“City could give preferences to green buildings” Jacksonville Business Journal, December 10, 2007 Contractors who build green could have their projects permitted faster and receive money from the city to help out with certification costs if an ordinance is passed by the City Council in February. The ordinance also calls for the city to certify all of its buildings using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. The city could opt out of certifying an existing building if energy and water costs savings wouldn't surpass at least 10 percent of the costs to bring the building up to standard. Depending on the complexity of the project, the wait for permits could be cut down by one month to a year if contractors would have their building certified with LEED. Green building projects would have priority over non-green projects. "Basically, you get to go to the head of the line," said Robert Schuster, a member of the city's Environmental Protection Board, which proposed the ordinance. Refunds for certification would range between $500 and $2,000 if the ordinance is passed. The U.S Green Building Council's program was picked because it is the most nationally recognized and established. It costs about $1,750 to get a 50,000-square-foot building LEED certified if the contractor is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, which manages the program. The cost for a non-member wanting certification of the same-size building would be about $2,250. Because the city's permitting process is already efficient, it isn't clear how much of an incentive the line-cutting option will be for builders, said Ellen Leroy-Reed, public advocacy chair for the USGBC's North Florida Chapter. "But I think this could be a matter of small steps in the right direction," she said. City funding is already available for the board's initiative to train employees about sustainability and hire a "green champion" who would lead the city's sustainability programs, said Schuster.