Introduction

The purpose of Arlington County’s Green Building Density Incentive Policy for Site Plans is to encourage private developers of large office, high-rise residential, and mixed use projects to design, construct, and operate environmentally responsible buildings.   The bonus density program applies to special exception site plan requests for bonus density and/or height.   The program uses the US Green Building Council’s LEED green building rating system as a standard for measuring the comprehensive green approach of each project.  As of March 14, 2009, bonus density in exchange for LEED certification was updated as follows:

Green Building Bonus Density Program

*Floor Area Ratio (FAR) is defined as the

Gross floor area (square feet) divided by (÷) site area for density purposes (square feet)

Program History

An interdepartmental team of staff from the Department of Environmental Services, the Arlington Economic Development, the Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development, the Office of Support Services, the County Manager’s Office and the County Attorney’s Office was convened to develop the original policy in 1999.  The staff team has sought feedback from the Planning Commission, the Environmental and Energy Conservation Commission, and the building community.  The team and stakeholders reconvened for the 2003 and 2009 updates to the bonus density program.

In October 1999, the County Board adopted a Pilot Green Building Incentive Program based on the U. S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED^TM) Green Building Rating System to evaluate special exception site plan requests for bonus density and/or height. The original incentive program, implemented in April 2000, offered bonus density up to .25 FAR for office buildings achieving the LEED Silver standard. 

Although many developers expressed interest in the pilot program, only one project applied and received bonus density in exchange for a silver LEED rating. After more than three years of experience and feedback, Arlington County updated and expanded the Green Building Density Incentive Program in 2003.  The 2003 program allowed the County Board to consider the provision of LEED certified green building components as justification for bonus density and/or bonus height requests in special exception site plan proposals for all types of site plan development and at all four levels of LEED certification.  See table above for densities offered as part of the 2003 program.

For additional information on the history of the program see the March 14, 2009 Board Report on the Green Building Density Incentive Policy for Site Plan Projects 

Components of the Green Building Density Incentive Program

• Consistent with Section 36.H.5. of the Zoning Ordinance, the program allows the County Board to consider a modification of use regulations for additional density between .05 and .45 FAR for office buildings and between .10 and .50 FAR for residential buildings and/or additional height up to 3 stories for special exception site plan requests. The site plan proposal must guarantee a LEED rating at one of the four LEED award levels (Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum) for the bonus to be approved.

• The provision of LEED-certified green building components does not guarantee additional density and/or height, or any particular amount of density or height.  The FAR bonuses are the maximum allowed for each level of LEED certification.  Site plan requests for bonus density and/or height will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis based on the characteristics of individual sites.

• The provision of LEED-certified green building components will be a part of the typical site plan negotiations for environmental amenities in exchange for the requested bonuses.

Other Considerations

• It is not the intent of this policy to compete with the affordable housing bonus density provisions of Section 36.H.5. The combination of green building and affordable housing incentives can be considered and utilized in a single site plan proposal.

• Under the “C-O-Rosslyn” District, the modification of use provisions of Section 36.H.5 cannot be applied to permit densities or heights greater than the district requirements of 10 FAR and 300 feet, respectively. In order to encourage environmentally-sensitive buildings in Rosslyn, density credit would be given towards the community benefit valuation for buildings which are LEED-certified at no less than the Silver award level. The amount of density credit that can be considered may be greater in ”C-O-Rosslyn”, ranging from .30 FAR to .50 FAR, for several reasons: 1) the “C-O-Rosslyn” district allows more than twice as much density as other districts, up to 10 FAR; 2) the environmental impacts of denser redevelopment will be greater; 3) the density incentive should be proportionate to the size of the building; and, 4) it will accomplish the planning goals of making Rosslyn a premiere office location.

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Implementation 

The Green Building Incentive Program will be implemented as follows:

1.    A LEED Accredited Professional will be included on the site plan project team.

2.    At the time of 4.1 site plan submission, the developer will be required to submit the LEED scorecard (LEED Version 3 or the most recent update) along with the site plan application. The LEED scorecard is a checklist of green building standards and allows the developer to voluntarily score the building using the LEED Green Building Rating System. The scorecard is the documentation supporting the developer’s request for bonus density and/or height. The LEED Scorecard will be accompanied by an explanation of how and/or why each credit can or cannot be achieved.

3.    The scorecard is used to select which credits the developer intends to pursue and the number of points “earned” determines the award level.

4.    The building registration and other required information will be filed with USGBC at the beginning of the project for LEED certification and rating.

5.    The proposed site plan (including the requested bonus density and/or height) will undergo the typical community review process. If the County Manager supports the project, it will include appropriate site plan condition language requiring that the green building components identified in the scorecard be constructed or installed in the building.

6.    Once the site plan is approved, permit drawings will be reviewed to ensure inclusion of the approved green building components, which were previously identified in the scorecard. The County will utilize LEED-accredited inspectors or architects hired by the developer during review of the permit drawings and construction of the building.

7.    Permits will not be issued unless approved LEED components are included in the plan drawings and required LEED documentation is submitted. 

8.    The application for LEED certification and rating will be submitted to USGBC for design credit review and construction credit review at the appropriate time during design and/or construction.

9.    If during construction of the building, the developer is unable to include all of the approved green building components previously identified in the scorecard, then the developer will be required to replace components with other green building components acceptable to USGBC and the LEED Rating System.

10.    During plan review and construction, the LEED Accredited Professional will provide documentation and submit regular reports to the County ensuring compliance (or at least flag problems early on) with the LEED standards and scorecard and the approved site plan.

11.    If during construction, the developer is unable to include required green building components, or if the inspector/architect finds that the developer failed to include these components, then the County will pursue enforcement.

12.    The Master Certificate of Occupancy will be issued when the building is LEED certified (at the agreed upon level or better) by USGBC and construction is consistent with the approved site plan. Certification by USGBC will be obtained when the building is complete and the developer has constructed or installed the approved green building components previously identified.

13.    The program will be reviewed and updated as appropriate.

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