109-H. October 26, 2010 Planning Commission staff report.pdfATTACHMENT H
OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
CITY HALL
10300 TORRE AVENUE • CUPERTINO, CA 95014-3255
(408) 777-3308 • FAX (408) 777-3333 • planning@cuperdmo.om
PLANNING I I T
Agenda Item No. Agenda Date: October 26, 2010
Application: MCA-2010-04
Applicant: City of Cupertino
Location: Citywide
APPLICATION SUMMARY
Municipal Code Amendment to adopt a Green Building Ordinance (Continued from
October 12, 2010)
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission recommend that the City Council adopt
the proposed draft Green Building Ordinance in accordance with the Model Ordinance
(See Attachment 1) with additional changes as recommended by the Commission.
BACKGROUND
On October 12, 2010, the Planning Commission reviewed the draft ordinance (See
Attachment 2, October 12 staff report) and conducted the public hearing. The
Commission discussed various components of the draft ordinance, including the
threshold levels for new construction and renovations/additions, verification options,
LEED EBOM (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings:
Operations and Maintenance) and incentives. The Commission recommended that staff
provide additional information and responses to questions that were raised, and
continued the public hearing to October 26, 2010.
DISCUSSION
A summary of the Commission's comments and questions are provided below with
additional information and responses provided by staff and the consultant. Responses are
provided in italics. Also, each section (as applicable) has a recommendation on changes to
the draft ordinance for the Planning Commissions consideration.
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Page 2
Planning Commission Comments/Questions on Reference Standards
1. How are points accumulated for higher density/smaller unit buildings?
Points in the rating systems are accumulated per the GPR checklists for single-family
residential and multiple family residential projects. You may access these checklists on Build
It Green's website at www.builditgreen.org/guidelines--checklists. In terms of the benefit that
density provides, for example, a project of over 15 units per acre would get 10 points in the
multi family rating system. Being close to transit and services provides another 3 points. And
multi family units are inherently more energy efficient than a single-family house, so they
would likely earn approximately 10 additional points in the energy category.
2. Provide more information about LEED EBOM (LEED for Existing Buildings:
Operations and Maintenance) (See Attachment 3 for more details on LEED EBOM),
and clarify what the difference is between EBOM and other certifications, and what
the benefits are to allow Us (tenant improvements) in an EBOM certified building
without separate certifications for each TI project. Are the certification costs the same
or different than other LEED certification costs?
LEED for Existing Buildings: Operation and Maintenance is a rating system specifically
developed for buildings that are already built and, in most instances pre -date the LEED rating
system. The focus of LEED EBOM is putting in place practices and procedures to meet the
goals of the LEED rating system, which are to reduce resource consumption and provide
healthy working and living environments. In comparison, the LEED rating systems for
Building Design and Construction, Commercial Interiors, and Core and Shell are focused on
the selection of design strategies, buildings systems, and materials that will achieve the same
goals, once the building is completed and placed in service. To earn a LEED EBOM
certification a project must have at least one year of operation data, which is used to establish
performance benchmarks against which prerequisites and credits are measured. The LEED
EBOM certification is valid for a five-year period.
Key parts of LEED EBOM are establishing procedures for reducing energy and water use in
existing buildings through systems upgrades and fixture replacement. An optional credit
(Materials and Resources Credit 3) specifically addresses tenant improvements by requiring
that owners establish tenant improvement standards and criteria that are consistent with
LEED criteria. Any future tenant improvement projects must be consistent with these
standards and criteria for the building to maintain its LEED EBOM certification. The benefit
of allowing building owners to conduct a LEED EBOM precertification is that the owner
would be reducing the impact of the entire project, not just the area of individual tenant
improvements. This approach is also more comprehensive than the piecemeal approach of
addressing individual tenant improvements over multiple years.
The costs for LEED EBOM are slightly lower than for LEED for New Construction or
Commercial Interiors. The main savings is in the certification fees from GBCI (Green
Building Certification Institute is the certification organization under the U.S. Green Building
Council for LEED). For example a 50,000 square foot new construction project would be
charged $2,000, while the same building in EBOM would be charged $1,500.
MCA-2010-04 Green Building Ordinance October 26, 2010
Page 3
3. What is the flow chart difference if a development went through LEED exterior versus
LEED EBOM?
Informal Certification
The development process for a LEED New Construction project involves the following: a)
submit LEED checklist with building permit application, c) submit green review fee, d)
drawings and LEED checklist reviewed by City consultant, e) project determined to meet the
intent of the applicable LEED rating system, fl building permit issued, g) project built per the
construction documents and consistent with the LEED checklist, g) conduct commissioning
during and at the completion of the construction process (LEED prerequisites and required by
Cal Green for projects over 10,000 sq. ft.), h) receive permit "final" and certificate of
occupancy. The City inspectors could check that the built project is consistent with the plans,
as they could for all of the City Determination projects.
Formal Certi 'cation
The development process for a LEED New Construction project involves the following: a)
register the project with GBCI, b) submit registration and LEED checklist with building
permit application, c) submit refundable deposit, d) building permit issued, e) build the project
per the construction documents and consistent with the LEED checklist, J) conduct
commissioning during and at the completion of the construction process, g) receive permit
"final" and temporary certificate of occupancy, h) complete and submit LEED certification, i)
receive certification, j) release of refundable deposit.
EBOM Precertiflcation for Tenant Improvement Projects
The EBOM process involves the following: a) include evidence of active EBOM certification
with building permit application and demonstrate that the proposed TI is consistent with the
TI standards established in the EBOM certification, b) building permit issued, c) TI inspected
by City staff at final permit/Certificate of Occupancy issued. The City inspectors could check
that the built project is consistent with the plans, as they could for all of the City
Determination projects.
Staff Recommendation on Reference Standards
Staff recommends providing LEED EBOM as an alternative to LEED requirements
for renovations/additions with Informal Verification. The LEED EBOM
requirement can be achieved at the same levels as the LEED requirements (e.g.
LEED EBOM Certified, etc.).
On Alternate Reference Standards (Section 19.78.050), the draft ordinance clarifies
that the decision maker of the application will determine whether a project may
use an alternate reference standard that is equivalent to the minimum or
exemplary standards per the requirement chart in Section 19.78.060. This was not
clarified in the draft ordinance the Commission reviewed on October 12.
MCA-2010-04 Green Building Ordinance October 26, 2010
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Planning Commission Comments on Residential New Construction
1. Consider a threshold level based upon the square footage for residential projects and
require additional points for homes over a certain size since larger homes have the
potential to create greater greenhouse gas impacts than smaller homes.
2. Consider using one rating system (i.e., Green Point Rated) and a uniform point
requirement to simplify the requirements.
Staff Recommendation for Residential New Construction:
In response to the Commissions request, staff suggests using the following thresholds for
new residential construction:
• Single-family homes (R-1, RHS and A-1 zones) - require 75 GPR points for homes or
projects with an average home size of 5 2,500 square feet and 100 GPR points for
homes > homes or projects with an average home size of 2,500 square feet.
• Multi -family homes - require 75 GPR points for projects with an average unit size of S
800 square feet and 100 GPR points for units > 800 square feet. For multi -family
projects with multiple units, the requirement will be based upon the average size of
the units in the project.
• This system would not use a threshold based on the number of units in a project.
• Continue to provide flexibility of either the GPR or LEED standard.
As shown in Attachment 4, three cities in Santa Clara County (Morgan Hill, Palo Alto and
Sunnyvale) use tiers/thresholds based on square footage. Thresholds used by cities
range from 1,500 square feet to 2,550 square feet. Palo Alto and Morgan Hill also include
a tiered system that requires an additional point for every 70 square feet over the square
footage threshold. GPR uses a threshold of 1,850 square feet for 3 bedroom homes and
2,600 square feet for 4 bedroom homes. GPR grants an additional point or two for homes
that fall below these thresholds. Staff suggests a threshold system similar to Sunnyvale's
to keep the process simple. The unit sizes suggested by staff are based on the typical size
of a single-family home and a multi -family, two -bedroom apartment.
Planning Commission Comments on Non-residential New Construction
1. Lower the threshold level to 25,000 square feet versus 50,000 square feet for the higher
certification requirements. Modify the table to show projects with >_ 10,000 square feet
- 25,000 square feet as a mid -size project, and all projects over 25,000 square feet as a
large project.
2. Provide the % of recent new constructions in the City above and below 25,000 square
feet in size. The Commission felt that the draft ordinance threshold of 50,000 square
feet was too high and would not capture a significant number of buildings that could
considerably add to the green house gas impacts in the region. Attachment 5 provides
MCA-2010-04 Green Building Ordinance October 26, 2010
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data over the past five years and indicates that about 31 % of new construction projects are
above 25,000 square feet and 21 % are above 50,000 square feet.
3. Consider Formal Verification requirement only for the projects over 50,000 square
feet; consider Informal Verification requirement for all other projects (this was one
Commissioner's suggestion).
4. Consider Formal Verification requirement for all new construction projects; not
comfortable with the Informal Verification for new construction projects (this was one
Commissioner's suggestion).
5. Consider Informal Verification for all projects; start at the lower level requirements
that the Informal Verification offers rather than the mandatory requirements of
Formal Verification (this was one Commissioner's suggestion).
Staff Recommendation forNon-ResidentialNew Construction:
Based on the Commissions comments, staff is suggesting the following changes to the
draft ordinance:
• Reduce thresholds for non-residential new construction to 25,000 square feet. Based
on this change, non-residential new construction projects < 10,000 square feet would
require CALGreen Mandatory, >_ 10,000 - 25,000 square feet would require LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification, and >25,000 square
feet would require LEED Silver certification.
• Require Formal Verification requirement for new construction projects above 50,000
square feet.
Planning Commission Comments on Non-residential Renovations/Additions
1. Consider lowering the square footage threshold for non-residential
renovations/ additions to 10,000 square feet (rather than the previously proposed
25,000 square feet) to capture renovation/addition projects that could considerably
add to green house gas impacts and to be consistent with the Phase II
recommendations
2. For the threshold of three out of four building systems, require that one shall be the
HVAC system.
3. Provide the % of commercial TIs below and above 25,000 square feet. Attachment 6
provides data over the past five years and indicates that about 12 % of renovations/additions
are above 25,000 square feet and 7% are above 50,000 square feet. The data does not provide
details on building systems involved in the renovations/additions.
4. Consider Informal Verification requirement for all renovation projects.
MCA-2010-04 Green Building Ordinance October 26, 2010
PaLre 6
Staff Recommendation for Non -Residential Renovations/Additions:
Based on the Commissions comments, staff is suggesting the following changes to the
draft ordinance:
• Reduce threshold to 10,000 square feet as recommended by the Commission. Based on
this change, non-residential minor renovations/ additions would require CALGreen
Mandatory, and non-residential major renovations/additions (over 50% of total
existing floor area, and at least 10,000 square feet of renovation/ addition, and
replacement or alteration of the HVAC system and two of the following: building
envelope, hot water system, or lighting system) would require LEED Certified.
• For building systems, require that for three out of four systems, one shall be the
HVAC system.
• Require Informal Certification for all renovations/additions.
Planning Commission Comments on Scope and Applicability:
1. Consider providing a grace period of either 3 months or 6 months for the effective
date after adoption of the ordinance.
2. No exemptions from the ordinance for planning projects that have received
entitlements, since such projects would not be exempt from the upcoming Cal Green
building codes.
Staff Recommendation on Scope and Applicability:
Based on the Commissions comments, staff is suggesting the following changes to the
draft ordinance:
• Consider the effective date to be 30 days from the adoption of the ordinance, but
provide language in the ordinance that says the ordinance requirements on building
permits will not become effective until six months after adoption of the ordinance.
This essentially shortens the time frame for anyone to mount legal challenges to the
ordinance to 30 days, and still allows for the "grace period" of six months from the
date of adoption before the ordinance takes effect on building permit submittals. Staff
feels that a six month period will allow applicants adequate time to prepare building
permit documents after being notified of the new ordinance requirements.
• Do not provide exemptions from the ordinance for previously approved planning
projects that submit for building permits after the effective date of the ordinance.
MCA-2010-04 Green Building Ordinance October 26, 2010
Page 7
Planning Commission Comments on Verification
1. The verification process should be streamlined and should not add building permit
plan check or construction time due to a required certification.
Staff Recommendation on Streamlining the Verification Process:
Based on the Commissions comments, staff is suggesting the following change to the
draft ordinance:
• For projects that require Formal Certification - Grant final building
approval/occupancy (instead of temporary occupancy) if all other city requirements
have been met except for certification and a Green Building deposit has been paid per
ordinance requirements.
Planning Commission Comments on Fees & Deposits
1. Consider a Green Building deposit amount similar to the City of San Jose that is least
onerous, and allows for flexible methods of deposit such as use of a line of credit
rather than bond to fulfill the deposit requirements.
Staff Recommendation on Fees/Deposits
• Green Building Deposit - Staff is seeking the Planning Commissions guidance on the
best approach. The City of San Jose's refundable Green Building deposit is $0.30 per
square foot, up to a maximum of $30,000 per building or shell permit. However, it has
been found that the deposit amount is less than the cost of certification and is not an
incentive to encourage applicants to follow through with certification. The amount
recommended in the draft ordinance is higher but commensurate to the cost of
certification. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages.
• Allow for flexible methods of deposit, such as use of a line of credit, or other means as
acceptable to the Director of Community Development.
Planning Commission comments on Incentives for Exemplary Projects
1. Consider express building plan check processes as an incentive for exemplary
standard projects requiring certification.
2. Consider incentives to encourage certification and exemplary projects.
3. For zoning code adjustments to Floor Area Ratio and off-street parking under
"Incentives," would this be determined and be decided upon under the public
hearings for ASA approval?
Staff Recommendation on Exemplary Standards/Incentives
• Staff does not recommend offering expedited plan checking as an incentive for
exemplary projects, particularly since staff currently makes it a point to move every
MCA-2010-04 Green Building Ordinance October 26, 2010
Page 8
project forward as expeditiously as possible in the interest of providing excellent
customer service. Staff also believes it would not send the right message to
applicants about the City's customer service if their plans were held back even if their
application was submitted earlier. Therefore, staff does not recommend this
approach. The City currently offers over-the-counter "express' plan checks for minor
projects and five-day "express" plan checks for some smaller projects that do not
require extensive review, where applicants pay a higher fee. Such express plan checks
will continue to be offered to projects that qualify.
• Staff additionally recommends the following changes that have been incorporated
into the draft ordinance to clarify the incentives process:
o Amend the purpose statement to note that the City wishes to encourage projects
that meet or exceed the ordinance requirements
o Provide findings for projects to qualify for incentives
o Consider a tiered systems for incentives
The following section provides additional detail on the changes:
• Staff recommends adding the following language to the Purpose and Intent section of
the ordinance (Section 19.78.010):
"The City also wishes to encourage applicants to voluntarily adopt practices that are more
environmentally friendly than the minimum required by this ordinance by providing
incentives for such buildings and structures."
• Staff recommends adding the following findings in Section 19.78.080 (Voluntary
Requirements to Obtain Incentives) to be adopted by the decision maker to clarify
when projects may qualify for incentives:
Findings:
1. The project greatly exceeds the minimum amounts required to meet the exemplary
standards.
2. The proposed use is compatible with the surrounding community.
3. The project will greatly advance the goals of this Chapter.
4. The project will serve as a model for future green construction; will be harmonious.
5. The project is consistent with, and will advance the goals of, the General Plan.
• Staff recommends adding the following language in Section 19.78.080 (Voluntary
Requirements to Obtain Incentives):
An applicant for a building permit may voluntarily opt to meet or exceed the exemplary
standards, and to fulfill the applicable verification requirements.
MCA-2010-04 Green Building Ordinance October 26, 2010
Page 9
A. Automatic Incentives. If the applicant does so, in all cases, the applicant shall obtain a
reduction in applicable building permit fees by an amount set by a resolution by the
Council as part of the fee schedule.
B. Discretionary Incentives (to be granted by the final approval body for the planning
application).
a. In addition to obtaining the automatic incentive listed above, the applicant can request
at the time of the submittal of the planning application that City authorize the issuance
Of one (and only one) of the following discretionary incentives:
i. A 10 % increase to the maximum floor area ratio (FAR) authorized by the Municipal
Code.
ii. A 10 % reduction in the amount of off-street parking required by Municipal Code
Section 19.100.
• Staff is requesting the Planning Commissions preference on Incentives. Alternatives
include:
o Automatic Incentives
■ Building permit fee reductions (included in the draft ordinance) - Recommended
range 2-5%. The amount shall be set by the Council annually based on
available funding.
OR
■ Matching grants to offset the cost of certification application (based on funding
availability) - Recommended amounts - up to $250/single family, $500 for
multi -family and $1000 for non-residential. The amount shall be set by the
Council annually based on available funding.
o Zoning Incentives
■ Increase to maximum floor area ratio (FAR) - Recommended range 5-10%
■ Reduction in amount of off-street parking -Recommended range 5-10 %
The draft ordinance includes a 10 % increase/reduction in both cases.
MCA-2010-04 Green Building Ordinance October 26, 2010
Page 10
Comparison Table of the October 12, 2010 Draft Ordinance and Recommended
Amendments based on the Planning Commission Discussion
Project Type
October 12, 2010 Draft Ordinance
Recommended Amendments
based on PC Discussion
Thresholds
Verification
Thresholds
Verification
New Construction
Single -Family & Multi-
< 5 homes
Formal Verification
Average home size
Minimum:
Family Residential
(Option 1) or
2,500 SF or less, or
Informal.
• GPR min. 75 pts.
Informal
Multi -Family
Exemplary: Formal
or LEED certified
Verification
homes (all other
(Option 2)
residential zones)
average home size
Formal Verification
800 SF or less
for Exemplary
• GPR min. 75
points or LEED
Certified
Average home size
>_ 5 homes
Formal Verification
more than 2,500
Minimum:
or Informal
SF, or
Informal.
• GPR min. 100 pts.
Verification
Multi -Family
Exemplary: Formal
or LEED Silver
homes (all other
Formal Verification
residential zones)
for Exemplary
average home size
more than 800 SF
• GPR min. 100
points or LEED
Silver
Non -Residential
< 10,000 SF
Informal
< 10,000 SF
Minimum:
Verification
. CAL Green
Informal.
• CALGreen
Mandatory
Formal Verification
Mandatory
Exemplary: Formal
for Exemplary
Formal Verification
Minimum:
>_ 10,000 — 50,000 SF
or Informal
10,000 — 25,000 SF
Informal.
Verification
Exemplary: Formal
p
• LEED certified
Formal Verification
. LEED Certified
for Exemplary
Minimum: 25,001
— 50 000 SF —
> 50 000 SF
Formal Verification
25,001 or more SF
or Informal
'
Informal
• LEED Silver
Verification
• LEED Silver
Formal Verification
50,001 or more
for Exemplary
SF — Formal
Exemplary: Formal
MCA-2010-04 Green Building Ordinance October 26, 2010
Page 11
Project Type
October 12, 2010 Draft Ordinance
Recommended Amendments
based on PC Discussion
Thresholds
Verification
Thresholds
Verification
Renovations/Additions
Single -Family &Multi-
Single-family
Informal
Single-family.
Minimum:
family Residential
residential >:50% of
Verification
Renovations and/or
Informal.
total existing floor
additions over areas
Exemplary: Formal
area
Formal Verification
that comprise at
for Exemplary
least 50% of the
• CALGreen
total existing floor
Mandatory
area
• CALGreen
Mandatory
Multi -Family (minor
Informal
Multi family
Minimum:
renovation)
Verification
(minor).
Informal.
Renovations and/or
Exemplary: Formal
® CALGreen
Formal Verification
additions over areas
Mandatory (as
for Exemplary
that comprise at
applicable to scope)
least 50% of the
total existing floor
area, but do not
meet the higher
thresholds for
"major renovations
and additions" in
the cell below.
• CALGreen
Mandatory
Minimum:
Multi family
Multi-Familymajor
(major
Formal Verification
(major).
Informal.
renovation)
or Informal
Verification
Renovations and/or
Exemplary: Formal
additions that
• LEED Certified
Formal Verification
comprise at least
for Exemplary
50% of the total
existing floor area,
are at least 10,000
square feet, and
replace or alter the
HVAC system and
at least two of the
following: building
envelope, hot water
system, and
lighting system.
• GPR min. 75 pts
or LEED
Certified or
LEED EBOM
MCA-2010-04 Green Building Ordinance October 26, 2010
Page 12
Project Type
October 12, 2010 Draft Ordinance
Recommended Amendments
based on PC Discussion
Thresholds
Verification
Thresholds
Verification
Certified
• Alternate
Reference
Standard per
Section
19.78.050
Renovations/Additions,
Minor Renovation
Informal
Minor.
Minimum:
Non -Residential
Verification
Renovations and/or
Informal.
CALGreen
additions that do
Exemplary: Formal
p
Mandatory
Formal Verification
not meet the higher
for Exemplary
thresholds for
"major renovations
and additions" in
the cell below.
• CALGreen
Mandatory
Major Renovation
Formal Verification
Major.
Minimum:
(over 50% of total
or Informal
Renovations and/or
Informal.
floor area, and at least
Verification
additions that
Exemplary: Formal
25,000 SF of
comprise at least
renovation/addition,
Formal
50% of the total
and replacement or
Verification for
existing floor area,
alteration of 3 of the 4
Exemplary
are at least 10,000
following systems:
square feet, and
HVAC, building
replace or alter the
envelope, hot water
HVAC system and
system, or lighting
two of the
system)
following: building
envelope, hot water
• LEED certified
system, and
lighting system.
• LEED Certified
or LEED EBOM
Certified
• Alternate
Reference
Standard per
Section
19.78.050
MCA-2010-04 Green Building Ordinance October 26, 2010
Paee 13
Environmental Consideration
The draft Green Building Ordinance is considered categorically exempt per Section 15308
Class 8 (Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment) of the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Therefore, no further environmental
review is necessary to adopt this ordinance.
Next Steps
Staff will incorporate the Planning Commissions comments into the draft ordinance. The
Planning Commissions recommendation will then be presented to the City Council for a
final decision.
Prepared by Aki Honda Snelling, AICP, Senior Planner
Reviewed by:
Approved by:
a ao Aarti Shrivastava
ity Planner Community Development Director
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 Model Resolution & Model Ordinance
Attachment 2
October 12, 2010 Planning Commission staff report
Attachment 3
LEED EBOM/LEED Cl Comparison by Global Green
Attachment 4
Comparison Table (Sunnyvale, Morgan Hill, Palo Alto)
Attachment 5
% of New Construction data over 25,000 SF
Attachment 6
% of Tenant Improvement data over 25,000 SF
G:\P1anning\PDREPORT\pc MCA reports \ 2010 \MCA-2010-04, Oct. 26.doc