It is the purpose and intent of the Town of Denton Mayor and
Council, through the adoption of this article, to establish an integrated
approach to planning, design, construction, and operation of certain
buildings and their surrounding landscape so as to mitigate energy
use and environmental impacts, and to promote sustainable development.
This article shall apply to applications for permits in the
following categories:
A.
All applications for new construction of or major modifications to
residential, nonresidential, and commercial of greater than 5,000
square feet of gross floor area.
B.
All applications for new construction of or major modifications to
public buildings, regardless of size.
C.
All applications for new construction of or major modifications to
five or more single-family or attached homes on one lot or as a subdivision.
D.
All applications for new construction of residential structures of
any size.
E.
This article shall take effect on January 1, 2012, for all projects
not already in the site design review process, and July 1, 2012, for
all residential structures.
Unless specifically defined below or unless context clearly
requires a different meaning, terms used in this article have the
meaning given to them by the currently adopted edition of the International
Green Building Code. For the purposes of this section, certain words
and phrases used in this section are defined as follows:
The Denton Department of Planning and Codes.
The Denton Director of Planning and Codes.
The U.S. Green Building Council, an organization that has
developed and published the LEED rating system to measure the energy
and environmental performance of a building.
The series of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) rating systems developed by the Green Building Council.
Any person who has passed the LEED Professional Accreditation
Exam administered by the Green Building Council.
The lowest of the LEED rating systems.
The particular LEED rating system that applies to a building.
The checklist developed by the Green Building Council for
the purpose of calculating a score on the LEED rating system.
The second lowest of the LEED rating systems.
A structural modification to an existing building that alters
greater than 50% of the gross floor area or results in an increase
of greater than 50% of the gross floor area or where the number of
parking spaces is increased by more than 20%.
A new stand-alone building or any major modification to an
existing building. New construction does not include any change to
an existing portion of the building less than 50% of the existing
gross floor area.
A building not used as a dwelling. A nonresidential building
does not include the following:
Any building or facility owned, leased, or funded at a level
of at least 30% by municipal government, including, but not limited
to, water and wastewater treatment plants, water and wastewater pumping
stations, garage or depot. State and federal buildings are excluded
from this category as they are not subject to local government regulations.
A.
Any new construction of or major modification to a commercial or
mixed use building greater than 5,000 square feet of gross floor area
must achieve the following:
(1)
A certified-level rating in the appropriate LEED rating system, as
certified by the Green Building Council; or
(2)
A certified-level rating in the appropriate LEED rating system as
verified by the Director or a qualified person designated by the Director;
or
(3)
Energy and environmental design standards that the Director identifies
as equivalent to a certified-level rating in the appropriate LEED
rating system, as verified by the Director or a qualified person designated
by the Director.
B.
Any new construction of or major modification to a public building,
regardless of size, must achieve, at a minimum, the following:
(1)
A silver-level rating in the appropriate LEED rating system, as certified
by the Green Building Council; or
(2)
A silver-level rating in the appropriate LEED rating system as verified
by the Director or a qualified person designated by the Director;
or
(3)
Energy and environmental design standards that the Director identifies
as equivalent to a silver-level rating in the appropriate LEED rating
system, as verified by the Director or a qualified person designated
by the Director.
C.
Any new construction of or major modification to five or more single-family
or attached homes on one lot or as a subdivision, and any single-family
home in excess of 3,000 square feet in size, must achieve, at a minimum,
the following:
(1)
A certified-level rating in the appropriate LEED rating system, as
certified by the Green Building Council; or
(2)
A certified-level rating in the appropriate LEED rating system as
verified by the Director or a qualified person designated by the Director;
or
(3)
Energy and environmental design standards that the Director identifies
as equivalent to a certified-level rating in the appropriate LEED
rating system, as verified by the Director or a qualified person designated
by the Director.
D.
In all new construction of or major modification of any type or use
in excess of 3,000 square feet in size, construction materials shall
be recycled.
E.
In all new construction of or major modification of any type or use
not exceeding 2,999 square feet, construction materials are encouraged
to be recycled.
A.
Applications for site plan design review. Those applications defined in Article XXIII, Chapter 128, of the Denton Town Code that require site plan design review shall provide application information as required. Applicants for site plan design review shall provide the following information in addition to requirements of Chapter 128, Article XXIII:
(1)
Design plans, including a LEED scorecard, that show how the building's
surrounding landscape will comply with the applicable standard under
this chapter; and
(2)
LEED scorecard showing the LEED points that a building will obtain;
and
(3)
Written explanation of how the building and surrounding landscape
will obtain the LEED points identified in the LEED scorecard.
B.
Applications for building permits. The following information shall
be submitted to the Department:
(1)
Design plans for the building and landscape that are likely to achieve
the applicable standard under this article as certified by a LEED
accredited professional or otherwise approved by the Green Building
Council or verified by the Director or a qualified person designated
by the Director; and
(2)
A LEED scorecard and any other document or information the Department
finds necessary to form a decision on whether the building and landscape
will achieve the applicable standard under this article.
C.
Review and approval.
(1)
The Department shall require compliance as a condition of any building
permit issued for construction as defined in this chapter.
(2)
The Department shall not issue a final certificate of occupancy for
any construction unless it finds that the building has achieved the
applicable standard under this chapter. For those buildings seeking
any green building certification, the applicant must submit all documentation
that a green building was designed and constructed and that an application
for any green building certification was submitted to the appropriate
green building certifying body as a condition of the issue of a final
certificate of occupancy.
There shall be no variances to the requirements of this article, except as permitted in § 128-163D(3) of the Code.
