Public Comment Period for Alexandria’s 2025 Green Building Policy Update Open Now Until May 12, 2025

For Immediate Release: April 8, 2025

The City of Alexandria is seeking public comment on an update to the City's Green Building Policy. The public comment period is from April 8, 2025 until May 12, 2025. Comments may be submitted online at AlexandriaVA.gov/GreenBuilding.

Background: As approved in the City's Long Range Interdepartmental Work Plan, the Office of Climate Action, in partnership and consultation with several other departments including Planning & Zoning, Housing, Code Administration, General Services, and the Office of the City Attorney, has explored updates to the City's Green Building Policy. The current version of the Policy, adopted in June 2019, applies to all Development Site Plans (DSP) and Development Special Use Permits (DSUP). The Policy currently relies heavily on prescriptive third-party sustainability certifications with specific "performance points" identified for each certification option. 

The proposed update was guided by three main goals: (1) focusing on the most important and impactful solutions, (2) creating more regulatory certainty, and (3) reducing unnecessary costs associated with a certification requirement.

The Green Building Policy Advisory Group, established by the City Manager on December 28, 2023, provided input during the update process.

For more information or to provide public comment on the proposed update, visit AlexandriaVA.gov/GreenBuilding.