More than 25 cities nationwide already require LEED certification for publicly funded buildings, such as fire stations, schools and libraries. In Los Angeles, which embraced green building for municipal projects in 2002, 48 buildings have been designed to LEED standards.
All new schools built by the Los Angeles Unified School District must meet green building standards, and the Los Angeles Community College District has 44 LEED-certified buildings under construction or in design.
Meanwhile, private developers have begun to see LEED certification as a means of distinguishing their buildings for buyers who are increasingly worried about the environment. More than 50 private buildings in Los Angeles are being designed or constructed to LEED standards.
"The pace with which builders are changing their thinking is incredibly rapid," said L.A. City Council Chairman Eric Garcetti, who has pushed the city to adopt green building rules. "In L.A. we have experienced the long-term costs of living cheap in the short term: Landfills at the top of capacity, air which is unbreathable and water which is undrinkable. This ordinance is a very significant first step to reduce our ecological footprint."
