Los Angeles, known for its choking smog and fuel-burning gridlock, is poised to adopt one of the toughest green building ordinances in the nation.
Two city council committees voted Friday to require that all major commercial and residential developments slash projected energy and water use and reduce the overall environmental footprint, placing the city on the cutting edge of an international movement to address the global warming effects of buildings.
Under the ordinance, privately built projects over 50,000 square feet -- of which there are roughly 200 constructed annually -- must meet a "standard of sustainability" by incorporating a checklist of green practices into their building plans.
The checklist includes a choice of such items as low-flow toilets, paints with low emissions, use of recycled materials, efficient irrigation, solar panels and use of natural light.
The average green building, according to studies, saves 36% in energy, 40% in water, and cuts greenhouse gas emissions by 40% and solid waste by 70%.
The proposed ordinance has garnered unusually broad support, thanks to more than a year of negotiations and meetings between city officials and citizens' groups.
It is endorsed by some of the area's biggest developers, along with the Los Angeles Business Council, the American Institute of Architects, several building trade unions and groups such as Global Green and the Green LA Coalition.
"When you do something this big, it can be quite scary," City Council Chairman Eric Garcetti said.
"But this has been an inclusive process. It will lead to a healthier city and a healthier planet."
Garcetti said he expects the full council to adopt the standards unanimously within a month.
Nationwide, buildings account for 71% of electricity consumption, 12% of potable water used and 40% of the greenhouse gas emissions that, scientists say, are heating the planet to dangerous levels.
The council's proposed green checklist -- known as the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design, or LEED -- was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington-based nonprofit group.
It is rapidly becoming a national baseline standard, as more than 120 localities have adopted green building rules for public construction, and 12 cities, including Boston, Washington and San Francisco, have extended the rules to the private sector.
