2008 Woodie Awards
LEED-certified construction passed in Newark
by Rachel Alper
Issue date: 10/23/07 Section: News
Within the coming months, the city of Newark plans to pass two "green" building initiatives. The first initiative, up for a city council vote in two weeks, deals with building codes.
The second part of the initiative pertains to planning and zoning and will modify the city code. Any company that constructs a LEED-certified building will be allowed extra floor area, something which is not normally permitted by current zoning rules.
LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a national checklist for green building. The four levels of green building are standard, silver, gold and platinum, and these levels are achieved by including more environmentally-friendly practices into the construction process. Green builders are recommended to follow a checklist that includes everything from energy and water conservation to the materials that go into the building.
LEED building is available to the university, but so far officials have not implemented such planning. The university is exempt from city zoning codes but not from building codes.
Steve Dentel, the chair of Newark's Conservation Advisory Commission, said he would like to see the university use LEED building because he feels it would benefit the university as well as the environment.
"If the university wants to implement LEED, they will do it because it will save money in three to seven years, and many of the buildings are around longer," Dentel said.
Senior Dan Greenland said he has been attending the conservation meetings and is interested in environmental issues. He said he does not understand why the university is not using the LEED building measures.
"The university seems like it's behind other universities in this area," Greenland said. "These buildings will live 75 or 100 years and will pay themselves off. They're not just environmentally better, but also monetarily it's better."
Dentel said university officials should want to build green because college campuses are supposed to reflect forward thinking.
The second part of the initiative pertains to planning and zoning and will modify the city code. Any company that constructs a LEED-certified building will be allowed extra floor area, something which is not normally permitted by current zoning rules.
LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a national checklist for green building. The four levels of green building are standard, silver, gold and platinum, and these levels are achieved by including more environmentally-friendly practices into the construction process. Green builders are recommended to follow a checklist that includes everything from energy and water conservation to the materials that go into the building.
LEED building is available to the university, but so far officials have not implemented such planning. The university is exempt from city zoning codes but not from building codes.
Steve Dentel, the chair of Newark's Conservation Advisory Commission, said he would like to see the university use LEED building because he feels it would benefit the university as well as the environment.
"If the university wants to implement LEED, they will do it because it will save money in three to seven years, and many of the buildings are around longer," Dentel said.
Senior Dan Greenland said he has been attending the conservation meetings and is interested in environmental issues. He said he does not understand why the university is not using the LEED building measures.
"The university seems like it's behind other universities in this area," Greenland said. "These buildings will live 75 or 100 years and will pay themselves off. They're not just environmentally better, but also monetarily it's better."
Dentel said university officials should want to build green because college campuses are supposed to reflect forward thinking.
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