Taylor, MI Building Safety: Green Building Code (2026)

Sec. 16.01 of the Taylor Zoning Ordinance, Appendix A, sets architectural design standards under Article 16, General Site Development Requirements, and folds a sustainability provision into that review. Subsection (c)(4) states that building design promoting sustainable development, including leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED), shall be encouraged, and subsection (d)(1)c repeats the same encouragement for building materials that promote sustainable development. Neither line requires certification, a specific point threshold, or a dedicated green-building permit track; the operative verb is encouraged, not required. The section applies under (b)(1) to all new construction citywide except single-family detached and two-family residential structures and their accessory buildings, so the sustainability language surfaces mainly when commercial, industrial, institutional, or multifamily projects go through site plan review before the planning commission, or administrative review by the development services department for smaller applications.

The planning commission retains broad discretion elsewhere in Sec. 16.01, including authority under (d)(1)d to waive standard material requirements where a proposal is consistent with the section's intent and the master plan, which gives an applicant proposing LEED-oriented materials or design a plausible route to approval of substitute materials. Because no dollar figure, expedited-permit fee waiver, or mandatory checklist accompanies the LEED language, a project cannot be denied for skipping green features, and none of the accompanying tables (16.01.A through 16.01.D) reference sustainability criteria; they govern unrelated matters like facade material percentages and building context.