Efficient Vehicles

1. Option 1: Designate 5% of spaces in your parking lot as “preferred parking” for low emission or fuel-efficient vehicles

2. Option 2: Install AFV fueling stations for 3% of site’s total parking capacity

3. Option 3: Provide low-emission or fuel-efficient vehicles and preferred parking for 3% of your building’s employees

4. Option 4: Institute a fuel-efficient or low-emission vehicle sharing program for your building, and provide preferred parking for these vehicles

NTC AFV-Preferred Parking Program

Through a grant from the US Dept. of Energy and the NCTCOG, the North Texas Commission is offering free “AFV-Preferred Parking” signs to businesses, municipalities, and other places-of-work in North Texas. If your organization is interested in the NTC AFV-Preferred Parking Program, please go to ntxgreenparking.com to request the number of signs you need OR call the NTC at 972-621-0400 and ask about the parking program.

About the signs: • Dimensions: 12” x 18” • Material: 63-mil high-intensity reflective aluminum • Stand dimensions: 48” tall with 14” base plate • Cost: FREE!

Benefits of signs: • Count toward LEED 2009 SSc4.3 points • Parking space listed on Juxt smartphone app • Help reduce air pollution • Support your employees with AFVs