Council President Garcetti (CD13) and Curbed LA patron saint Jack Weiss (CD5) have teamed to make enviro-friendly green design pay off for developers. Wait, did we say "pay-off". Uh, no, wrong words. We mean they have created a totally legal, Brown Act compliant, way to reward development type people who build structures that are environmentally friendly. It's an incentive to stop building pollutey buildings. From our press release file:
"The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a program today (8/16) that would expedite the plan-check process for buildings that meet the "silver" standard in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidelines. LEED standards, established by the US Green Building Council, outline steps that developers can take during construction and maintenance that will make their buildings more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient.
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"By changing designs to maximize energy efficiency, builders can save money on energy costs and help preserve the environment," said Weiss. "Today's action gives them another incentive to use environmentally friendly materials, and I hope they will take advantage of it." LA+U also has a blurb on the new green incentive plan. So far the majority of LEED certified buildings in California are government buildings. Los Angeles examples include CalTrans Dist. 7 Headquarters (LEED Silver), the Sun Valley Branch Library (LEED Gold), and Fire Station No. 89 in North Hollywood (LEED Certified).
· [PDF] GARCETTI, WEISS WIN SPEEDIER PROCESS FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY DEVELOPMENTS [Eric Garcetti - CD 13]
· Stop Killing Polar Bears. Build Green Please! [Curbed LA]