The City of Seattle offers many green building incentives to help meet Seattle’s Climate Action Plan and move towards a carbon-neutral community by 2050. The Climate Action Plan identifies buildings, road transportation (passenger and freight vehicles), and solid waste as key contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Buildings are responsible for 33 percent of Seattle’s greenhouse gas emissions. The City is aiming to reduce building-related emissions by 39 percent by 2030 and 82 percent by 2050.
Seattle Priority Green—Program Updates & Open House
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. 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.
Priority Green Open House January 23
The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) is hosting a Priority Green open house on January 23, 2014, 9:00 a.m. to noon. Come learn how Priority Green, DPD’s voluntary green building incentive program is changing in 2014, and how it complements conservation goals at Seattle City Light and Seattle Public Utilities.
Changes to Priority Green Expedited Thresholds
DPD’s voluntary green permitting incentive, Priority Green Expedited has grown considerably over the last 3 years. We have seen substantial growth in small residential new construction permits for single family, duplexes, townhouses, and rowhouses. Overall we have seen 258 applications for building permits enroll in the expedited program: 200 small residential, 47 large multifamily and 11 commercial projects. About 20% of all residential permit applications and 2% of all commercial permit applications for new construction (with complex reviews) are participating in the Priority Green Expedited program.
Priority Green: Raising the Bar
Priority Green EXPEDITED incentives set high but achievable thresholds for energy efficiency, water conservation and waste reduction. Priority Green projects demonstrate the ability to go beyond minimum code and typical construction practices.
