Technical Components of the Green Building Density Incentive Program
Consistent with Section 36.H.5. of the Arlington County, Virginia, Zoning Ordinance, the program allows the County Board to consider a modification of use regulations for additional density between .20 and .45 FAR for office buildings and between .25 and .50 FAR for residential buildings and/or additional height up to 3 stories for special exception site plan requests. The site plan proposal must guarantee a minimum level of energy savings and a LEED rating at the Silver, Gold or Platinum level, for the bonus to be approved. An additional 0.10 FAR may be awarded to buildings that commit to LEED certification and minimum energy savings plus either ENERGY STAR building certification or LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) certification.
The minimum level of energy savings for office and commercial projects is 20% above the baseline ASHRAE 90.1-2007 standard as defined under LEED EA Credit 1 – Optimize Energy Performance in the LEED 2009 rating system. The minimum level of energy savings for residential development is 18% above the ASHRAE 90.1-2007 baseline.
The provision of LEED-certified green building components does not guarantee additional density and/or height, or any particular amount of density or height. The FAR bonuses are the maximum allowed for each level of LEED certification. Site plan requests for bonus density and/or height will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis based on the characteristics of individual sites.
The provision of LEED-certified green building components will be a part of the typical site plan negotiations for environmental amenities in exchange for the requested bonuses.
All project owners will also be asked to provide ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager utility reporting data after occupancy each year for 10 years. These data are provided for informational purposes only and do not include a specified performance requirement.
Other Considerations
It is not the intent of this policy to compete with the affordable housing bonus density provisions of Section 36.H.5. The combination of green building and affordable housing incentives can be considered and utilized in a single site plan proposal.
Under the “C-O-Rosslyn” District, the modification of use provisions of Section 36.H.5 cannot be applied to permit densities or heights greater than the district requirements of 10 FAR and 300 feet, respectively. In order to encourage environmentally-sensitive buildings in Rosslyn, density credit would be given towards the community benefit valuation for buildings which commit to minimum energy efficiency levels and are LEED-certified at no less than the Silver award level. The amount of density credit that can be considered may be greater in ”C-O-Rosslyn”, ranging from .30 FAR to .50 FAR, for several reasons: 1) the “C-O-Rosslyn” district allows more than twice as much density as other districts, up to 10 FAR; 2) the environmental impacts of denser redevelopment will be greater; 3) the density incentive should be proportionate to the size of the building; and, 4) it will accomplish the planning goals of making Rosslyn a premiere office location.
