We are among the pilot applicants that submitted a complete application before the April 6th deadline and we are being given the opportunity to register and participate in the pilot program.
Partners in the LEED for Neighborhood Development pilot program:
LEED for Neighborhood Development Core Committee (NDCC)
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC),
The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), and
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
The LEED for Neighborhood Development pilot program is an opportunity for projects that have incorporated smart growth, new urbanist, and green design principles to be
1) recognized for their accomplishments in these areas through a third-party certification;
2) use the pilot rating system as guidance to potentially improve projects further;
3) and to provide [the ND Core Committee] with direct feedback about the rating system.
As a pilot participant, our project’s experience will inform the LEED for Neighborhood Development Core Committee as its members revise the pilot standard and prepare it for full approval by the three partner organizations.
Successful certification will depend on our ability to demonstrate and document—during the pilot program—our project’s achievement of individual prerequisites and credits as described in the corresponding “Submittals” sections of the pilot rating system. The $8,000 fee is paid at the beginning of the program and will not be refunded if the project is not able to certify or chooses not to submit for certification.
Step 1: Decide if you would like to participate in the pilot program
1a) Check rating system requirements
Rating system requirements for prerequisites and credits will not change during the pilot program and pilot participation fees are non-refundable. Certain clarifications may be made via Credit Interpretation Requests (CIRs) during the We strongly advise that you again review the requirements of all prerequisites and credits in the rating system, to make sure that you are confident that the project meets all prerequisites and enough credits to certify. Project teams should also check the definitions of terms in bold in the rating system’s “Definitions” section; e.g. review the definition of “buildable land” to ensure that the average density of the project meets NPD Prerequisite 2 (Compact Development) using that definition. If you are not sure if your project will meet specific requirements, please direct your questions about the requirement language to Dara Zycherman at nd (at)committees.usgbc.org
1b) Confirm ability to document during the pilot phase
Documentation of prerequisite and credit achievement is required for successful certification, and involves the completion of submittal template forms as well as the submission of supplementary documentation such as site plans, tables of project information, or brief narratives specified in the “Submittals” section of the rating system. In order to certify, the project team should have one or more members identified internally that will be able to complete this documentation accurately.
1c) Confirm intent to certify with project decision-makers
Some credit and prerequisite achievement (not just documentation) will necessitate coordination and cooperation with [others]. . . It is vital that the sponsor of the project certification has sufficient understanding and agreement from the various entities involved with project development that LEED for Neighborhood Development certification is a common goal.
1d) Confirm timeline
In order to help NDCC learn from the pilot phase of LEED for Neighborhood Development, participating projects need to submit for certification for at least one of the three stages (detailed in the introduction to the rating system) during the pilot program. The project is free to select which stage is most appropriate, but if the project team is not able to submit for one stage of certification in the 18 months following registration (by January 9, 2009), the project may lose its pilot status. Projects that submit for certification for one of the stages during the pilot program will have the choice of continuing to use the pilot version of the rating system for subsequent stages of certification, or transitioning to the post-pilot version of the rating system.
Step 2: Register
Once we are committed to pursuing LEED for Neighborhood Development certification, complete the attached project registration form. The deadline for submitting our registration form is Thursday, June 28, 2007 at 5:00 p.m. EDT.
Step 3: Pay Fees
The deadline for submitting our payment is Monday, July 9 2007 at 5:00 p.m. EDT.
Step 4: Project Team Coordination
On this page, NDCC will post the pilot conference call schedule, CIRs (Credit Interpretation Requests), LEED Submittal Templates, the LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Reference Guide, and any other resources and announcements NDCC believes will help projects.
Step 5: Pilot Orientation
NDCC will be holding events via webcast to help orient pilot project teams to the process of pilot certification soon after the registration and payment deadlines. Exact dates and times will be forthcoming. Attendance is strongly encouraged, but not required. If no member of the team is able to make any of these events, NDCC will provide copies of the presentations made on the Pilot Resources webpage.
Focus Group. . .the LEED for Neighborhood Development partner organizations have decided to identify a “focus group” of 60 projects that may be subject to additional analysis and given priority in the certification queue. This will expedite the LEED for Neighborhood Development Core Committee’s ability to learn from the pilot program and begin their revision of the rating system. Participation in this group will be voluntary, and while the selection of the 60 projects will be based primarily on the need to identify a diverse and representative sample, we would like to know if you are interested in being a part of it. If you are interested, please send an email to nd (at) committees.usgbc.org to that effect by July 9, 2007, and include with it the following: a) your staff capacity to respond to additional surveys or research questions, b) your estimated timeline for submitting for certification; and c) an overall site plan (please do not mail hard copies; only electronic submissions will be accepted).
EPA Stormwater Opportunities. Finally, we would like to alert you to another opportunity available to your project, regardless of whether you decide to participate in the pilot program. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be conducting research regarding stormwater management, and would like to identify projects that would be available for additional follow-up inquiries, even if your project had not indicated it would achieve the stormwater credit in the rating system. Identified projects that do attempt stormwater management may be eligible for awards under a future stormwater and smart growth recognition program. If you are interested in finding out more about the research project or award program, please contact Abby Hall at EPA: hall.abby (at) epa.gov.