Now Utah-kin

Salt Lake City requires LEED certification for city-funded buildings

Salt Lake City, Utah, known for its salty lake and Mormons, may soon also be known for its green buildings. Developers funded by city money will be required to erect buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED program, city council members decided unanimously on Tuesday. (Oh, Tuesday -- it was a great day.) The new ordinance is "a tremendous first step toward encouraging in every way possible greater efficiency in design and material used for buildings in our community," said Mayor Rocky Anderson, who then ran up some steps with "Gonna Fly Now" blasting in the background. Or at least we wish he had. This summer, Anderson issued an executive order mandating that municipal buildings meet the LEED silver standard; the city hopes to move toward providing incentives to all developers, city-funded or not, to build LEED-certified buildings. That's tabernaculous.