At its first meeting in 2008, the Pasadena City Council unanimously adopted amendments to the city’s Green Building Ordinance, ensuring that new and renovated municipal buildings and large, privately owned buildings will have even less of a negative impact on the earth’s resources.

In 2006, Pasadena became one of the first cities in the nation to mandate that new city buildings and large private-sector buildings be designed and constructed according to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building standards.

The LEED rating system awards points for measures in five design categories – sustainable site planning, water quality and conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy, conservation of materials and resources, and indoor air quality – and offers four levels of certification from a beginning ranking of LEED Certified to Silver, Gold and Platinum at the highest level.

Pasadena’s new amendments raise the green building rating for large commercial buildings and new municipal buildings from LEED Certified to LEED Silver. A new category for municipal building renovations requires those with a threshold of 15,000 square feet to meet the LEED Silver level. To ensure water conservation, the amendments now require that applicable green buildings be more water efficient, installing fixtures that use cumulatively 20 percent less water than standard buildings.

Currently, 40 percent of our nation’s annual resources are used for building construction and occupancy. Green buildings use renewable resources, reduce energy and water consumption, improve occupant health and stimulate economic vitality.

Since adoption of the ordinance, nearly a quarter of a million square feet of commercial and institutional space in Pasadena has been certified as sustainable.

For more information visit www.cityofpasadena.net/greencity and click on Green Building Program or call 626-744-3726.