Caring for Our Families, the Community and the Environment is Our Commitment to a Sustainable Future
Building Green & Incorporating Other Measures of Sustainability
Our projects also have very high reuse standards. We have procedures in place to collect construction surplus to save on costs and waste. We also use a significant amount of construction or manufacturer discards of new product that is sturdy and reliable for our families.
We are a strong partner with the Million Tree Project and recently partnered with Pacoima Beautiful in its family education programs. Our goal is to ensure that the common areas are kept as green as possible, and the families are provided with resources to obtain trees and other plants along with the education necessary to successfully care for their environment.
There are forty-three 24″ box trees being planted on the grounds, with an additional 567 low water 5-gallon shrubs and ground cover. Our ratings are 52 points for landscaping and 645 Points for water management–both in excess of requisite points to meet green standards for the City of Los Angeles and we have created a community garden that provides fresh, healthy produce right in the neighborhood.
We are exceeding the open space requirements of the City of Los Angeles by including a Tot Lot at the corner of Borden and Carl. This will afford a large play area of about 3,500 square feet. Using the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s Standard of Excellence for Accreditation, this would be sufficient space for 46 young children — ample for our 62 families using the other outdoor space we offer.
Incorporating Other Measures of Sustainability
- Community connectivity
- Alternative transportation
- Water efficient landscaping
- Water use reduction (low use toilets, tank-less water heaters)
- Fundamental commissioning of the building energy systems
- Minimum energy performance
- Fundamental refrigerant management
- Optimize energy performance (where possible)
- Enhanced refrigerant management
- Energy measurement and verification
- Storage and collection of recyclables
- Construction waste management (divert as much as possible from disposal in landfills)
- Material reuse
- Recycled content (where possible)
- Certified wood
- Minimum IAQ performance
- Environmental tobacco smoke control
- Construction IAQ management plan
- Low-emitting materials, paints, adhesives & sealants, carpet, composite woods & agrifiber
- Indoor chemical pollutant control
- Controllability of systems, lighting & thermal comfort