City of Austin - Green Building Requirement for City Projects (Texas)

Last modified on February 12, 2015.

Rules Regulations Policies Program

Place	Texas
Name	City of Austin - Green Building Requirement for City Projects
Incentive Type	Energy Standards for Public Buildings
Applicable Sector	Local Government
Eligible Technologies	Comprehensive Measures/Whole Building, Biomass, Daylighting, Geothermal Heat Pumps, Passive Solar Space Heat, Photovoltaics, Small Hydroelectric, Solar Space Heat, Solar Water Heat, Wind
Active Incentive	Yes
Implementing Sector	Local
Energy Category	Energy Efficiency Incentive Programs, Renewable Energy Incentive Programs
Requirement	New construction and major renovations of city buildings costing 2 million or more and requiring work in 5 major LEED rating categories must achieve LEED Silver certification; Requirement also applies to smaller renovations, interior finishing, and additions costing $300,000 or more and requiring work in 3 major LEED rating categories.
Website	http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/publicworks/sustainability/default.htm
Date added to DSIRE	2007-03-26
Last DSIRE Review	2013-01-16
References	DSIRE

Summary

The City Council of Austin passed a resolution (City Council Resolution No. 000608-43) in June 2000 requiring that all future building projects be built in accordance with the standard of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED*) Green Building Rating System, Silver Level. The resolution exempted any city building being designed at the time of the passing of the resolution, but required them to achieve the highest appropriate LEED rating without requiring additional appropriations from the City Council. The resolution further required the City Manager to evaluate the feasibility of requiring buildings maintained, leased or financed by the City to be operated and maintained in a way to improve indoor air quality and energy conservation.

In November 2007 this policy was updated with the adoption of City Council Resolution No. 20071129-045 which replaced and superseded the original policy. The revised policy sets two criteria for triggering the LEED Silver requirement for new construction and major renovations:

• The project includes work in the five major LEED categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.
• The project has construction costs of $2 million or more

In addition, smaller renovations, additions, and interior finishings costing $300,000 or more and requiring work in the LEED energy and atmosphere, material and resources, and indoor environmental quality categories must also achieve LEED Silver certification at a minimum.

The 2007 resolution directed the City Manager to develop best practice design criteria for buildings that do not meet the trigger criteria described above. Furthermore, the City Manager was also directed to develop and implement sustainability policies for whole building operations, including provisions for energy use monitoring and reduction of building energy use.

In addition, the Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure Ordinance requires that by June 1, 2011 all non-industrial commercial buildings --including municipal buildings-- complete an energy rating using either the Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star Portfolio Manager or the Austin Energy Business Energy Analysis rating tool.

Incentive Contact

Contact Name	Richard Morgan
Department	Austin Energy
Address	721 Barton Springs Road
Place	Austin, Texas
Zip/Postal Code	78704-1194
Phone	(512) 482-5309
Email	richard.morgan@austinenergy.com
Website	http://www.austinenergy.com/index.htm

Contact Name	Kalpana Sutaria
Department	City of Austin
Division	Public Works Department
Address	505 Barton Springs Road, Suite 1300
Place	Austin, Texas
Zip/Postal Code	78704
Phone	(512) 974-7225
Email	Kalpana.Sutaria@ci.austin.tx.us
Website	http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/publicworks/

Authorities (Please contact the if there are any file problems.)

Authority 1:	Resolution No. 20071129-045
Date Enacted	2007-11-29

Authority 2:	Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure Ordinance, Ordinance Number 20081106-047
Date Effective	2009-06-01
Date Enacted	2008-11-06

• Incentive and policy data are reviewed and approved by the N.C. Solar Center's DSIRE project staff.