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Ms. Maier noted that when discussing the ordinance, the first question asked was r regarding the nature of Green Building, and why it was required. She noted that it was a whole systems approach to the design, construction, and operation of buildings that typically incorporated the following elements: I. Sustainable site planning to reduce the impact of the building on the environment (reducing stormwater runoff, siting the building for solar access or easy access to mass transit); 2. Water and energy efficiency; 3. Materials and resource conservation (using recycled materials in the building construction, recycling of construction and demolition waste); 4. Indoor air quality (better ventilation and acoustics, more natural lighting, the use of finishes and paints without volatile or organic compounds); Ms. Maier noted that the idea of green building incorporated such elements into the design of the building and the materials used, as well as the operation of the building regarding energy and water consumption over the lifetime of the building. Ms. Maier noted that there were obvious benefits of building green, including the negative impact on natural resources, water, and energy. The health and safety benefits included a better indoor environment for employees, which enhanced occupant comfort and health. Community and social benefits included the reduction of public and infrastructure costs related to development, the proximity to mass transit, and the r- provision of bike racks and showers. Front-end expenditures for materials and analyses are traded for an economic benefit over the lifetime of the building with reduced operating costs. In particular, civic structures produce a definite economic benefit for building green. Ms. Maier noted that they chose to use the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system as a measure of green building. She added that the LEED rating system was accepted nationally used by many cities in the country after extensive research. She noted that the USGBC had more than 700 members, including architects, builders, manufacturers, institutions such as universities, federal, state and local governments, including the City of Pleasant on. The Green Building System was developed in a consensus fashion so that each member had a say in its organization. Ms. Maier added that the Green Building System was also performance based, which allows developers the flexibility to determine which credits they will use to meet the rating standard that was chosen. The system is based on acceptable energy practices, and evaluated the projected life cycles of the building to provide a better definition of green building. The LEED scorecard is an easy way to determine the relative greenness of a project; for instance, a Platinum building would be far superior to a Certified Building. The four levels of certification included: I. Certified Level (minimum of26 credits): required by the City as currently proposed for buildings exceeding 20,000 square feet; r-t PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES September 25, 2002' Page 4