Form revised May 5, 2009

FISCAL NOTE FOR NON-CAPITAL PROJECTS

Department:	Contact Person/Phone:	DOF Analyst/Phone:
Planning and Development	Brennon Staley/684-4625	Karen Grove/684-5805

Legislation Title:  An ordinance establishing a Living Building Pilot Program, amending Sections 23.41.004, 23.41.012, 23.41.014, 23.86.006, and 23.90.018 and adding a new Section 23.40.060 to the Seattle Municipal Code to implement the Pilot Program.

· Summary of the Legislation: This ordinance would create a Living Building Pilot Program to facilitate the development of buildings that are attempting to meet the Living Building Challenge.  This proposal would use the existing design review process for selected projects; expand the scope of departures allowed to allow departures for sustainability as well as design criteria.  The ordinance also establishes specific requirements for enrollment, minimum green building standards, and penalties for non-compliance.

· Background: The Living Building Challenge is a green building certification created by the International Living Building Institute to recognize buildings meeting the highest level of sustainability.  In general, the Living Building Challenge requires buildings to avoid environmentally sensitive sites, use recycled materials, generate as much or more electricity than they use (through sustainable sources), capture as much rainwater as they use, treat wastewater on site, and meet a number of standards for other elements, such as quality of the indoor environment. 

In order to meet the stringent performance standards of the Living Building Challenge, buildings generally rely upon innovative building design techniques and features including natural daylighting and ventilation, solar capture, rainwater capture and use, wastewater treatment and reuse, and ultra-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.  These systems can substantially increase design complexity and necessitate early integrated design processes to ensure that all systems are compatible, work in an efficient manner, and that each performance goal can be met.  These innovative systems may also necessitate alternative building massing, non-traditional exterior and roof top features, or other elements that were not envisioned by existing codes, which were designed to provide minimum standards rather than the flexibility to consider radically different building strategies.

The proposal would use the existing design review process for board review of permit applications eligible to participate in the program.  The program would end after applications for 12 projects are accepted by DPD or three years, whichever comes first.  Design review for selected projects would be subject to existing permit review fees, which are anticipated to cover the cost of permit review activities. 

__X__ This legislation does not have any financial implications.