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Int. No. 324 

By The Speaker (Council Member Miller) and Council Members Gennaro, Brewer, Clarke, Fidler, Gerson, Gioia, James, Koppell, Liu, Martinez, Nelson, Recchia, Sanders, Stewart, Weprin, Serrano, Gonzalez and Comrie

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A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requirements for city-owned and city-funded green buildings.

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Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

            Section 1. Statement of findings and purpose. Few aspects of urban life have more impact on human health and the environment than building construction and use. Enormous quantities of resources are used during building construction, renovation and operation, the production of which has substantial environmental impacts. In addition, many indoor building materials release hazardous toxins, impairing indoor air quality and reducing occupant health and productivity.

            Buildings also use a tremendous amount of energy. Since much of New York City’s electricity is produced within the City and buildings use oil or natural gas for their heating and hot water, energy consumption by buildings translates directly into greater local pollution, including emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, carbon dioxide, and mercury. These pollutants contribute to respiratory disease, heart disease, smog, acid rain, and climate change. Moreover, as energy demand rises, so does our reliance on dirty, inefficient power plants and the City and nation’s dependence on foreign oil and natural gas.

            Modern architects and engineers can reduce the health and environmental impacts of buildings by designing “high-performance buildings” or “green buildings.” The United States Green Building Council, the nation’s foremost coalition of real estate and environmental organizations working to promote green buildings, has developed a green building rating system known as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).  Buildings receive LEED certification if their designs score sufficient "points" in five general design areas including siting, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality. Thousands of residential and commercial buildings, ranging from single-family homes to large corporate headquarters, have been designed and constructed throughout the United States utilizing green building principles. Significant local examples include 4 Times Square and 20 River Terrace.  A recent study conducted for the State of California concluded that, on average, green buildings show a ten times return on the investment in green building design.  This comprehensive analysis of 33 green buildings revealed an average green cost premium of less than 2%, with only a 0.66% premium for building that achieved the most basic level of LEED certification.

            Numerous municipalities, including Austin, Boulder, Dallas, Los Angeles, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, San José, and Seattle, have adopted LEED or have otherwise required that city-owned buildings be built according to green building criteria.  Some localities have created incentive programs for private green building construction including direct subsides, density bonuses and expedited permitting.  In New York City, numerous governmental bodies have also embraced green building. The Battery Park City Authority has begun utilizing green building guidelines modeled on LEED for all commercial and residential building construction in Battery Park City. The Department of Design and Construction has also developed High Performance Building Guidelines and has begun applying the guidelines for schools, libraries and other facilities.  The New York City Transit Authority has adopted green building guidelines for all new transit facilities, including the Second Avenue Subway.  Moreover, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have developed sustainable design guidelines and have designated “environmental planning” as one of five general requirements for the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site and surrounding area.

            Likewise, many states, such as California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, have begun utilizing LEED for state-owned buildings. The State of New York provides tax credits for buildings that meet defined green building criteria and, under Executive Order 111, state agencies are directed to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions and to utilize green building principles.

            The Council finds that the use of green building criteria will substantially reduce the City’s electricity consumption, air pollution and water use, as well as improve occupant health and worker productivity. The Council further finds that reducing overall energy demand through green building techniques will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and allow new power plants to displace power from less efficient and dirtier existing plants.   Accordingly, the Council declares that it is reasonable and necessary to employ green building standards in the construction and renovation of city-owned and city-funded buildings and that these standards be utilized in an orderly and timely fashion.

§2. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new chapter 5 to title 27 to read as follows:

Chapter 5

Green Building Standards

            §27-5001         Definitions.

            §27-5002         Requirements.

            §27-5003         Evaluations.

            §27-5004         Enforcement.

             §27-5001 Definitions. The following definitions shall apply in conjunction with the definitions found in section 27-232 of this code:

a. “city-owned and city-funded construction project” shall mean the construction, alteration, or change in occupancy group classification of any city-owned or city-funded building or space undertaken by or on behalf of any city agency.

b. “city-owned building or space” shall mean any building or space owned or to be owned by the city, any building or space to be constructed on property owned by the city, or any building or space to be constructed on property purchased or to be purchased by the city.

c. “city-funded building or space” shall mean any building or space whose construction, alteration, or design is paid for or financed in whole or in part directly by city funds amounting to at least thirty percent of the cost of the project.

d. “LEED Certified Silver” shall mean having received official documentation from the United States Green Building Council verifying that a building or space is LEED Certified Silver or higher under a LEED green building rating system.

e. “LEED green building rating system” shall mean the most recent version of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design building rating system developed by the United States Green Building Council, including any building rating system developed for New York City, that is applicable to the subject building or space.

f. “life cycle cost” shall mean the net present value of the design, construction, operation and maintenance costs of a building calculated over a 30-year life cycle.

g. “substantially altered” shall mean alterations where the cost of making alterations in any twelve-month period to a building or space shall exceed thirty percent of the value of such building or space.  For the purpose of applying the foregoing provision, the value of the building or space shall be determined in accordance with section 27-119 of this code.

            §27-5002         Requirements. a. All city-owned and city-funded construction projects shall achieve the levels of green building set forth in this section. Such construction projects shall only receive funding from the city and may only be approved by any city agency if they will achieve the following levels of green building:

(1) New or substantially altered buildings or spaces classified in occupancy groups B-1, B-2, C, E, F-1a, F-1b, F-3, F-4, G, H-1, or H-2 shall be LEED Certified Silver.

(3) Buildings or spaces classified in occupancy groups A, D-1, D-2, F-2, J-1, J-2, J-3, or K are not required to be LEED certified.

b. Buildings or spaces with a floor area of less than ten thousand square feet shall be exempt from the provisions of this section.

            §27-5003         Evaluations. The commissioner of design and construction, in conjunction with the commissioner of buildings, shall submit an annual report to the council and the mayor no later than September 1 of each year with respect to city-owned and city-funded green buildings and spaces, which shall consist of a list of such buildings and spaces, the level of LEED certification such buildings and spaces have achieved, and the estimated first and life cycle cost per square foot of such buildings and spaces; and an assessment of the health, environmental and energy-related benefits from such buildings and spaces.

            §27-5004         Enforcement. This chapter shall be enforced by the commissioner of design and construction with respect to city-owned buildings or spaces and enforced by the commissioner of buildings with respect to city-funded buildings or spaces.

            §3. Chapter one of title 27 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new subchapter 20 to read as follows:

Subchapter 20

Green Building Standards

            §27-1080         Enforcement of green building standards. 

            §27-1080         Enforcement of green building standards. The commissioner shall enforce the requirements of chapter five of this title with respect to any city-funded building or space, as this term is defined in such chapter.

            §4. This local law shall take effect January 1, 2006, except that the commissioner of design and construction and the commissioner of buildings shall take all actions necessary, including the promulgation of rules, to implement this local law on or before the date upon which it shall take effect.