Centre City Green
Implementation
The implementation actions of Centre City Green include the adoption of long-range goals and policies toward sustainability, the creation of new programs and revisions to existing programs.
Private Development Incentive Program
At the heart of Centre City Green are new "green building" measures that will ensure buildings built in the future use less water and less energy, reduce automobile demand, and create healthy indoor and outdoor spaces for people.
With the adoption of the State's new CalGreen building codes in January 2011, California will have some of the most stringent environmental building standards in the country. To increase performance beyond those standards, Centre City Green creates an incentive-based program based on the principal of rewarding those building owners and developers who exceed California green building standards.
Centre City Green allows applicants to earn development incentives by designing and operating buildings in ways that exceed CalGreen which positively impact the Sustainability Indicator metrics. The program is also designed to create a green market shift that influences the design and approach of mid- to high-rise structures and the public spaces in-between buildings.
Green Streets Program
Centre City Green includes a new "Green Streets" program designed to make downtown streets places for people and not just for cars.
The program will create healthier outdoor spaces that are more pedestrian and bike friendly, add more greenery, celebrate transit, use less energy and water, improve air quality and reduce storm water pollution in the San Diego Bay.
Centre City Green defines the Green Street’s Program Concept and framework for future capital improvements, starting with a “baseplan” two-lane street configuration with widened sidewalks and a bicycle lane, with possible overlays of various low-impact development (LID) features that include storm water management systems, locally based streetscape materials with high recycled content, and energy efficient pedestrian street lights.
For developments that are located along designated Green Streets, a menu of streetscape “enhancement options” have been defined that are intended to become part of the Streetscape Manual. The applicant would be required to achieve a minimum of 20 points from a menu of options that are intended to provide for flexibility per building type (see page 89 of Centre City Green for Green Street Elements).
Revised Transportation Demand Management Plan
In order to reduce single-occupant vehicle trips, the Centre City Planned District Ordinance currently requires that all commercial and hotel projects containing more than 50,000 SF achieve a minimum of 24 USGBC LEED points through Transportation Demand Management options. Based on input from stakeholders, Centre City Green updates the menu of transportation demand management options to provide for alignment with new standards and green building rating systems including LEED (see Centre City Green, Attachment D - Revised Transportation Demand Management Plan).
