City of Chicago: Green Permit and Green Homes Programs

The City of Chicago encourages building design, construction and renovation in a manner that provides healthier environments, reduces operating costs and conserves energy and resources through their Green Permit Program. The Chicago Department of Buildings (DOB) Green Permit Program provides developers and owners with an incentive to build green by streamlining the permit process timeline for projects which are designed to maximize indoor air quality and conserve energy and resources.

Green Permit Program Incentives

Projects accepted into the Green Permit Program can receive permits in less than 30 business days or in as little as 15 business days. The number of green building elements included in the project plans and project complexity determines the length of the timeline. In addition, projects which meet the most stringent sustainability guidelines may also qualify for a partial waiver of consultant code review fees, up to $25,000.

Application Procedure

Interested applicants must involve DOB early in the design process. DOB will help to guide the applicant through the process to ensure the shortest permitting process time.

Acceptance into the Green Permit Program is based on a series of requirements that qualifies the project for one of two different Benefit Tiers of green building certification:

• Commercial projects must earn various levels of certification within the appropriate Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED*) rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.
• Smaller residential projects must earn a two-star or greater rating under the Chicago Green Homes program.

Both commercial and small residential projects are also required to earn from one to three menu items, or additional green design strategies above and beyond certification prerequisites, in order to be eligible for permitting privileges.

Chicago Green Homes Program

The Chicago Green Homes program is a checklist-based rating system for measuring a green building’s elements developed by the Chicago Department of Environment. As of May 2010, there were approximately 250 Green Homes enrolled in the program. Training and education materials are available through the Green Homes program free of charge. See the City of Chicago: Green Buildings, Roofs, and Homes for additional information on enrolling your project in the Chicago Green Home program and how to work towards certification.

*The USGBC LEED Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Click here for more information on the national LEED program.