I am pleased to announce that I recently qualified for certification as a LEED Certified Professional and to use the designation "LEED-AP".

After nearly 30 years as a lawyer and planner, the last thing I really needed was more letters after my name - M.C.R.P (Master of City & Regional Planning), J.D. (Juris Doctor), A.I.C.P (American Institute of Certified Planners) and now LEED-AP to boot.  The reason I joined the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), took the extra courses and studied for the exam is not to add to the alphabet soup, but to underscore my long-standing commitment to energy-efficient and environmentally-conscious design.

The USGBC is a gathering place for all of the professionals involved with building and development who want to establish and continue to evolve the state of the art of sustainable development.  USGBC created the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating systems for new construction and renovation of commercial (office, retail, commercial interiors, core and shell, mid & high rise residential), health care, schools, homes and neighborhoods.  The rating systems extend past construction or renovation to the operations & maintenance phases, so that the full potential environmental and economic benefit of the design and systems of the buildings is actually realized. 

The rating criteria are comprehensive, rigorous, and independently verified. Each criteria includes a statement of intent, minimum requirements, identified technologies and strategies, approach and implementation suggestions and documentation and submittal methodologies. While the rating criteria are adapted for the type of project involved, generally they include location, site selection, connectivity for pedestrians, bicylists, and public transit riders, water conservation, energy-efficiency, life-cycle consideration of construction materials and site-generated waste, and indoor environmental quality.  Certification can only be awarded upon completion of construction of new or renovation projects, or a sufficient time after implementation has elapsed for the operation & maintenance rating programs.  Credits achieved in all of these areas are totalled to qualify a project for award of a LEED rating at the certified, silver, gold or platinum levels.  

LEED ratings protect the consumer (buyer or tenant) from "green-washing" claims of environmental practices that are illusory or just plain false.  The rating system also appeals to human instinct to compare, compete, keep score, and want to be the best.  This instinct is not always such a good thing if leads to domination or belittlement of others, but in the Type A, macho culture of the building industry, the rating system harnesses the instinct toward a demonstrably greater good.  USGBC stresses achievement of a triple bottom line -- financial, environmental and social benefit.

It is my privilege to be involved with the realization of my older brother's dream to create a showcase environmentally responsible residential development on his 4-acre property in Carpinteria, California.  His goal is to prove that a market-rate residential project can meet the AIA's 2030 challenge for carbon neutral development today with a positive triple bottom line.  Although he is nationally recognized by being named as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects for his contributions to energy-conscious design, he elected seek LEED certification for his project because it is a verifiable, highly credible industry standard. Even though not all of the features he has included in his design are yet recognized in the LEED rating system, when built as intended the project will qualify for the highest LEED Platinum rating -- likely to be California's first market-rate multifamily residential project to achieve that distinction. (To learn more about Scott Ellinwood's project, see greenheronspring.com).

The LEED rating program has helped enable my brother's project to succeed without significant modification of his original design at every step of the entitlement process.  Most incredibly, after much negotiation and a little tweaking, he received a positive staff recommendation and an almost unheard- of unanimous vote of the California Coastal Commission in favor of reduced setbacks for new residential  structures from the pond he built  30 years ago.  The pond was intended to help drain his property so he could protect his home and replant the avocado orchard that died because of surface run-off, the high water table and inadequate drainage of the area that existed at the time. Of course it didn't hurt that he had a coastal development permit issued directly by the Commission for construction of the pond.  But no matter what its origin or quality, a pond is wetland in the coastal zone and hallowed ground zealously guarded by the Coastal staff and Commission.  The default setback is a minimum 100 feet. Still, I can categorically state that without the prospective LEED Platinum rating, getting the reduced setback would not have been possible.

As a LEED Accredited Professional I am better able to realize my firm's mission:  to help clients create a more just and sustainable future. For that reason I am proud to be a member of the USGBC and to have earned the LEED-AP certifcation.