Northwest Real Estate Law Blog : Northwest Real Estate Lawyer & Attorney : Davis Wright Tremaine Law Firm : Land Use, Development, Commercial Property : Seattle, Portland, Alaska, Washington, Oregon

Authored by: Monique Hawthorne

Back in October of 2010, Henry Gifford filed a class action lawsuit against the US Green Building Counsel (USGBC), which is the non-profit responsible for administering LEED certification for buildings and homes. Mr. Gifford alleged several issues including that the USGBC fraudulently represented the performance of LEED buildings, that it participated in false advertising, and that it operated to monopolize green building standards. Somewhere buried in the complaint, he also let on that he was really mad at the USGBC because he lost clients and business opportunities because he was not LEED accredited. When I first heard about the lawsuit, my reaction was “oh brother, really?!” Doesn’t Mr. Gifford know how the USGBC revolutionized green building in the U.S.? Show a little respect! Can you really accuse the USGBC of fraud? Okay, you can accuse them, but can you prove it?

Continue Reading...

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Authored by:  Clayton Graham and Jim Greenfield

Many Seattle landlords and other building owners will soon need to begin reporting on the energy efficiency of their buildings. As reported in DWT’s Northwest Real Estate Blog last year, a Seattle ordinance passed in connection with the state’s Efficiency First! Act requires many Seattle building owners to provide “energy benchmarking reports” to the Director of the Department of Planning & Development using the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager or a similar system. 

Continue Reading...

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Authored by: Monique Hawthorne

It is quite possible that everyone has heard about WaterSense already, and I am simply late to the party. But, on the off chance that you haven’t heard, let me be the one to tell you about the Water House, which is the very first WaterSense certified home in Oregon. WaterSense is a new EPA certification program for new homes to increase water efficiency. Yes, it is true that the ubiquitous LEED certification includes water efficiency as a goal as well, but WaterSense dives deeper (sorry, I couldn’t help myself). The Water House is going to serve as a laboratory so that others can learn about different sustainable building practices, materials and systems. The Water House has been included on the Portland “Build it Green” tour, and its development was made possible through public and private partnerships with local green-building leaders donating over $150,000.00 of labor and materials.

Continue Reading...

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Authored by:  Monique Hawthorne

As published in the Daily Journal of Commerce

Last month, Henry Gifford, a “building design and construction professional” and frequent critic of LEED certified buildings, filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the U.S. Green Building Council, claiming $100 million in damages. The USGBC is a nonprofit organization that developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification system for rating “green buildings.”

Gifford’s suit makes several allegations, but perhaps the most shocking is his claim that the council committed fraud by intentionally omitting information about the energy efficiency of LEED certified buildings. Gifford also alleges that the LEED rating system actually harms the environment, because it leads consumers away from proven methods of saving energy.

The USGBC and its LEED rating system have always had their critics. Fraud, however, is a serious allegation. But fraud also is a tough legal standard to meet.

Continue Reading...

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Authored by:  Monique Hawthorne

As published in the Daily Journal of Commerce

As a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional, I readily defend LEED’s standard and certification to critics who question its alleged greenness and whether it lives up to its hype.

"You get points for including bike parking spaces?" they protest. "C’mon!"

Nonetheless, I stand by the usefulness of LEED certification and believe it serves a useful purpose even if it only increases dialogue and awareness about sustainable building.

With that said, recent conversations have led me to explore other types of sustainable building standards and methods. I have been very impressed with Passive House (aka Passivhaus), a building standard from Germany that is an exciting option for builders, homeowners and developers.

Continue Reading...

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Authored by:  Craig Gannett, Lauren Giles, and Clayton P. Graham

On May 27, the Washington Department of Ecology (“Ecology”) released draft Guidance regarding the analysis of climate change impacts under Washington’s State Environmental Policy Act ("SEPA"). The Guidance, which will be open for comment until June 25, proposes extensive analysis of both direct and indirect greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions potentially resulting from government actions covered under SEPA. Among the government actions that are subject to SEPA’s requirements are local governments’ issuance of land use and construction permits for many types of projects, especially commercial, industrial, or larger residential developments. The Guidance also describes potential mitigation measures that project proponents may be required to undertake. Given the broad scope of the Guidance, it is essential that owners and developers of real estate, as well as any business or institution with expansion plans, become familiar with these proposed requirements.

Continue reading here...

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Authored by: Monique Lee Hawthorne

As published in The Daily Journal of Commerce

As a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional, I readily defend LEED’s standard and certification to critics who question its alleged greenness and whether it lives up to its hype. “You get points for including bike parking spaces?” they protest. “C’mon!” Nonetheless, I stand by the usefulness of LEED certification and believe it serves a useful purpose even if it only increases dialogue and awareness about sustainable building.

With that said, recent conversations have led me to explore other types of sustainable building standards and methods. I have been very impressed with Passive House (aka Passivhaus), a building standard from Germany that is an exciting option for builders, homeowners and developers. (read full DJC article)

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Authored by:  Alan Middleton

The International Code Council on Monday will release the International Green Construction Code, Public Version 1.0 (IGCC).  The IGCC incorporates ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, as an alternate path of compliance. The IGCC is intended as an overlay to complement existing codes.  More information is available at www.iccsafe.org.  Release of the IGCC will likely accelerate adoption of relatively uniform green building codes nationwide.  DWT will be tracking developments in local jurisdictions.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Authored by:  Lauren Giles, Kerry Shea, and Clayton Graham

Findings recently issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could be the first step in national regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the Clean Air Act. Although the findings apply only to new motor vehicles and engines for the time being, they lay the groundwork for regulating GHGs emitted by power plants and manufacturing facilities.

Continue Reading...

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently announced the details of the much-anticipated Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Version 3 building certification program (LEED v3, also referred to as LEED 2009). LEED, a third-party certification program, is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

Continue Reading...

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link