Arlington County Using LEED

Arlington County in Virginia has become (to the best of our knowledge) the first local government to reference the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system in official policy. The county, which is itself a member of the USGBC, voted on October 2 to allow developers favorable treatment in their requests for bonus density if their projects achieve a high LEED rating (exact level to be determined). The policy, which is due to take effect on April 3, 2000, references LEED 2.0, which is now slated for official release on March 29, 2000. The County Board is taking somewhat of a leap of faith with LEED, as version 2.0 is not yet finalized and at press time was still undergoing significant revisions by the LEED Technical Review Committee.