Boston – The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the opening of the first public comment period for its LEED for Neighborhood Development rating system. The program is the first national certification system for green neighborhood design and development.

LEED for Neighborhood Development is a collaboration between the USGBC, the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and integrates the principles of smart growth, new urbanism, and green building. USGBC began pilot testing LEED for Neighborhood Development in early 2007, and accepted nearly 240 pilot projects into the program, representing 39 states and 6 countries. The rating system will evaluate projects on criteria related to smart location and linkage to the community at large; neighborhood pattern and design; and green construction and technology.

“The development of LEED for Neighborhood Development speaks to the breadth of what ‘green building’ means,” said Sophie Lambert, Director of LEED for Neighborhood Development, U.S. Green Building Council. “What was once a rating system solely designed for commercial construction, LEED is now evolving beyond single buildings to address development at the neighborhood scale.”

Public comment for LEED for Neighborhood Development opened on November 17 and will run until January 5, 2009. To view the LEED for Neighborhood Development draft and submit comments online, please visit: www.usgbc.org/LEED/LEEDDrafts/RatingSystemVersions.aspx?CMSPageID=1458