On September 29, 2009, the Atlanta City Council Members are scheduled to give an up or down vote on an ordinance that could mandate all commercial construction to meet some form of Green Building Standard.  The Atlanta Sustainable Building Ordinance or (ASBO) has been in the works since June 2008, and is the initiative of Mayor Shirley Franklin to reduce the City’s carbon footprint.  The ASBO calls for a 7 year implementation period that will start July 1, 2010.  The ordinance will mandate green standards on both new construction of commercial properties, and interior build-outs for the individual tenant within a commercial property.  Here are the highlights of the Ordinance:

• Year 1 – Education Period
• Year 2 – Voluntary Implementation
• Year 3 – Voluntary compliance for all construction to meet one of the following:  LEED Green Building Design and Construction 2009 Certified Rating LEED, Green Globes certification Green Globe, or EarthCraft certification EarthCraft
• Mandatory Green Construction for Site Improvements which include:  Vehicular Traffic Hardscape, Other Site Hardscape, Buildings Walls, Roofs, Light Pollution and Green Sites.  (See Chapter 6 in the ASBO Link below)
• Year 4 – Buildings over 50,000 Square Feet (including tenant finishes) – Mandatory compliance for all construction to meet one of the following:  LEED Green Building Design and Construction 2009 Certified Rating, Green Globes certification or EarthCraft certification
• Buildings under 50,000 - still Voluntary compliance like in year 3.  Mandatory compliance for Site Improvements outlined in Chapter 6, i.e. Vehicular Traffic, Other Site Hardscape, ETC.
• Year 5 - Buildings over 50,000 Square Feet – Mandatory compliance gets stricter for the landlords and tenants over 50,000 RSF.
• Buildings under 50,000 Square Feet (including tenant finishes) – Mandatory compliance for all construction to meet one of the following:  LEED Green Building Design and Construction 2009 Certified Rating, Green Globes certification or EarthCraft certification.
• Year 6 & Year 7 – The mandate levels on compliance will continue to get more strict for both buildings over and under 50,000 Square Feet.

So, what does this mean in Lehman’s Terms?  It means that by year 2014, for a company constructing tenant finishes within an office building or a landlord that wants to build a commercial property, in order to get a permit a company will have to meet some form of Green Construction Guidelines with their construction.   Here is a link to the complete ASBO

ASBO Full Document

Here is a link to the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors talking point about the ASBO

Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors’ Response
If you have any further questions, or would like to know how this may affect your specific company.  Please visit my website http://www.mosatlanta.com and fill out a contact form with your question in the comments section.  I’ll get back to you as soon as I can with an answer.

Tags: Atlanta Green Office Space, Atlanta Office Space