LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

In an effort to encourage developers in redevelopment areas of Los Angeles to pursue green building projects, the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) is launching a two-year $300,000 pilot program to educate developers about sustainable design. 

The department’s new Healthy Neighborhoods Policy includes a one-time, green building consultation for developers of new projects within the redevelopment agency’s project areas, which include 18,000 acres within the city of LA.

One barrier keeping developers from pursuing LEED projects is the assumption that it will cost more than conventional buildings,” says Jason Neville, an assistant planner at CRA/LA. “We did due diligence to find out how much extra costs LEED adds,” he says. The agency found that basic LEED certification added no added costs to a project and LEED-Silver projects added 2-3 percent, as long as green building measures were incorporated during the design phase.

The Los Angeles Green Building Ordinance, passed in April 2008, requires all new buildings over 50,000 square feet to meet LEED-certified building standards [see “LA mandates green building,” SI, May 2008]. Projects pursuing LEED Silver receive expedited permits.

The Los Angeles Business Council, which has been one of the city’s strongest supporters of green urbanism according to Neville, recently honored Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Gensler, MATT Construction Corp., and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art with its first annual Green Building Award for the Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA.