08 ATTACHMENTS 4-10 - Laserfiche WebLink

the lot line is an appropriate idea and that there may be other things that could be done by moving some lot lines around. Commissioner O'Connor stated that by the time the public amenities, the road, and the well were removed, less than six acres would be left, and that cannot be split into one -acre lots. Commissioner Blank stated that this is a piece of property in a weird position, with a developer who is willing to do 200 LEED points, where the City has seen maybe only one other developer willing to do 200 LEED points and it was a large house. Commissioner Fox stated that six houses using 200 LEED points of energy is more than three houses using the normal LEED points. Commissioner Blank clarified that he was not necessarily in favor of six houses but that he finds it significant that a developer is willing to do 200 LEED points. He noted that he is not a LEED point expert and did not know whether four houses doing 50 LEED points was the same as three houses with 200 LEED points. Commissioner O'Connor stated that these houses could get 200 LEED points but that three houses at 50 LEED points each would probably be using less energy. Commissioner Blank stated that he was not sure the LEED points are necessarily energy savings or energy use. Commissioner Olson agreed that it was not energy use. Commissioner Olson stated that another way to mitigate this would be to reduce the floor area ratio (FAR) of the houses, thereby building smaller homes on each lot but still getting 200 LEED points each. Commissioner Blank stated that it would be helpful for the Commission to know if a home with 50 LEED points consumes four times the energy or creates four times the carbon footprint of a home with 200 LEED points. Ms. Seto stated that LEED points, which stands for Leadership and Environmental Energy Design, does not just relate to energy usage but could also be achieved by using recyclable materials such as for carpet, water usage, drought tolerant plants, and landscape irrigation systems. Commissioner Blank inquired what the maximum amount of LEED points is, and Ms. Seto stated that she was not certain. Ms. Amos clarified that LEED points relates to commercial projects and that residential uses green building points. Mr. Babbitt noted that there is a maximum of 350 points for Build it Green. Ms. Amos agreed, stating that one cannot check everything off the list for a building as it is because there could be one LEED point for a certain type of demolition and construction or 50- percent drought tolerant plants, or you could also have 75- percent drought EXCERPTS: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, January 14, 2009 Page 9 of 14