SS Credit 1: Site Selection
LEED-NC Credit: YES | UNSURE|NO
Credit Intent
Choose a development site that minimizes adverse environmental impacts by avoiding undeveloped land and limiting effects on wetlands or endangered species. Give site preference to previously developed areas to limit or even improve site conditions.
Feasibility
Given constraints imposed by the Stanford campus, and the fact that the GSB campus site has already been selected, there is limited control with this credit. However, in this case, the KnightManagementCenter will be developed on an area composed of primarily asphalt parking lots. Arup’s civil design narrative also notes that “the existing site consists almost entirely of impermeable surfaces such as buildings and asphalt parking lots.”[1]In general this is beneficial, because the conversion of this site from parking lots into the new GSB campus will likely improve the location’s immediate impact on the environment. Overall, this credit can be obtained.
Analysis
This credit is met by avoiding development on the six types of sites prohibited by LEED-NC guidelines, all discussed below.
1. Do not develop on prime farmland as defined by the USDA
The new GSB site is not prime farmland, and is composed of 2 buildings surrounded by parking lots.
2. Do not develop on previously undeveloped land whose elevation is lower than 5 feet above the elevation of the 100-year flood as defined by FEMA
This site has been previously developed.
Figure 4: Completely developed GSB site. Figure 5: GSB site from HooverTower, JM photo
3. Land that is specifically identified as habitat for any species on federal or state threatened of endangered lists.
This site, because it is primarily for vehicle parking, is not listed as habitat for any plant or animal species on both the Federal and State levels. The only specifically identified threatened species on the Stanford campus is the tiger salamander, but their habitat area does not intersect with the GSB site, as shown in Figure 6 below.
SS Credit 1: Site Selection
LEED-NC Credit: YES | UNSURE|NO
Figure 6: Tiger salamander habitat outlined with dotted
Line, new GSB campus in red.[2]
4. Do not develop within 100 feet of any wetlands.
The new GSB site is completely surrounded (at a radius much larger than 100 feet) by developed campus area that does not include any wetlands.
5. Do not develop of previously undeveloped land that is within 50 feet of a body of water.
Just as requirement 2 states and Figure 4 shows, this site was previously developed.
6. Do not develop on land which prior to acquisition for the project was public parkland.
Again, this existing site is almost entirely composed of a parking lot and contains no public parkland.
These six criteria apply to the entire piece of land considered within the ‘LEED project site boundary’, approximately shown in Figure 1 above, not just footprints for individual buildings. Therefore, despite the campus nature of the project, this credit can still be obtained without any problems.
[1] Arup: Stanford GSB Pre-SD Civil Narrative, 30 April 2007, pg. 1.
[2]El Camino Reborn: Stanford Community Plan, Issues and Policies. <