Buildings
Green Building Incentive Policy
Originally adopted in 1999 as a pilot program, the Green Building Incentive Policy (GBIP) has served as the primary mechanism for encouraging the private sector to reduce energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions in new site plan construction.
On December 13, 2025, the Arlington County Board adopted the amendment to the County's Green Building Incentive Policy for Site Plans to evaluate special exception site plan requests for bonus density under the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance section 15.5.9.C.
Effective Date: The policy became effective immediately upon adoption on December 13, 2025. Site plan applicants who choose participation in the program may continue to use the 2020 Green Building Incentive Policy if their applications are submitted the County Manager before March 31, 2026.Applicants participating in the program on or after March 31, 2026, must follow the updated policy and its associated criteria.
For information regarding the 2020 Green Building Incentive Policy, please refer to the 2020 Arlington County Board Report(PDF, 585KB). Projects that continue to use this version until its sunset date of March 31, 2026, remain subject to the Automatic Energy Update criteria, which took effect on June 30, 2023.
NEW Green Building Resource: Informational Resource - EV Charging for Property Developers
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The County’s voluntary green building program uses the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® green building rating system as a standard to measure the comprehensive green approach of each project. Ongoing energy performance is evaluated using the US EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. This program applies to site plan, Form Based Code, and affordable housing developments in Arlington. Each project is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
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