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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPS 2017-06-05 Item 2D - Public Safety Plan - Sustainability GoalsTO: City of Tukwila Allan Ekberg, Mayor INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM Public Safety Committee FROM: Rachel Bianchi, Communications and Government Relations Manager CC: Mayor Ekberg DATE: May 31, 2017 SUBJECT: Sustainability Goals for Fire Station Construction ISSUE With the assistance of Weinstein A+U, the Committee had an initial discussion on May 15, 2017 regarding potential sustainability goals associated with the construction of three new fire station. Staff is seeking direction from the Committee as to next steps. BACKGROUND The Weinstein A+U memo provided a comprehensive look at various routes the City could take regarding sustainability in design and construction of the fire station program. The memo covered potential certification programs such as LEED, examples of projects in neighboring jurisdictions that were certified, and alternatives to certification. The memo also included a recommendation section that indicated that funding will be a driver in the "intensity" of the City's sustainability goals. Per the discussion in committee on May 15, 2017, it was acknowledged that the costs of certification alone can be in the $100,000 range, depending on which certification one is seeking, and that doesn't include the hard costs associated with constructing to that certification. Pursuing certification — such as LEED gold status — is one route for the City to consider to achieve its sustainability goals. However, staff is mindful as to the budget implications associated with this choice. The Pacific Northwest is known for its strong building, energy and other codes that positively affect sustainability-related issues. The City has a "do nothing" option that would still produce buildings that are mindful of energy and water use and have relatively low impacts on the environment. However, the City also has the opportunity to find a more sustainably middle ground that is conscious of cost but also forward-thinking in long-term investments that could save natural and financial resources. For instance, focus on energy efficiency would have a positive impact on the long-term maintenance and operations budget of each building, while also saving environmental impacts associated with operating an inefficient HVAC system. RECOMMENDATION Due to the budget implications associated with certification, and acknowledgement of the City's long-term desire to steward the environment and community, staff recommends the City choose the latter option of a sustainable middle ground. By providing Weinstein A+U with specific direction as to identifying sustainable features that will produce long-term financial and environmental savings, the City can have a 37 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 2 meaningful impact over the life of these buildings. This direction will require Weinstien A+U and subconsultants to have a sustainability charrette and assess project sustainability elements at Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documents and project completion stages. Project fees outside of construction costs associated with this sustainability efforts range from $40,000 - $60,000. The Council is being asked to provide consensus on the above approach at the June 12, 2017 Committee of the Whole meeting. ATTACHMENTS Weinstein A+U Sustainability Memo W:\2017 Info MemoslSustainability Memo 2 FINALdoc 38 EVALUATING THIRD PARTY GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION FOR TUKWILA FIRE STATIONS MAY 9,2017 Submitted by Weinstein A+LJ in collaboration with O'Brien and Company Introduction According to the Tukwi/a Comprehensive Plan, published in0l5, the City of Tukwila desires to be a community that prioritizes livability for its residents and responsible environmental stewardship for the benefit of future generations. In the execution of the Public Safety Program, the City now has a unique opportunity to embody those priorities in a set of buildings that will continue to serve Tukwila for the next 50 years or more. The design team for the new Tukwila Fire Stations, led by architecture firm Weinstein A+U, is delighted to assist the City in crafting new buildings that embody the culture of the City, in addition to optimizing the operations of the Tukwila Fire Department. The design team recognizes that the City already has many critical goals directly related to sustainability, such as low building operating costs, the use of materials that will continue to perform and be attractive for the lifespan of the buildings, and promoting the health of the city's waterways. By choosing to fund high-performance buildings, not only will Tukwila support a healthier environment for all and save money over the life of the buildings, but it will also provide resilient, restorative facilities for its first-responders. A building that operates with minimal energy input will have an enhanced ability to function in the event of a natural disaster or fuel shortage, running much longer than a conventional building when forced to use a back-up generator. Buildings that incorporate quality daylighting strategies and high indoor air quality standards have been demonstrated to improve both the physical and mental health of their occupants, increasing worker productivity and reducing the number of sick days taken by employees. Lastly, cities that are growing at a rate such as Tukwila's have an opportunity to influence the quality of that growth by setting a good example with their public facilities. High-performance public buildings can be advertised as saving tax-payers money in the long term, but they can also further educate constituents about the varied benefits of sustainable design, inspiring consumers - and by extension, private developers - to value sustainable strategies in all types of construction. Given the many benefits of choosing to pursue high sustainability goals for new public buildings, the purpose of this memo is to help the Tukwila City Council understand how Green Building Certification could help achieve those goals on their new fire stations, as well as adding further value to these projects. Why consider third party certification? Third party certification of a project's green building features provides three main benefits: accountability, public recognition, and better building performance. Accountability means that an owner can use third party certification to hold the design and construction team to established standards, and receive verification that those standards were met by an impartial outside entity. This leads to a transparency and comparability that allows public owners to communicate to constituents and stakeholders that they are providing a building of a certain standard, which can be compared to projects provided by other public entities using the same certification system. The most direct value for owners from using a third-party certification is driving better building performance. Many certification programs are comprehensive, requiring projects to address multiple environmental issues to a certain level in order to earn certification. This acts as a driver for owners 1 and project teams to identify ways to improve all aspect of environmental sustainability addressed in a certification program. Third party certification also provides an additional, impartial metric for evaluating individual strategies for a project, allowing' teams to determine which strategies will best achieve a given performance threshold within a project budget. Alternatives to third-party certification Third-party certification has an additional cost to the project and can sometimes require projects to implement strategies that are not the best fit. There are other tools an owner can use to achieve the accountability and building performance that third-party certifications provide. These tools can also be used in conjunction with a third-party certification to assure a successful certification; however, they do not provide the same ability to promote a project's achievements, or to understand how the project is performing compared to similar projects. Some examples of these tools are: o Contracting methods: Integrated Project Delivery, Design/Build with performance guarantee • Decision-making tools: Life-Cycle Cost Analysis and Energy Benchmarking ~ Verification tools: Monitoring-based commissioning, building envelope commissioning Energy Star Portfolio Manager Regional Precedents 8noethird'partycertificadunsforgeenbui|dingbegantoshowupinthemarketinthelatel99Os many government entities of all sizes have looked to these outside resources to help set consistent, impartial standards for achieving environmental, climate, and performance goals for the assets they build and manage. According to the US Green Building Council's Public Policy Library, there are currently 215 government policies in the US requiring some sort of green building certification for public buildings (searched 05/03/2017). These stretch from the federal level to small and large cities and are in the East, South, Midwest, Southwest, and Western parts of the country. The following section highlights some of those policies relevant to the Pacific Northwest region. Federal, State, and Local Municipal Certification Requirements Federal Executive Order 13423, adopted in 2007, requires federal agencies to meet high-performance and sustainable building goals. Those goals have been translated into federal guidelines by the General Services Administration, who has endorsed both LEED and a version of Green Globes as tools for agencies to prove compliance with the guidelines. Since 2005, Washington State has required that all m jor facility projects of public agencies receiving funding in a state capital budget, or projects financed through a financing contract, be designed, constructed, and certified to at least the LEED Silver standard. RCW 39.35.040 also requires these projects to conduct a life-cycle cost analysis to evaluate energy efficiency options. King County's 2013 update to the Green Building and Sustainable Development Ordinance requires all eligible new construction projects to strive for LEED Platinum certification or, for non LEED-eligible projects, the highest level of certification available on an internal sustainable infrastructure scorecard or other approved third-party certification. Other approved programs include Built Green, Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard, Salmon Safe, and Living Building Challenge. City of Seattle's Sustainable Buildings and Sites Policy for municipal facilities requires new construction and major renovations 5,000 square feet or greater to meet LEED Gold, as well as key 40 performance requirements for energy and water efficiency, waste diversion, and bicycle facilities. Seattle also has several private-sector incentive programs in place that provide fast track permitting, additional FAR, and additional height. The cities of Kirkland, Shoreline, Lynnwood, Bothell, Newcastle, and Redmond all have private-sector incentive programs for green building (fast-track permitting is the most common), but no policy requirements for municipal buildings. lssaquah has Resolution 2004-11, which requires LEED Silver or Built-green 4-star. Non-applicable building types must refer to those systems for applicable green building practices but do not have to pursue certification. Certification Status for Fire Stations Locally and Nationally LEED is by far the most common certification program used by agencies and municipalities for fire stations and related facilities. There are over 300 LEED certified fire facilities internationally and another 300 registered. Seventeen of the certified projects are in Washington, primarily in Seattle. Olympia, Vancouver, and lssaquah also have certified fire stations. Green Globes has a handful of certified fire stations across the US, none in Washington. Overall Green Globes has certified 53 buildings in Washington of all types, many owned by federal agencies. Example projects ° Seattle Fire Station 20, completed in 2014, is the highest rated LEED Platinum Fire Station certified. It is 9,400 sf with space for two apparatus and features a solar PV array, green stormwater infrastructure, durable low-maintenance materials, and high-efficiency glazing for daylight, sound control, and energy efficiency. In 2016 it earned the F.I.E.R.O. Honor and Seattle Design Excellence Awards. ~ City of Eagan Public Safety Center in Minnesota was the first Green Globes certified fire station in 2011. The 38,DO0sf building combined two previous fire stations into one centralized location and also serves as a training center and dorm for volunteer fire fighters. It features a ground source heat pump, daylighting and LED lights, and recycled materials. ° City of Olympia Fire Station 4 was also completed in 2011 and earned LEED Gold. It is 13,370 sL including some administrative space, and features aggressive insulation, heat exchangers, and a highly efficient HVAC system along with functional daylighting design. This project won the National Fire Chief Station Style First Place award. Certification options When evaluating use of a third-party certification program, it is important to consider that there are a variety of options, including the most common system, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) by the US Green Building Council. Some address green building across multiple categories and some focus on one aspect of sustainability that may align best with an owner's goals. Comprehensive Environmental SustainabilityCertifications LEED ° Most widely recognized and accepted program; used by most municipal, county, and state policies for green building, ^ Estimated $D5,8O0to$lZ5,MDO|n administrative costs and certification fees per building. Some efficiencies for projects designed and built at the same time by the same teams, • The lates version, LEED v4, has a number of new credits that can drive better building performance, such as those for integrative process, whole building life-cycle assessment, green stormwater infrastructure, and advanced commissioning. • LEED certification for similar buildings are likely to be one level lower in Version 4 than it would have been in the previous version, e.g. LEED v3 Gold building = LEED v4 Silver building Green Globes • Criteria substantially similar to LEED, except no prerequisites and includes the ability to determine which credit categories are applicable. • Uses surveys and on-site verification to ease documentation requirements. Access to verifier via phone and e-mail during design. • Estimated $60,000 - $80,000 in administration, verification, and certification fees. Living Building Challenge (LBC), LBC Petal, or Net Zero Certification • All features of: the program are required for LBC certification, and the features from three of six categories are required for Petal certification. Net Zero certification is available for buildings that produce 105% of the energy they use on an annual basis. • Requirements are high, e.g. net zero energy or net zero water, which results in a high performing building. • Performance verified after one year of continuous operations. • $l5,O8O-$25'0O0in certification fees. Additional administrative costs could exceed LEED costs. Certifications Specific to an Environmental Attribute Salmon Safe • Unique local program focused on regional issues of storm water management, water quality, habitat, and landscape managernert. • Requires recertification every five years to maintain recognition. Requirements customized in agreement between certifier and organization receiving certification. On-site verification. • Fees variable and grants sometimes available. Less cost than LEED and Green Globes. Energy Star • National, federal benchmarking program for building energy and water efficiency. • Based on one year of performance data, verified by an engineer. • No certification fees. Costs for verification negotiated with verifier. WELL Building Standard New standard focused on health and wellbeing. Developed and run by for-profit "B" corporation with support from the US Green Building Council (also manages LEED) and International Living Future Institute (also manages LBC). • Compatible with LEED and LBC, with a segment of overlapping requirements. • $25,000 in certifications fees. Administrative costs still unknown. 42 ^ Recommendations Since the values of the City of Tukwila and the functional needs of the Tukwila Fire Department are both supported by the construction of high-performance fire stations, the design team strongly suggests that the City incorporate sustainability goals into its Public Safety Program. The inten5ity of those goals and the decision how (or if) to certify those buildings will be largely determined by the available funding'. In order to meet those goals, regardless of whether a third-party certification system is used: ° Set specific measurable objectives for building performance and develop owner's project requirements (OPR) early in the design phase. Establish a fair method of verifying results to hold the projec team accountable for achieving the project goals and requirements. Engage commissioning professionals for both building systems and building envelope commissioning. Consider ongoing, monitoring-based commissioning, Use Energy Star Portfolio Manager to benchmark and track building performance. Consider Energy Star building certification. In considering whether to use a third-party certification system: ° Understand how your project goals and desired sustainability strategies align with what the system measures. Projects that follow the steps above and craft a strong approach to green building often are very easy to certify, requiring limited adjustments or additions to what was already planned. Articulate what makes a certification valuable to this project so it is clear what the process should achieve—addlhona|accountabiUty'too|sfmrpubOcrecngnitiomamdrepnrhng,ahigher|eve|oF building performance, etc. Decide as early as possible tf you will proceed with a certification to allow the project team to integrate the standards in the system into the design from the beginning. This minimizes possible additional costs for redesigning and backtracking to collect information. Timeline While it is most efficient for a design team to have established sustainability goals to work with when going into the programming phase for a new building, we understand that the City ofTukwila's priorities for it's new fire stations are still evolving. Before moving forward into the schematic design phase of the first station in August 2017, the programmatic needs and desires of both the fire department and city will need to be reconciled with the budgets that have been established for all three stations. Given that there is likely to be some modification of either budget or building scope that comes out of that reconciliation process, we recommend adding a desired level of sustainability performance to that deci5ion matrix. In order to facilitate those decisions, the design team will strive to organize our final building programs and subsequent cost analysis into a set of options that will help the City choose which level of spending best aligns with it's highest priorities. For the City's part, it will be crucial to understand and finalize their priorities in the corning weeks so that a final decision on scope and budget can be made efficiently during the budget reconciliation period, which is currently scheduled for July 2017. s