Hi Vicky,

Thank you for your question.

Green building property tax incentives are gaining momentum in local and city governments throughout the country - although the numbers are small. To the best of my knowledge, Fairfax County has not passed any green building laws nor any enforceable property tax incentives for LEED / High Performing Buildings. It's a shame b/c Fairfax County needs to get its act together and stimulate the A/E industry by offering property tax incentives that would in turn produce higher efficiency buildings at less demand to its infrastructure system such as storm water, sewer, water supply systems and electricity.

On a side note, I found this about Arlington County (maybe Fairfax County would follow at some point):

The threshold for consideration of the density and height bonuses includes the full range of LEED certifications, Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Achieving the LEED Certified level does not guarantee a density bonus, but will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and can potentially earn a bonus of .05 floor area ratio (FAR) for office buildings (.10 FAR for residential). Office buildings achieving LEED Silver can be eligible for up to .15 FAR (residential .20 FAR). Office buildings achieving LEED Gold can be considered for .35 FAR (residential .40 FAR) and office buildings achieving LEED Platinum can be considered for .45 FAR (residential .50 FAR).

In December 2003, the County also established a Green Building Fund. Developers who participate in the site plan process (meaning their projects are special exceptions to the Zoning Ordinance) and do not achieve official LEED certification are required to contribute $0.045/sq ft. The Green Building Fund is used to provide education and outreach to developers and the community on green building issues. If the building later receives LEED certification, the fee will be refunded. Those projects that achieve LEED certification do not have to contribute

Virginia has a way to go compared to Maryland. Maryland is very efficient when it comes to enforcing property tax credits for LEED buildings - Montgomery County, Howard County, Baltimore County, and Anne Arundel County are the leaders in this category and they have strong reputations in enforcing the tax credit law. However, Baltimore City itself decided not to allow property tax credits due to a "forecast" of a $600 million budget windfall in 10 years due to lost tax revenue. I think it's a bad excuse and it will scare many private developers to develop outside of the city, which will cause the city to lose out on more potential tax revenue - it's a vicious cycle. Fairfax County run the risk of being left behind in the higher performance building movement if they do not take action.