(a) All projects subject to this section shall comply with the following green building standards:

(1) Non-residential new construction or substantial improvement projects shall:

(A) Fulfill or exceed the current edition of the LEED standard for commercial and institutional buildings at the gold level;

(B) Fulfill or exceed the current edition of the LEED standard for commercial and institutional buildings at the gold level for improvements to interiors of new or existing non-residential buildings;

(C) Comply with the ENERGY STAR requirements of the Green Building Act and, in addition:

(i) Achieve 85 points on the Environmental Protection Agency national energy performance rating system; and

(ii) Be designed to be 30% more energy efficient than required by ASHRAE 90.1 2004, or a later standard adopted by the Mayor pursuant to § 2-1226.41; and

(D) Provide ENERGY STAR Benchmark and Target Finder scores and ENERGY STAR statements to the DDOE and the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (“DCRA”) within 60 days after the scores are generated; and

(2)(A) Residential new construction and substantial improvement projects shall:

(i) Fulfill or exceed the current edition of the LEED standard for commercial and institutional buildings at the silver level; and

(ii) Achieve the ENERGY STAR label and be 30% more energy efficient than required by ASHRAE 90.1 2004, or such later standard adopted by the Mayor pursuant to § 2-1226.41; and

(B) Residential new construction and substantial improvement projects may, if the project is a District-financed project that receives public financing for the purpose of assisting in the new construction or substantial rehabilitation of affordable housing, apply the Green Communities standards as an alternative to LEED for the affordable units within the project; provided, that the project shall achieve the ENERGY STAR label and be 30% more energy efficient than required by ASHRAE 90.1 2004, or a later standard adopted by the Mayor pursuant to § 2-1226.41.

(b) The Mayor shall encourage developers to seek to align the project design with the greenhouse gas reduction goals in the “2030 Challenge” as adopted by the American Institute of Architects and United States Conference of Mayors.

(c) The DDOE, in coordination with the DCRA and other appropriate agencies shall, to the greatest extent practical, coordinate the implementation of the standards established by this section with implementation of the Green Building Act.

(Mar. 26, 2008, D.C. Law 17-138, § 455, 55 DCR 1689; Mar. 31, 2011, D.C. Law 18-349, § 4(b), 58 DCR 724; Oct. 23, 2012, D.C. Law 19-192, § 2(d), 59 DCR 10174.)

D.C. Law 18-349, in subsecs. (a)(1)(A) and (2)(A)(i), substituted “current edition of the LEED standard for commercial and institutional buildings” for “LEED-NC 2.2 standard or LEED-CS 2.0 standard”; and, in subsec. (a)(1)(B), substituted “current edition of the LEED standard for commercial and institutional buildings” for “LEED-CI standard”.

The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-192 substituted “DDOE” for “District Department of the Environment (‘DDOE’)” in (a)(1)(D).