scope:

Building Projects¹ Covered (§ 2.1)

Standard 189.1 provides minimum sustainability requirements for: 1) new buildings and their systems, 2) additions to (new portions of) existing buildings and their systems, and 3) new systems and equipment in existing buildings.

The requirements of Standard 189.1 address the building project's site sustainability, water use efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), and the building's impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources.

Building Projects Not Covered (§ 2.2)

Standard 189.1 excludes low-rise residential buildings, defined as:

• single-family houses

• multi-family structures of three stories or fewer above grade

• manufactured houses (mobile homes and modular)

Residential occupancies in a mixed-use facility or a multi-family structure four stories or more above grade are not excluded unless so stated in a particular requirement of Standard 189.1.

Standard 189.1 also does not apply to buildings that do not use electricity, fossil fuel and water. To illustrate this exclusion: if a building does not use water, but does use electricity, the building is included in the scope of Standard 189.1.

Building Project Site Boundary Identification

The building project site boundary is identified as the site that is contained in a single submittal for a construction permit or the boundary of a contiguous property under single ownership or effective control.

For building projects that are submitted with multiple permit applications, are broken down into multiple phases, or are a smaller part of a larger contiguous property, the "limit of work"² can be used to identify a single site boundary for the building project.

In other words, if a building project has multiple permits but is under a single building project, then the site limit of work can be used to identify the building project site boundary.

Note that a building project with a plumbing permit, for example, must comply with the waterrelated requirements of Standard 189.1.

Public roads, bridges, utilities and other public works infrastructure projects are excluded from Standard 189.1. Such public infrastructure should also be excluded from the building project site boundary. However, elements such as private roads or private on-site wastewater treatment facilities, that are included in a building project, are included in the building project site boundary.

Below are three situations that may arise, in determining the building project site boundary:

• New building projects with a site

• Additions to existing building projects with a site

• Existing buildings or additions to existing building projects with no site

Purpose

General

Standard 189.1 provides minimum requirements for high-performance green buildings and building systems, addressing siting, design, construction and plan for operation. It applies to all buildings except low-rise residential buildings (low-rise means three habitable floors or less). The Standard is written in building code language and is intended for adoption by international, national, state/province, and local code jurisdictions. The Standard specifies reasonable design, construction and operational practices and technologies that minimize water, energy and materials consumption without sacrificing either the comfort or productivity of the occupants.

The Standard strives to balance these issues along with environmental, resource and community concerns, and the need for current and future developments. The Standard is broad in scope and the requirements are appropriate for a wide range of building types, climate zones, and for a variety of site conditions. When designing a specific building on a specific site for a specific climate, design issues will undoubtedly have to be addressed that go beyond those considered in developing the Standard.

¹ Definitions that can be found in Standard 189.1 are italicized throughout the User's Manual.

² The "limit of work" is the boundary used to identify the limit of site disturbance for construction activities and also delineates the boundary within which the stormwater pollution prevention control measures are implemented for a building project.