Optimize Site Potential

by the WBDG Sustainable Committee

Last updated: 10-13-2008

Overview

Creating sustainable buildings starts with proper site selection. The location of a building affects a wide range of environmental factors—as well as other factors such as security and accessibility—like the energy consumed by occupants for commuting, the impact on local ecosystems, and the extent to which existing structures and infrastructures are utilized. If possible, locate buildings in areas of existing development and consider renovating existing buildings and historic properties. It is imperative that Federal agencies maximize the restorative impact of site design and building infrastructure while meeting the project's other requirements.

Sustainable site planning should consist of a whole system approach that seeks to:

• Minimize development of open space by the selection of disturbed land, brownfields, or building retrofits;
• Control erosion through improved landscaping practices;
• Reduce heat islands using landscaping and building design methods;
• Minimize habitat disturbance;
• Restore the health of degraded sites by improving habitat for indigenous species through native plants and closed-loop water systems;
• Incorporate transportation solutions along with site plans that acknowledge the need for bicycle parking, carpool staging, and proximity to mass transit. Encourage alternatives to traditional commuting; and
• Consider site security concurrently with sustainable site issues. Location of access roads, parking, vehicle barriers, and perimeter lighting, among others are key issues that must be addressed.

Recommendations

Minimize Development of Open Space

• Retrofit an existing building
• Use disturbed land/brownfields

Control Erosion Through Improved Landscaping Practices

• Use vegetation, grading, and stabilization techniques to prevent erosion.
• Capture storm water runoff on site, design for storm water retention features on site like pervious pavement. See also WBDG Achieving Sustainable Site Design through Low Impact Development Practices.
• Use vegetated swales and depressions to reduce runoff.

Consider Energy Implications in Site Selection and Building Orientation

• Site buildings to be able to integrate passive and active solar strategies.
• Take advantage of natural ventilation.
• Maximize daylight use.
• Investigate potential impact of future developments adjacent to the site (e.g., solar, daylighting, ventilation, etc.).

Reduce Heat Islands Using Landscaping and Building Design Methods

• Maximize the use of existing trees and other vegetation to shade walkways, parking lots, and other open areas. Ensure that site work and landscaping are integrated with security and safety design. See also WBDG Balancing Security/Safety and Sustainability Objectives for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Integrate landforms and landscaping into the site planning process to enhance resource protection.
• In hot, dry climates, like the southwestern states, consider covering walkways, parking lots, and other open areas that are paved or made with low reflectivity materials. Ensure that shading devices do not block critical ground level sight lines for security.
• Finish the facility's roof with light-colored materials to reduce energy loads and extend the life of the roof, particularly in warm climates; consider incorporating green roofs into the project. Use a roofing product that meets or exceeds Energy Star standards.

There are related sustainable site benefits of green roofs. They include:

• Controlling storm water runoff
• Improving water quality
• Mitigating urban heat-island effects

See also WBDG Extensive Green Roofs and EPA's website Heat Island Effect.

Minimize Habitat Disturbance

• Keep land disturbance to a minimum and retain prime vegetation features to the extent possible.
• Reduce building and paving footprints.
• Limit site disturbance to a minimal area around the building perimeter, including locating buildings adjacent to existing infrastructure.
• Plan construction staging areas with the environment in mind.
• In northern climates, site parking and pedestrian areas so that they have sun exposure for assistance in melting the snow or ice.
• Use non-toxic snow and ice removal methods. See also PROACT Fact Sheet on de-icing.

Restore the Health of Degraded Sites

• Focus on restoration of degraded areas, increasing the existence of healthy habitat for native species.
• Conserve water use through xeriscaping with native plants. See also WBDG Sustainable—Protect and Conserve Water.

Design for Sustainable Transportation

• Site the building with public transportation access in mind and limit on-site parking.
• Use porous alternatives to traditional paving for roads and walkways.
• Make provisions for bicycling, walking, carpool parking, and telecommuting; and provide refueling/recharging facilities for alternative fuel/electric vehicles.

Balance Site Sustainability with Site Security/Safety

• Consider installing retention ponds and berms to control erosion, manage stormwater, and reduce heat islands while also serving as physical barriers to control access to a building and to deflect the effects of a blast.
• Use native or climate tolerant trees to improve the quality of the site as well as provide protection by obscuring assets and people.
• Implement erosion control measures to stabilize the soil (e.g., seeding and mulching, installing pervious paving) and/or to retain sediment after erosion hasd occurred (e.g., earth dikes and sediment basins). These help to reduce the negative impacts on water and air quality as well as mitigate potential damage to a building's foundation and structural system due to floods, mudslides, torrential rainstorms, and other natural hazards.
• See also WBDG Balancing Security/Safety and Sustainability Objectives.

Smart Growth

Smart Growth is an issue that concerns many communities around the country. It relates to controlling sprawl, reusing existing infrastructure, creating walkable neighborhoods, and locating places to live and work near public transportation. It is more resource-efficient to reuse existing roads and utilities than build new ones far out from cities in rural areas. Smart growth preserves open spaces and farm lands and strengthens the development of existing communities and their quality of life.

Emerging Issues

Hydrology of site to predevelopment conditions (EISA); energy reduction potential of site; how to use the site to maximize energy development in balance with preserving habitat.

Relevant Codes and Standards

• Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA 2007) (PDF 738 KB, 310 pgs).
• Executive Order 12072, "Federal Space Management"
• Executive Order 13006, "Locating Federal Facilities on Historic Properties in Our Nation's Central Cities"
• Executive Order 13423, "Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management"
• Department of Defense:
• UFC 3-210-10, Low Impact Development
• General Services Administration:
• P100 Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service, 2005

Major Resources

WBDG

Building / Space Types

Applicable to all building types. Applicable to the following space types, Parking: Outside/Structured, Parking: Surface

Design Objectives

Accessible—Provide Equal Access, Functional / Operational, Historic Preservation—Comply with Accessibility Requirements, Secure / Safe, Sustainable—Optimize Energy Use, Sustainable—Protect and Conserve Water, Sustainable—Use Environmentally Preferable Products, Sustainable—Enhance Indoor Environmental Quality, Sustainable—Optimize Operational and Maintenance Practices

Products and Systems

Building Envelope Design Guide—Sustainability of the Building Envelope
Federal Green Construction Guide for Specifiers:

• 01 74 19 (01351) Construction Waste Management
• 01 57 19.12 (01353) Noise and Acoustic Management
• 01 57 19.13 (01354) Environmental Management
• 01 41 00 (01411) Regulatory Requirements
• 01 42 00 (01421) References
• 01 50 00 (01500) Temporary Facilities & Controls
• 02 41 13 (02220) Selective Site Demolition
• 31 10 00 (02230) Site Clearing
• 31 31 00 (02360) Soil Treatment
• 32 10 00 (02700) Bases, Ballasts, Pavements
• 32 12 43 (02795) Porous Paving
• 10 81 16.13 (02872) Bat Houses
• 32 90 00 (02900) Planting

Project Management

Building Commissioning

Tools

LEED® Version 2.1 Credit / WBDG Resource Page Matrix, LEED®-DoD Antiterrorism Standards Tool

Minimize Development of Undeveloped Open Space

• Environmentally Green… Economically Green: Tools for a Green Land Development Program by the National Association of Home Builders Research Center, July 2001.
• EPA OSWER Directive 9610.17, "Use of Risk-Based Decision-Making in Underground Storage Tank Corrective Action Programs," March 1996.
• GreenInfrastructure.net—Green infrastructure is a strategic approach to conservation that addresses the ecological, social and economic impacts of sprawl and the accelerated consumption and fragmentation of open land. This website is hosted by The Conservation Fund in partnership with USDA Forest Service.
• Maryland Department of the Environment, Brownfields Redevelopment and Directed Growth
• Smart Growth Network

Control Erosion through Improved Landscaping Practices

• Beneficial Landscaping Guidance by the U.S. Coast Guard Environmental Management Division (G-SEC-3).
• EPA Low Impact Development website
• Xeriscape.org

Reduce Heat Islands Using Landscaping and Building Design Methods

• Energy Star® Labeled Roof Products, EPA
• Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
• Greenroofs.com
• Heat Island Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Minimize Habitat Disturbance

• International Astronomical Union (IAU) Commission 50's Working Group on "Controlling Light Pollution"
• International Dark-Sky Association (IDA)—IDA's mission is to preserve and protect the nighttime environment and our heritage of dark skies through quality outdoor lighting. IDA has many resources and information on outdoor lighting and light pollution prevention, including:
• Good Lighting Fixtures
• Outdoor Lighting Regulations
• National Wildlife Federation
• Obtrusive Lighting Guide by Lighting Consultancy And Design Services.

Restore the Health of Degraded Sites

• Xeriscape.org
• USACE Technical Note ERDC TN-05-DRAFT No-Water Urinals, January 2007.

Design for Sustainable Transportation

• Centre for Sustainable Transportation—The Centre for Sustainable Transportation was founded to provide leadership in achieving sustainable transportation in Canada.
• Sierra Club, Stop Sprawl Campaign, Transportation Issues
• Zion National Park Case Study by National Renewable Energy Laboratory
  As part of redesigning the visitors' experience at Zion National Park, clean running propane buses were designed to shuttle the park's 2.5 million annual visitors throughout the area. Automobile traffic, which was causing damage to the air and ecosystem of the park, was minimized. See also Case Study: Zion National Park.

Smart Growth

• A Smart Growth Reader by the American Planning Association.
• Smart Communities Network, DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network
• Smart Growth, Environmental Protection Agency
• Smart Growth Network
• Urban Land Institute

Others

• FedCenter.gov—FedCenter, the Federal Facilities Environmental Stewardship and Compliance Assistance Center, is a collaborative effort between the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, and the U.S. EPA Federal Facilities Enforcement Office. FedCenter replaces the previous FedSite as a one-stop source of environmental stewardship and compliance assistance information focused solely on the needs of federal government facilities.
• Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings Memorandum of Understanding
• GSA LEED® Applications Guide
• GSA LEED® Cost Study
• Urban Land Institute