City team working to make the Emerald City more green

By KIM DRURY
Seattle Office of Environmental Management

Almost as soon as Paul Schell was elected mayor he started talking about Seattle "growing with grace," i.e., that the city needs to be smart about growth to ensure that what is most loved about Seattle isn't lost. He wants to use growth to strengthen the sense of community, but do it within existing urban boundaries and in ways that are sustainable.

To achieve this vision, Mayor Schell is reaching beyond the bully pulpit to put into practice what he's preaching.

A new "green building" policy is being developed by the city that will apply to city-owned facilities, both new construction and major remodels. The goal of the policy is ultimately for city-owned facilities to be models of environmental and community sustainability in all phases of a facility's development, construction and use.

While the policy is still under development, it is already making its way into some city construction plans. For example, the master plan for Seattle's Municipal Civic Center embraces sustainability in its design guidelines, directing the building architect to use " . . . a whole systems approach which balances social, economic and environmental factors."

The design guidelines call for an analysis of the highest environmental performance possible at the least cost, incorporating strategies that address energy efficiency, material resources, ecological site design and indoor air quality.

An interdepartmental team of technical and policy staff known as the "Green Building Team" is developing the policy, still in the draft stage. When complete, the policy will be incorporated into Mayor Schell's recently adopted Environmental Management Program, a management system and set of policies applicable to all city departments, designed to improve the city's environmental stewardship in its own operations.

As currently drafted, the policy mandates that city facilities will be designed, constructed and operated to be sustainable. The team is recommending that the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system be the standard to guide project managers.

LEED contains prerequisites and credits in five categories: site planning, energy efficiency, conserving materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and safeguarding water. Of LEED's four possible ratings levels of bronze, silver, gold, and platinum, the Green Team is recommending that city projects meet at least the silver rating.

The city's current construction plans are very aggressive, including a new central library and several branch libraries, a new police precinct and a new municipal court building, in addition to the civic center to replace the existing Municipal Building. Just how much change from current practice does the proposed policy represent? Does sustainable building mean a major "paradigm shift" for the city or are many elements of sustainable building already in practice?

To help answer that question, the city's Green Team plans to evaluate several recent projects against the LEED standards, such as the Key Arena and the Rainier Community Center to see how they measure against the "silver" rating. Those evaluations will also be used in the training and orientation sessions for city staff that will follow the policy's adoption.

The policy cites several purposes that it is attempting to achieve: a commitment to integrating social, environmental and economic considerations in capital planning; cost savings to taxpayers through reduced operating costs; healthier work environments for staff and visitors; and demonstrating a commitment to protecting, conserving and enhancing the region's environmental resources.

And one of the highest priorities, consistent with the Mayor's vision, is for the city to lead by example, to demonstrate that the city can indeed, grow with grace.

The policy will be presented to the city's Environmental Management Oversight Panel in early fall for review and adoption. For more information, contact the City's Office of Environmental Management, 684-3214.

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