The Priority Green program is a voluntary green building permit incentive that was established by DPD in 2009-10. The incentive program encourages project teams to reach for a higher level of sustainability in exchange for an expedited permit process. To date, over 400 projects have pursued ratings for Built Green 4 or 5 star, LEED Gold or Platinum, or DPDs Alternative Path, and have benefited from expedited permit review through our Priority Green Expedited program. About 20% of all applications for new construction, with complex reviews, are participating in Priority Green Expedited.
We’ve made some recent requirement changes, and we’re proposing some new requirements. We’re hosting a Priority Green open house to get your feedback:
When:
Monday, April 27,
10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Where:
Seattle Municipal Tower
700 5th Ave.
Room 1610
Last year we revised our Priority Green requirements to keep a step ahead of the codes for energy efficiency and sustainability measures. We updated prerequisites for energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, indoor air quality, and stormwater management. We want to hear from you on how these newer requirements are working, and to collaborate with you on how to improve future applications.
In May, we will consider an addition to our Priority Green submittal requirements. We have always recommended that applicants enroll their project with Built Green prior to permit submittal, and now we plan to require it. Likewise, for LEED projects, we will require applicants to register their projects with LEED before applying for a building permit. By requiring enrollment or registration we will:
- Ensure early communication between the builder or developer and the rating organization
- Ensure that the correct checklist or version is being used
- Allow DPD a way to track, and for the rating organization to anticipate, project certification
We want to hear your comments on this new requirement. We also anticipate other minor refinements to the program on which we’ll ask for your feedback.
Our Priority Green open house will have staff from;
- DPD Priority Green
- Seattle Public Utilities Solid Waste Division
- King County Green Tools powered by King County Solid Waste Division
- Seattle City Light Energy Conservation
- Built Green
Can’t make the open house? We will post the open house material on our Priority Green website in late April. You will be able to view the material, and then email your comments to dpdprioritygreen@seattle.gov.