Rating System

LEED BD+C: New Construction, LEED ID+C: Commercial Interiors, LEED BD+C: Core and Shell, LEED BD+C: Schools

Rating System Version

v3 - LEED 2009, v2 - Schools 2007, v2 - LEED 2.2, v2 - LEED 2.0

Inquiry

We are requesting guidance on four credits within the Sustainable Sites category: SS Credit 4.1, SS Credit 4.2, SS Credit 5.1 and SS Credit 5.2. At issue is the application of these credits in the context of a large site with multiple buildings. While the following inquiries are specific to a single project, the site issues encountered are common to many of our larger projects and your response will also provide valuable assistance for future applications. The questions are being submitted jointly because of the interrelatedness of the issues. Our client, Harley-Davidson is planning an office expansion of its existing Product Development Center on a 49 acre site in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. The new building will be a stand-alone facility located adjacent to the original PDC but connected via a second story pedestrian bridge. The project brings the total number of buildings on this site to three with eventual plans for a fourth. SS Credit 4.1: Alternative Transportation, public transportation access. As with many product manufacturers, security concerns over industrial espionage have led to a site with limited access and secured perimeters. The size of Harley-Davidson\'s facility makes strict compliance with this credit impossible although the manufacturer has tried to address the mass transit issue. The site, occupied by Harley since the 1950s, is located in an urban setting surrounded by light manufacturing and commercial development. Capitol Drive, which borders the southern edge of the 49 acre site, serves two bus routes and is the only truly accessible public thoroughfare. The site is bordered on the east by a super highway and on the west by a service road. Another industrial site abuts the property to the north. A curbside bus shelter sits just 100 feet from the site\'s main employee entrance gate. The distance from the bus stop to the new building, however, is approximately 1800 feet and thus exceeds the + mile limitation prescribed by LEED. It would be unrealistic for Harley-Davidson, just as it would be for many of our large pharmaceutical clients who maintain large contiguous sites, to compromise operational security by allowing public transit free access through their campus. It would likewise be unrealistic, given the scale of many of our clients\' operations and the number of facilities they maintain on site, to require every building to meet the + mile limit. Is there any means within the current language of LEED for Harley-Davidson to demonstrate compliance with this credit? SS Credit 4.4: Alternative Transportation, parking capacity. There are1128 existing automobile and 276 motorcycle parking stalls on the current Harley-Davidson site serving the two existing buildings. The PDC expansion will provide an additional 125 automobile and 13 motorcycle stalls. City of Wauwatosa Ordinance 22.44.090 requires 1 stall per 350 GSF of building area. At 75,958 GSF the new PDC would have required 218 new stalls. However the design team was able to demonstrate to the City that sufficient parking capacity could be maintained with fewer stalls by recognizing the diversity in peak hours of occupancy between the 3 buildings. In terms of parking numbers Harley-Davidson meets the first half of this credit\'s requirements. While Harley-Davidson has no van pooling policy they do have a disproportionately high motorcycle ridership natural consequence of their business that they encourage and have capitalized on in their site parking. With 276 existing bike parking stalls and 13 new bike stalls planned, the smaller stall size (4\'-6" x 10\'-0") does reduce the site parking footprint. It should be noted that these stalls are accounted for as part of the required City parking numbers and not as additional parking. While motorcycles can neither substitute for the pollution abatement benefits of bicycle riding (Credit 4.2) nor qualify as an alternatively fueled vehicle (Credit 4.3), its associated smaller footprint can reduce parking surface area which seems to be the root intent of this credit (Credit 4.4). According to the LEED Reference Guide\'s calculation methodology this credit is achievable by providing 7 carpool spaces (5% x 276 FTE