Fairfax County Office of Public Affairs
12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 551
Fairfax, VA 22035-0065
Contact: Merni Fitzgerald, Director of Public Affairs
703-324-3187, TTY 711, Fax 703-324-2010
Media Pager: 703-324-NEWS (6397)
publicaffairs@fairfaxcounty.gov
Feb. 11, 2008
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Adopts Green Building Policy
At its regularly scheduled meeting today, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted a green building policy for county facilities. The policy requires that buildings be constructed to meet minimum green building standards, if not exceed them.
Today’s board action supports Fairfax County’s many environmental initiatives, including Cool Counties. Last year, Fairfax County pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. The county led the development of this new initiative, along with the Sierra Club and two other county governments.
Fairfax County will use the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. At a minimum, county buildings over 10,000 square feet will be required to reach Silver level LEED certification.
The policy applies to the construction of new county buildings and renovations or additions to existing buildings. However, the policy will not be applied to county-constructed single family homes, town houses and low-rise multi-family buildings. Instead, the Energy Star rating system will be used for these types of buildings.
County officials project that the new policy will cost an additional 2-4 percent in construction costs per building. However, these one-time costs are projected to be offset by annual savings in energy and water bills. Per year, green buildings are expected to slash energy costs by 15-25 percent, and water consumption by 20 percent.
One of the county’s newest green buildings demonstrates the savings that can be achieved. Built in 2006, Fire Station 40 will save approximately $15,000 per year in reduced energy and water bills.
For more information, contact the Fairfax County Office of Public Affairs at 703-324-3187, TTY 711.
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