L.L. 2005/086

Enactment date: 10/3/2005

Int. No. 324-A

By the Speaker (Council Member Miller) and Council Members Gennaro, Brewer, Clarke, Fidler, Gerson, Gioia, James, Koppell, Liu, Martinez, Nelson, Recchia Jr., Sanders Jr., Stewart, Weprin, Gonzalez, Yassky, Moskowitz, Reyna, Foster, Perkins, McMahon, Addabbo Jr., Monserrate, Gentile, DeBlasio, Baez, Palma, Katz, Avella, Reed, Jackson, Vallone Jr., Quinn, Rivera, Barron and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)

A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to green building standards for certain capital projects.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Statement of findings and purpose. Probably no urban activity has greater impact on human health and the environment than building construction and use. Enormous quantities of resources are used during building construction, renovation and operation, and the production of these resources has substantial environmental impacts. It is estimated that 40% of raw materials consumed globally are used for buildings. In addition, in the United States, commercial and residential buildings are responsible for approximately 65% of electricity consumption, 30% of greenhouse gas emissions, 12% of potable water use and 136 million tons of construction and demolition waste annually. Also, many indoor building materials release hazardous toxins, impairing indoor air quality and reducing occupant health and productivity.

Since most of New York City's electricity is produced within the City and many buildings use oil or natural gas for their heating and hot water, energy consumption in building operation translates 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, as well as the 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 buildings that achieved the most basic level of LEED certification.

Numerous municipalities, including Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Boulder, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Portland (Oregon), 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 privately-owned green building construction, including the use of direct subsides, density bonuses and expedited permitting. Indeed, Boston will soon require private sector buildings of over 50,000 square feet to be LEED-certifiable.

In New York City, numerous governmental bodies have also embraced green building concepts. 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 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 City owns approximately 1,300 buildings and leases over 12.8 million square feet of office space, and this legislation will affect approximately $12 billion in construction over the City's ten-year capital plan. Considering the size of the City's real estate portfolio, the Council finds that the use of green building criteria for City capital projects will substantially reduce New York City's electricity consumption, air pollution and water use, as well as improve occupant health and worker productivity and encourage market transformation. The Council further finds that reducing overall energy demand through green building techniques will reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Finally, the Council finds that green buildings are a sound investment of public dollars. The Council's financial analysis indicates that, without taking any other savings or social benefits into account, savings in water and energy cost will offset debt service payments on any increase in capital expenditures resulting from this legislation. 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.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. An annual report shall be prepared no later than September 1 of each year in accordance with the procedure and format established by the department of design and construction. Such report shall include, but shall not be limited to, a list and brief description, including square footage and total cost, of any capital project subject to section 224.1 of the charter, as added by section 2 of this local law, completed during the preceding calendar year; the estimated level of LEED certification such capital projects have achieved as determined by the design agency in accordance with the LEED rating system or, if applicable, the level achieved, as certified by the United States Green Building Council; additional costs attributable to complying with the LEED green building rating system or any other green building standard; an assessment of the health, environmental and energy-related benefits achieved in comparison with a base-case code compliant project (including projected energy savings and reductions in peak load, reductions in emissions, reductions in storm water runoff and potable water use); a summary of agency findings related to additional investment in energy efficiency pursuant to subparagraphs (i), (ii), and (iii) of paragraph two of subdivision b of section 224.1 of the charter, including any additional investment in energy efficiency considered and the estimated payback time for such investment through savings in energy cost; and the total value of capital allocations in each fiscal year, by city agency, of projects subject to, and exempted by the mayor for each of paragraph one and subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) of paragraph two of subdivision b, paragraphs one and two of subdivision c and subdivision d of section 224.1 of the charter, as added by section 2 of this local law, as well as a list and brief description, by agency, of such exempted projects, including square footage and project cost. The first such report shall be completed on or prior to September 1, 2008.

§ 4. This local law shall take effect on January 1, 2007 and shall apply to capital projects for which the final design is approved pursuant to section 223 of the New York city charter after such effective date, except that prior to such effective date the mayor shall take all actions necessary for the timely implementation of this local law, including the promulgation of rules, and shall take all practicable steps to implement this local law. Section 3 of this local law shall expire and shall be of no further force and effect on and after January 1, 2019. Subdivision k of section 224.1 of the charter, as added by section 2 of this local law, shall expire and shall be of no further force and effect on and after January 1, 2017.