This evening I attended the City Council Meeting in Norris with a couple of my fellow team members. They were kind enough to let us give a presentation updating them on all of our continuing progress as their newest neighbors. It’s wonderful to have the communities support and interest in all of our endeavors.
At this meeting I presented a synopsis of our endeavors in achieving LEED certification. This is an important system because it consolidates all our environmentally conscious efforts to be measured against pre-established standards. Right now, we are anticipated to obtain 97 points under the LEED for Homes rating system which will give us a LEED Platinum rating, which is the highest level available (go us!). To help us achieve our goal, we are attempting to obtain close to the highest number of points possible in several categories including Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, and Energy and Atmosphere. The majority of these points come from our pre-established design goals including limited material waste, re-use of rainwater, and efficient landscaping. Building in the Norris community also helps us attain points for the Locations and Linkages portion of the system. We get credit for building on a previously developed lot, having easy access to already established community resources, as well as for being half a mile from a publicly accessible park. While the LEED system itself is a great way to suggest goals for those looking into environmentally friendly building, it is important to concentrate on the ideals that underlie the system rather than getting bogged down with the paperwork and requirements associated with it.
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