Sustainable Buildings Program

As established by Sections 9-71 through 9-75 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, the Sustainable Building Program provides consistent direction to County agencies and departments to assist them in the integration of sustainable materials and methods in the design, construction, and operation of County facilities. On the other hand, Implementing Order 8-8 provides additional clarification of terms, standards, and the responsibilities of various County departments and staff in the compliance and administration of the Sustainable Buildings Program.

• All new construction.
  • This includes the construction of any new building or any addition to a building, which will be required to attain "Silver" or higher designation under the LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC) Rating System.

• Renovations to improve or repair the condition of an existing building/structure.
  • Major renovation/remodel includes those projects in existing buildings where the cost of construction is equal to, or exceeds, 50% of the building's replacement cost. Such projects will be required to attain "Certified" or higher designation under the LEED-NC Rating System.
  • Non-major renovation/remodel projects in existing buildings where the cost of construction is less than 50% of the building's replacement cost, but greater than $1 million. Such projects must attain "Certified" or higher designation under the appropriate LEED Rating System such as LEED for Existing Building, Commercial Interiors, Core and Shell, etc.

• New Project Questionnaire

All construction or renovation projects subject which must comply with the Sustainable Buildings Program must do so by achieving a sustainability standard. Building construction projects must achieve a minimum of USDGBC LEED Silver. While it is currently not required, it is strongly recommended that all infrastructure construction consider and achieve ISI Envision Silver certification. However, projects may request a Substitution of Standard by which the requirement for achieving the appropriate standard be exempted or modified due to special circumstances of the project. Such exemption or modification shall be for the purpose of ensuring the use of the most appropriate or relevant rating standard, and shall not, in any way, exempt the requirement to apply green building practices to the maximum extent possible. Exemption or modification will not be considered for the purpose of reducing project costs. 

You may request a substitution of standard for your project from the Office of Resilience using the form below. Please submit the completed form to Patricia Gomez, Program Manager, Office of Resilience at [email protected]

•  Standards Substitution Form

• Sustainable Buildings Program