Tysons Corner Bonus Density Program Criticized
I used to work in Tysons Corner, Virginia. It is a fascinating place for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the area supports 105,000 jobs but only 17,000 residents. One of the consequences of this job-to-resident ratio is a daily traffic jam as workers leave for the day.
Government officials want to remake Tysons Corner into a more sustainable community by increasing density and residential options. As you can probably imagine, there are many competing proposals put forward by varying interest groups. One of the proposals involves permitting density bonuses to developers if a building seeks LEED certification:
"As far as density bonuses, a 10 percent bonus is proposed in return for LEED platinum certification, and bonuses are to be compoundable. For example, if a developer obtained a 20 percent density bonus for offering 20 percent affordable housing, the additional bonus for LEED certification would be for 10 percent of the resulting density cap, for a total bonus of 32 percent."
The proposed density bonus program is similar to the Arlington bonus density program. Not everyone supports the Tysons Corner bonus density program though:
- “Representing the Town of Vienna, Town Council member Laurie Cole said the ‘implementation entity’ that is to oversee the fulfillment of the plan should include residents of the surrounding communities. ‘The future of Tysons Corner affects us directly and deeply,’ she told the commission. Cole advised against density bonuses for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, as well as the compounding of density bonuses, saying that such policy was ‘testing the surface tension of what Tysons Corner can contain.’”
- “[Jonathan Cox of AvalonBay Communities] also said recommendations for LEED certification would be punitive to residential redevelopment, as LEED standards were developed for office and commercial buildings and not for residential developments.”
What do you think of these criticisms of the proposed Tysons Corner bonus density program?
Arlington County Revises Green Building Density Program (GBLU)
Photo: Shanghai Steve
I am a resident of Vienna, less than a mile from Tysons, and I read about Ms. Cole's comments, especially that the benefits of LEED "havent been proven yet". Ms. Cole couldnt be more wrong. Across the country and across the world. LEED buildings have shown to be healthier, cost less to operate, sell and lease faster, and improve the local infrasctructure. to expand Tysons by 400%, we will need to provide electric trasnsmission and infrastructure to provide adequate capacity for now and the future. If all buildings are built to LEED, this required infrastructure will be cut by 30% to 40%. how much money will that save? do the right thing, and provide strong incentives for LEED and energy conservation.
I used to live in suburban Maryland with close family in Northern Virginia and currently live outside of Los Angeles. Virginia's traffic jams are famous countrywide and it's a really bad thing to prefer LA's traffic to Virginia's.
When one analyzes the health and energy use of New York, a highly dense and pedestrian-oriented city, compared to Los Angeles, a sprawling and car-oriented collection of cities; the benefits of density are indisputable. People walk more and are far healthier and less overweight. People interact more, commerce improves since everything is on sale everywhere as one walks down the street.
LEED provides such advantages to urban density in the new v. 3 that it has become very difficult to even earn basic certification without density if higher energy efficiency is not achieved.
LEED has so little to do with the occupancies of buildings at times since it almost solely depends on the efficiency of the project's design and construction. If it's an apartment vs an office building, the energy efficiency or water efficiency should not be altered by its use(possibly even improve for Multi-Family Housing). On top of that, to add high-density housing will make other LEED credits easier for other projects going into Tyson's Corner and anything else within that half-mile radius.
Interesting -- on the first issue, we have the Town of Vienna sounding off and trying to assert planning rights outside the Town of Vienna. Sounds a bit like pandering to the NIMBY anti-Tyson's density crowd to me, just dressed up in the context of LEED additional density credits. These same folks were fight tooth and nail against planned residential density around Metro in Tysons. Fairfax is a generation or two behind on this, time for them to get with the program.
The second point on residential versus commercial application of LEED has far greater validity. This is a testament to the wisdom of permitting usage of parallel certification programs that may acheive the same sustainability advantages but perhaps be a bit more tailored as LEED definitely sprang from a more commercially focused design and building environment (albeit it has continued to be in flux and incorporate other aspects).
Hey Chris - riffed off this a bit this morning ...
http://www.valanduseconstructionlaw.com/2010/02/articles/land-usezoning/urbanism-one-size-does-not-fit-all/