Page 62 - The Engineering Guide to LEED-New Construction Sustainable Construction for Engineers

LEED Sustainable Sites 43

summations in the numerator and denominator, respectively, of Eq. (2.2.2). In general
the GFA of a building is all the interior space taken from outer wall to outer wall and
summed over all the floors, not including unfinished attic/dormer space; and the GFA
has also been defined in the errata posted by the USGBC in the spring of 2007 to include
up to two stories of parking, but not single-story surface parking [definitions are given
in App. B as site area and square footage of a building (GFA)].
As can be seen in Eq. (2.2.2), the development density of the surrounding area DD
area
is calculated as the sum of all the GFAs divided by the sum of all the applicable site
areas. A common mistake is to take the average of individual development densities for
the properties within the density boundary. This type of average would not be
appropriately weighted for the sizes of each property and facility and is not correct. The
submittals to the USGBC would not allow this error to be made, but it may be made in
early estimates not using the templates and is therefore emphasized here.
All the listed equations and tabulations and a copy of the area map with the density
boundary drawn must be submitted along with the template for validation of Option 1
of this credit. Figure 2.2.1 shows an example density boundary area map for this
credit.
Some exceptions do exist for the numbers in Eqs. (2.2.1) through (2.2.3). For
instance, let us say that the circle drawn intersects a very small portion of a large lot

FIGURE 2.2.1 Density boundary area map.