Richmond’s Office of Sustainability is finalizing a set of sustainable design standards for city buildings, infrastructure and construction.
The standards are part of Richmond’s RVAGreen2050: Climate Equity Action Plan 2030, a plan to cut carbon emissions in half in the next six years. Once finalized, Office of Sustainability Director Laura Thomas said the standards document would be reviewed by city council and added to the city code.
“It is kind of the teeth behind this [plan], we have to adhere to it if we adopt it into our city code,” Thomas said in a July 19 preview of the standards.
The standards would apply to new vertical construction projects over 10,000 square feet — think tall downtown buildings — and small building renovations, defined as work on any building between 10,000 and 20,000 square feet.
Major building renovations — those over 20,000 square feet — are affected only if they replace four or more systems, like elevators, HVAC, roofing or plumbing.
Horizontal construction projects — think city parks and infrastructure, like roadways and sewers — also have standards under the proposal if the price tag is high enough. Parks projects over $3.5 million and right-of-way projects over $5 million must use the SDS. Utility construction is covered too — “inside the fence” projects, like wastewater treatment plant upgrades, are subject to the standards if they cost $50 million or more.
However, Thomas said the standards — which include third-party certification requirements set by the city — are not prescriptive, giving project managers flexibility in how they meet the requirements.
For vertical projects, managers will have to achieve a LEED Silver certification. To meet that, they can choose from a list of sustainability improvements to receive credits. Horizontal projects will follow the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s Envision framework instead.
LEED standards, certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, have been criticized in the past. Some studies show minimal efficiency gains — or none at all — while case studies on certain projects show earning the certification took precedence over actually reducing emissions.
While study results vary, LEED-certified buildings often are more energy- and water-efficient than their non-certified counterparts.
Richmond’s proposed standards give project managers some parameters for their LEED certification. They must emphasize water conservation, access to local services and public transportation, and enough on-site renewable energy production to cover at least 10% of the building’s demand. EV charging stations would also be required at new buildings.
The standards won’t apply to new building construction, renovations or infrastructure projects covering less than 10,000 square feet (about a quarter of an acre); emergency or security repairs; or utility maintenance and repair projects. Park projects smaller than half an acre are also not subject to the standards.
However, those projects will still be required to use LEED or Envision checklists as guidance, even if they’re not required to seek certifications.
Thomas said community engagement is built into the process from the start for any city construction under the standards.
“Everybody from tip-to-tail is going to be in the conversation — our architects, our engineers, everyone on the construction side, the community as well,” Thomas said.
The office is accepting public comments on the proposal before it is finalized.
Thomas told the city’s governmental operations committee that an ordinance codifying the standards likely would be ready for consideration by October.
