LOCATION AND

TRANSPORTATION CREDIT
CATEGORY

LEED FOR NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT LOCATION—CREDIT

In order to be eligible for this credit, the project has to be located inside a boundary of one of
the following:
a. LEED ND Pilot—Stage 2 LEED for Neighborhood Development Certified Plan
b. LEED ND Pilot—Stage 3 LEED for Neighborhood Development Certified Project
c. LEED 2009—Stage 2 Precertified LEED for Neighborhood Development Plan
d. LEED 2009—Stage 3 LEED ND Certified Neighborhood Development
e. LEED v4—LEED for Neighborhood Development Certified Plan
f. LEED v4—LEED for Neighborhood Development Certified Built Project

Basically, the LEED ND sites need to be Stage 2 or Stage 3 under the LEED Pilot or LEED
2009 rating systems or Certified Plan or Certified Project under the LEED v4 rating system.
Conditional approvals or prereviewed LEED ND sites will not earn the credit.

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SENSITIVE LAND PROTECTION—CREDIT
OPTION 1 — (1 Point)
Under this option, the development footprint must be located on previously developed land.

OR

OPTION 2 — (1 Point)
If the land is not previously developed, then the development footprint or a portion of it
should not be located on land that falls under any of the following categories:
A. Prime farmland
B. Floodplains
C. Habitat
D. Water bodies: No development can be made within 100 feet (30 meters) of water bod-
ies, with the exception of some minor improvements.
E. Wetlands: No development can be made within 50 feet (15 meters) of wetlands, with
the exception of some minor improvements.

The following are the minor developments that are acceptable within water bodies and wet-
lands—with the requirement of being available to all building users:
l Brownfield areas can be remediated.
l Grading can be performed to allow for public access.
l Any activity to maintain or restore natural hydrology, or native natural communities
can be implemented.
l Bicycle and pedestrian pathways, which can be constructed up to 12 feet wide (3.5
meters), of which no more than 8 feet (2.5 meters) can be impervious.
l One single-story structure per 300 linear feet (90 linear meters) on average, with the
structure not exceeding 500 square feet (45 square meters).
l Trees that meet any of the following ratings can be removed:
§ Trees that are under 40% condition rating
§ Trees whose diameters are less than 6 inches (150 millimeters) at breast height
§ Hazardous trees
§ Up to 75% of dead trees
§ Up to 20% of the trees whose diameters are more than 6 inches (150 millimeters)
at breast height, with a condition rating of 40% or higher
l Clearings that do not exceed 500 square feet (45 square meters). This is limited to
one clearing per 300 linear feet (90 linear meters) on average.

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HIGH PRIORITY SITE—CREDIT
OPTION 1: HISTORIC DISTRICT — (1 Point)
Under this option, the project site must be located on an infill location inside a historic dis-
trict. After confirming the infill status, project teams should confirm that the land is inside a
“historic district,” which should be identified by the historic preservation entity that desig-
nates local historic districts.

OR

OPTION 2: PRIORITY DESIGNATION — (1 Point)

Under this option, the project site must be located in one of the following priority develop-
ment areas:
l A site listed by EPA National Priorities List
l A Federal Empowerment Zone site
l A Federal Enterprise Community site
l A Federal Renewal Community site
l A site within a Department of the Treasury Community Development Financial In-
stitutions Fund Qualified Low-Income Community
l A site in a US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Qualified Census
Tract (QCT) or Difficult Development Area (DDA)
l For projects outside the United States, sites that meet the same types of specifications
of a local equivalent program administered at the national level
OR

OPTION 3: BROWNFIELD REMEDIATION — (2 Points)

To pursue this option, the project site must be located on a brownfield and identified with
soil or groundwater contamination, and the local, state, or national authority must require
remediation at this site. Project teams pursuing this option should remediate the brownfield
to the satisfaction of the oversight authority.

In order to identify contamination, project teams need to conduct a Phase I or Phase II En-
vironmental Site Assessment (or a local equivalent for projects outside the United States) or
consult a biologist or environmental scientist.

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SURROUNDING DENSITY AND DIVERSE USES—CREDIT
For all LEED BD+C projects, except “LEED BD+C: Warehouses and Distribution Centers”
and “LEED BD+C: Healthcare”:

OPTION 1: SURROUNDING DENSITY — (2-3 Points)

Under this option, the project site should be located so that the quarter-mile (400 meter)
radius of the project boundary meets the required values in the following table.

Separate residential and Points

Combined density Points for
nonresidential densities (except
Core and
Square feet per acre of Residential density Nonresidential Core and
Shell
buildable land (DU/acre) density (FAR) Shell)
22,000 7 0.5 2 2
35,000 12 0.8 3 4

Only with regard to the “LEED BD+C: School” projects, project teams should neglect any
physical education spaces (such as playgrounds or playing fields) from the development den-
sity calculations.

AND/OR

OPTION 2: DIVERSE USES — (1-2 Points)

Under this option, the building’s main entrance should be within a half mile (800 meter)
walking distance of the main entrance of four to seven (1 point) or eight or more (2 points)
existing and publicly available diverse uses.

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 Category of diverse use Use type
Supermarket
Food retail
Grocery
Convenience store
Farmers market
Community-serving retail Pharmacy
Hardware store
Other retail
Bank
Family entertainment venue (theater)
Gym, health club, exercise studio
Services
Laundry, dry cleaner
Hair care
Restaurant, cafe, diner
Adult or senior care (licensed)
Child care (licensed)
Community or recreation center
Cultural arts facility (museum, performing arts)
Education facility (K—12 school, university)
Education center, vocational school,
community college
Civic and community
Government office that serves public on-site
facilities
Medical clinic or office that treats patients
Place of worship
Police or fire station
Post office
Public library
Public park
Social services center
Commercial office (100 or more full-time
Community anchor uses
equivalent jobs)

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For “LEED BD+C: Warehouses and Distribution Centers” projects:
OPTION 1: DEVELOPMENT AND ADJACENCY — (2-3 Points)
Construct or renovate the project site on a previously developed site that was used for indus-
trial or commercial purposes (2 points).

OR

Construct or renovate the project on a site that is both a previously developed and adjacent
site; the adjacent sites must be used at the time for industrial or commercial purposes (3
points).

AND/OR

OPTION 2: TRANSPORTATION RESOURCES — (1-2 Points)

Under this option, project teams should construct or renovate the project on a site that sat-
isfies two or three (1 point) or four (2 points) of the following transportation resources re-
quirements:
l The site is located within a 10-mile (16-kilometer) driving distance of a main logistics
hub, defined as an airport, seaport, intermodal facility, or freight village with inter-
modal transportation.
l The site is located within a 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) driving distance of an on-off ramp
to a highway.
l The site is located within a 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) driving distance of an access point
to an active freight rail line.
l The site is served by an active freight rail spur.

For “LEED BD+C: Healthcare” projects:

OPTION 1: SURROUNDING DENSITY — (1 Point)
Under this option, the project site must be located on a site for which the surrounding existing
density within a quarter-mile (400-meter) radius of the project boundary is:
l at least 7 dwelling units per acre (17.5 DU per hectare) with a 0.5 floor-to-area ratio
(the counted density must be existing density, not zoned density); or
l at least 22,000 square feet per acre (5,050 square meters per hectare) of buildable
land.
For previously developed existing rural healthcare campus sites, projects should achieve a
minimum development density of 30,000 square feet per acre (6,890 square meters per hec-
tare).

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 OR

OPTION 2: DIVERSE USES — (1 Point)

Under this option, the project site should be located so that the building’s main entrance is
within a half-mile (800 meter) walking distance of the main entrance of at least seven opera-
tional and publicly accessible diverse uses.

ACCESS TO QUALITY TRANSIT—CREDIT

For all LEED BD+C projects, except “LEED BD+C: Schools” and “LEED BD+C:
Healthcare”:
Project teams should locate any functional entry of the building within a quarter-mile (400
meter) walking distance of existing or planned bus, streetcar, or rideshare stops. Or any func-
tional entry of the building must be located within a half-mile (800 meter) walking distance
of existing or planned bus rapid transit stops, light or heavy rail stations, commuter rail sta-
tions, or commuter ferry terminals.

Projects served by two or more transit routes such that no one route provides more than 60%
of the documented levels can earn one additional bonus point up to the maximum number
of points.

For LEED BD+C: Schools projects:

OPTION 1: TRANSIT-SERVED LOCATION — (1-4 Points)
This option basically requires the same criteria as listed previously for other LEED BD+C
project types, however school projects are not required to evaluate weekend transit service as
long as the students do not commute to school on weekends.

OR

OPTION 2: PEDESTRIAN ACCESS — (1-4 Points)

Under this option, “LEED BD+C: Schools” project teams should demonstrate that the re-
quired percentages of students live within a three-quarter-mile (1200 meter) walking distance
(for grades 8 and below, or ages 14 and below), and a 1 1/2-mile (2400-meter) walking dis-
tance (for grades 9 and above or ages 15 and above) of any functional entry of the school
building.

For LEED BD+C: Healthcare projects:

This option basically requires the same criteria as listed previously for other LEED BD+C
project types and in option 1 of “LEED BD+C: Schools”. The only difference for healthcare

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projects is that the point values for this option will be awarded differently, and the number
of weekend trips also needs to be addressed, unlike in option 1 of “LEED BD+C: Schools”.

BICYCLE FACILITIES—CREDIT
For all LEED BD+C projects, except “LEED BD+C: Schools”, “LEED BD+C: Retail” and
“LEED BD+C: Healthcare”:
To earn this credit, projects need to satisfy both the bicycle network and the bicycle storage
and shower room requirements.

Bicycle network requirements:

The project should be located so that the building’s functional entry or bicycle storage
is within 200 yards (180 meters) walking distance or bicycling distance from a bicycle
network that connects to at least one of the following:
At least 10 diverse uses
An employment center or school if the project’s total floor area is 50% or more
residential
A light rail or heavy rail station, a bus rapid transit stop, a commuter rail sta-
tion, or a ferry terminal
All these destinations should also be within a 3-mile (4800 meter) bicycling distance
of the project boundary. Planned but at the time nonexisting bicycle trails or lanes can
be counted too if they’re funded by the date of the certificate of occupancy and sched-
uled to be finished within a year of that date.

AND

Bicycle storage and shower rooms requirements:

Case 1: Commercial or Institutional projects (This case includes the retail portion
of the project too, if it exists. However, the whole project should not be under the
“LEED BD+C: Retail” rating system)
Commercial or institutional projects should provide short-term bicycle storage
(typically used by visitors for less than two hours and which is not enclosed park-
ing) for at least 2.5% of all peak visitors (cannot be less than four spaces per build-
ing). Additionally, projects should provide long-term bicycle storage (protected
storage from rain and snow and which is for residents and employees) for at least
5% of all the regular building occupants (cannot be less than four spaces per build-
ing).

Finally, projects should provide at least one on-site shower room with a changing

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 facility for the first 100 regular building occupants and one additional shower for
every 150 occupants after the first 100.

Case 2: Residential projects

Residential projects should provide short-term bicycle storage for at least 2.5% of
all peak visitors (cannot be less than four spaces per building) and provide long-
term bicycle storage for at least 30% of all the regular building occupants, which
cannot be less than one storage space per residential unit. Since residential projects
will already have showers inside, LEED does not ask for any shower rooms with
changing facilities.

Case 3: Mixed-use projects

Mixed-use projects should meet case 1 and case 2 requirements for the residential
and nonresidential portion of the project respectively. For example, if the project
contains residential, office, and retail space, the project teams will calculate the res-
idential portion under case 2 and calculate the office plus the retail portion under
case 1.

For all types of projects mentioned above, all the short-term bicycle storage should be within
100 feet (30 meters) walking distance from any main entrance, and all the long-term bicycle
storage should be within 100 feet (30 meters) walking distance from any functional entry.
And only the bicycle storage that is allocated to the building occupants will be included in the
credit calculations; any bicycle storage allocated to any nonproject facility should be ignored.

The “LEED BD+C: Core and Shell” projects should refer to LEED’s Default Occupancy
Counts for the occupancy count requirements.

For “LEED BD+C: Schools”:

To earn this credit, “LEED BD+C: Schools” projects need to satisfy both the bicycle network
and the bicycle storage and shower rooms requirements.

Bicycle network requirements:

The school project should be located so that the building’s functional entry or bicycle
storage is within 200 yards (180 meters) walking distance or bicycling distance from a
bicycle network that connects to at least one of the following:
At least 10 diverse uses
A light rail or heavy rail station, a bus rapid transit stop, a commuter rail sta-
tion, or a ferry terminal
All these destinations should also be within a 3-mile (4800-meter) bicycling distance
of the project boundary. Planned but at the time nonexisting bicycle trails or lanes can

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 be counted too if they’re funded by the date of the certificate of occupancy and sched-
uled to be finished within a year of that date.

Unlike the other rating systems, school projects should also provide dedicated bicycle
lanes that extend at least to the end of the school property from the school buildings
without any barriers such as fences.

AND

Bicycle storage and shower rooms requirements:

School projects should provide long-term bicycle storage for at least 5% of all regular
building occupants, excluding students in grade 3 and younger, which cannot be less
than four spaces per building. In other words, when doing the long-term bicycle stor-
age calculations, the school projects will only consider the staff and full-time students
in grade 4 or above.

In addition to long-term bicycle storage, school projects should provide at least one
on-site shower room with a changing facility for the first 100 regular building occu-
pants (excluding students this time) and one additional shower for every 150 occu-
pants after that (again, excluding the students).

All the long-term bicycle storage provided should be within 100 feet (30 meters) walk-
ing distance from any main entrance. LEED BD+C: School projects are not required
to provide any short-term bicycle storage.

For “LEED BD+C: Retail”:

To earn this credit, “LEED BD+C: Retail” projects need to satisfy both the bicycle network
and the bicycle storage and shower rooms requirements.

Bicycle network requirements:

The retail project should be located so that the building’s functional entry or bicycle
storage is within 200 yards (180 meters) walking distance or bicycling distance from a
bicycle network that connects to at least one of the following:
At least 10 diverse uses
A light rail or heavy rail station, a bus rapid transit stop, a commuter rail sta-
tion, or a ferry terminal
All these destinations should also be within a 3-mile (4800 meter) bicycling distance
of the project boundary. Planned but at the time nonexisting bicycle trails or lanes can
be counted too if they’re funded by the date of the certificate of occupancy and sched-
uled to be finished within a year of that date.

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 AND

Bicycle storage and shower rooms requirements:

Retail projects should provide at least two (not one) short-term bicycle storage spaces
for every 5,000 square feet (465 square meters). There cannot be fewer than two storage
spaces per building. And retail projects should provide long-term bicycle storage for
at least 5% of regular building occupants. There cannot be fewer than two storage
spaces per building.

For the requirement dealing with on-site shower rooms with a changing facility, pro-
jects should provide one shower for the first 100 regular building occupants and one
additional shower for every 150 regular building occupants thereafter. One thing to
note is that “LEED BD+C: Retail” projects will not include peak-time visitors (custom-
ers) in their calculations. The regular building occupants only include the employees.

All the short-term bicycle storage should be within 100 feet (30 meters) walking dis-
tance to any main entrance, and all the long-term bicycle storage should be within 100
feet (30 meters) walking distance of any functional entry.

Unlike the other rating systems, retail projects are also required to provide a bicycle
maintenance program for employees or bicycle route assistance for employees and cus-
tomers. An example of a bicycle maintenance program would be to provide coupons
for a bicycle tune-up, and an example of bicycle route assistance would be to provide
a map that shows bicycle routes to the project site.

For “LEED BD+C: Healthcare”:

To earn this credit, “LEED BD+C: Healthcare” projects need to satisfy both the requirements
for a bicycle network and bicycle storage and shower rooms.

Bicycle network requirements:

The healthcare project should be located so that the building’s functional entry or bi-
cycle storage is within 200 yards (180 meters) walking distance or bicycling distance
from a bicycle network that connects to at least one of the following:
At least 10 diverse uses
A light rail or heavy rail station, a bus rapid transit stop, a commuter rail sta-
tion, or a ferry terminal
All these destinations should also be within a 3-mile (4800 meters) bicycling distance
of the project boundary. Planned but at the time nonexisting bicycle trails or lanes can
be counted too if they’re funded by the date of the certificate of occupancy and sched-
uled to be finished within a year of that date.

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 AND

Bicycle storage and shower rooms requirements:

Case 1: Commercial or Institutional projects
Commercial or institutional projects should provide short-term bicycle storage for
at least 2.5% of all peak visitors (cannot be less than four spaces per building). Ad-
ditionally, projects should provide long-term bicycle storage for at least 5% of all
the regular building occupants, excluding patients, and there cannot be fewer than
four spaces per building.

In addition to the short-term and long-term bicycle storage, projects should pro-
vide at least one on-site shower room with a changing facility for the first 100 reg-
ular building occupants, excluding patients, and one additional shower for every
150 occupants after that.

Case 2: Residential projects

Residential projects should provide secure, enclosed bicycle storage for at least 30%
of all regular building occupants (excluding patients), measured at peak periods,
and the bicycle storage cannot be less than one storage space per residential unit.

All the short-term bicycle storage should be within 100 feet (30 meters) walking
distance from any main entrance, and all the long-term bicycle storage should be
within 100 feet (30 meters) walking distance from any functional entry.

REDUCED PARKING FOOTPRINT—CREDIT

This credit requires projects not exceed the minimum local code requirements for the parking
capacity. Additionally, projects should provide parking capacity that is a percentage reduc-
tion below the base ratios of the Parking Consultants Council, as shown in the Institute of
Transportation Engineers’ Transportation Planning Handbook, 3rd edition, tables 18-2
through 18-4. Projects without off-street parking will earn the credit automatically.

Case 1: Baseline location

Projects that have not earned points under “Surrounding Density and Diverse Uses”
or “Access to Quality Transit” credits should achieve a 20% reduction from the base
ratios.

Case 2: Dense and/or transit-served location

Projects that have earned 1 or more points under either the “Surrounding Density and

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 Diverse Uses” credit or the “Access to Quality Transit” credit, should achieve a 40%
reduction from the base ratios.

Project teams need to provide preferred parking for carpools for 5% of the total parking after
the reductions have been made from the base ratios.

Percent parking Total baseline capacity — Total provided capacity

= x 100
reduction Total baseline capacity

GREEN VEHICLES—CREDIT
For all LEED BD+C projects, except “LEED BD+C: Schools”, and “LEED BD+C: Warehouses
and Distribution Centers”:
Project teams should designate 5% of all parking spaces as preferred parking for sole use by
green vehicles. Or instead of providing preferred parking to green vehicles, projects can pro-
vide a discounted parking rate of at least 20% to green vehicles. Next, project teams should
pursue one of the following two options:

OPTION 1: ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING — (1 Point)

Under this option, projects should install electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) in 2% of
all the parking spaces used by the project.

The installed EVSE should have the following properties:

l Provide Level 2 charging capacity (208–240 volts) or greater
l Comply with the relevant regional or local standard for electrical connectors
l Be networked or accessible from the Internet and be capable of participating in a de-
mand-response program or time-of-use pricing to encourage off-peak charging

OR

OPTION 2: LIQUID, GAS, OR BATTERY FACILITIES — (1 Point)

Under this option, projects should install liquid or gas alternative fuel fueling facilities or a
battery switching station that should be capable of refueling a number of vehicles per day
equal to at least 2% of the total parking spaces.

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For “LEED BD+C: Schools”:
OPTION 1: GREEN PASSENGER VEHICLES — (1 Point)
Under this option, the school projects should designate 5% of all parking spaces used by the
project as preferred parking for green vehicles. Or instead of providing preferred parking to
green vehicles, projects can provide a discounted parking rate of at least 20% to green vehicles.
Next, the project teams should pursue one of the following two paths:

PATH 1: ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING

Under this path, projects should, again, install electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE)
in 2% of all the parking spaces used by the project.

The installed EVSE should have the following properties:

§ Provide Level 2 charging capacity (208–240 volts) or greater
§ Comply with the relevant regional or local standard for electrical connectors
§ Be networked or accessible from the Internet and be capable of participating in a
demand-response program or time-of-use pricing to encourage off-peak charging

OR

PATH 2: LIQUID, GAS, OR BATTERY FACILITIES

Under this path, projects should install liquid or gas alternative fuel fueling facilities or a
battery switching station that should be capable of refueling a number of vehicles per day
equal to at least 2% of the total parking spaces.

OR

OPTION 2: GREEN BUSES AND SCHOOL-OWNED VEHICLES — (1 Point)

Under this option, school projects should develop and implement a plan for every bus serving
the school in order to meet the required emissions standards within seven years of the build-
ing certificate of occupancy. If the school project teams choose to retrofit buses, the retrofit-
ting must be approved by a relevant third party such as the California Air Resources Board
or a local equivalent. Additionally, project teams should develop and implement a plan for
100% of all other (nonbus) vehicles owned or leased to serve the school as green vehicles.

For “LEED BD+C: Warehouses and Distribution Centers”:

OPTION 1: ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLES — (1 Point)
Project teams should provide an on-site fleet with at least one yard tractor powered by elec-
tricity, propane, or natural gas, and they should also provide on-site charging or refueling

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stations for the mentioned vehicle(s). Liquid or gas refueling stations should be separately
ventilated if not located outdoors.

OR

OPTION 2: REDUCED TRUCK IDLING — (1 Point)

Project teams should provide an electrical connection for at least 50% of all dock door loca-
tions to limit truck idling at the dock.

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