AIA Washington“LEEDS” The Nation For Green Buildings
The AIA Washington Council (AIA/WA) made history this year by helping to pass the first statewide law requiring buildings be built to higher environmental and energy efficiency standards.
Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5509 requires that all state-funded buildings be built to either the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in LEED Silver (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System®. Schools will have a choice between LEED Silver and the Washington Sustainable Schools Design Protocol (the Protocol). State funded affordable housing projects will have to adopt an available system for measuring building performance as well.
Representative Hans Dunshee explains the benefits of SB 5509 before it was signed by Governor Gregoire during a ceremony at Washington Middle School in Olympia. |
House Capital Budget Committee Chairman Hans Dunshee (D-44) and Ranking Republican Fred Jarrett (R-41) coordinated the legislative efforts. In the Senate, Water Energy and Environment Committee Chair Eric Poulsen (D-34) led the efforts by working across the aisle with key Republicans like Senate Floor Leader Luke Esser (R-48) and Senator Dave Schmidt (R-44).
ESSB 5509 is the result of several years of work by the AIA/WA. A few years ago, the AIA/WA supported a legislative study to evaluate the available systems for measuring and rating building performance. This study recommended that Washington adopt statewide standards for improving building performance.
In the last year, the AIA/WA formed the Sustainable Design Resource Group to turn this recommendation into reality. Chaired by Fulton (Tony) Gale, FAIA, the resource group reviewed various drafts of bills and actively educated lawmakers on the need for this law. The resource group also worked closely with the AIA Seattle’s Committee on the Environment, the Architects & Engineers Legislative Council and the Washington Construction Industry Council.
Chair Gale worked closely with legislative leadership and leaders in the environmental community to ensure that the appropriate standards were reviewed and adopted. Craig Curtis, AIA, worked with the AELC and WCIC to ensure that the bill would work for businesses that will be responsible for implementing the standards on design and construction projects. AIA/WA also worked closely with state agency architects from such agencies as the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Department of General Administration, the University of Washington and the Community and Technical Colleges.
We knew that if the new standards do not work for architects, engineers, contractors and agencies, then the program would ultimately fail. By bringing together architects, environmental activists, engineers and contractors, we were able to have a balanced approach that sets high standards in a manner that is reasonable and affordable for state projects.
Stock School Plans Stopped
One unexpected roadblock to passing this bill into law arose when Senator Mark Doumit (D-18) proposed an amendment to create stock or prototype school plans. His amendment would have required the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop a portfolio of prototype school plans for local school districts to use when building a new school. The amendment was intended to kill the new standards in ESSB 5509 and was announced less than 24 hours before ESSB 5509 came to the Senate floor. AIA/WA sent an action alert out to our members statewide. They reacted immediately and flooded calls and e-mails into Senators offices urging opposition to Doumit’s amendment. After a short debate the amendment failed 21-22 on a standing division vote (where Senators stand to express their vote, but their position on the vote is not recorded). Doumit voted against ESSB 5509.