Page 287 - The Green Building Bottom Line The Real Cost of Sustainable Building

THE FINE PRINT: LEGAL ISSUES IN GREEN BUILDING PROJECTS 265

Possible Participants in a Design Charette (continued)

Financing partners
Key city officials
Key members of a neighborhood association
Permaculturist
Tenants

FOUR DEVELOPMENT CONDITIONS

Developers may enter into formal contracts with architects and engineers prior to the
design charette process and amend those contracts following the charette process or wait
to enter into formal contracts until the charettes have clarified the project’s requirements.
In either case, developers must be certain their contracts with design professionals
ensure that, at the end of construction, the following four conditions are satisfied:

1 The project’s green features and improved performance can be verified;
2 The sustainability goals for the project’s construction were actually met;
3 The risk that any green features of the building will cause problems with the build-
ing’s performance has been minimized; and
4 The developer is adequately protected in the event that problems do arise.

We discuss each issue below.

VERIFICATION
For various reasons, including higher energy costs, higher prices for raw materials,
and possible policy developments, demand for green buildings is likely to increase.
More and more tenants will seek to lease space in buildings that are energy- and water-
efficient, healthier, and more convenient to alternative transportation options. Some
lenders have made commitments to invest in green projects and may offer incentives
like reduced interest rates if a particular building meets their requirements. Buyers will
pay more for buildings with lower operating costs that are more attractive to tenants.
In order to take advantage of any of these possibilities, a project owner must be able to
validate the green features of its building. The most common way to do this is, and will
likely remain, seeking certification from an outside party through programs like the U.S.
Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED),
Green Globes, EarthCraft, and others. LEED is the best known of these programs.
Certification can require various steps, including registration of the project, testing
of project systems, the submission of documents related to the different green aspects
of the project, and responding to the comments of the reviewing authority. Someone