Wayne, NJ Building Safety: Green Building Code (2026)

The green building provision in the Wayne Township Code is § 134-49.6, titled LEED certification, and it sits inside § 134-49, the Wayne Transit Zone. It is a zone-specific design mandate adopted by the Township Council, not a township-wide green construction code.

Subsection A sets the goal. To the extent possible, development must meet the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) requirements for green building design. The text names the goals the requirements include but are not limited to: reduced water use; use of sustainable, renewable, non-toxic and locally-produced materials; improved indoor air quality; and environmentally conscious site planning.

Subsection B turns the goal into a hard procedural duty. The USGBC standards are to be applied to ensure development meets minimum standards, and any developer within the Wayne Transit Zone Planning Area is required to submit a good faith application to the USGBC to build the project under the LEED standards appropriate to the development. If the USGBC accepts that application, compliance with the LEED standards becomes required. The code does not name a LEED certification level, so the level is whatever the USGBC process assigns to the type of project filed.

The zone has two parts. Section 134-49.1 allows retail stores, business and professional offices, restaurants, banks, health spas, hotels and convention centers, commercial services and day care in the Wayne Transit Zone Commercial area, and multi-family buildings and townhouses in the Wayne Transit Zone Residential area. The LEED duty applies alongside the other § 134-49 rules, including the affordable housing obligations of § 134-49.5, the parking standards of § 134-49.4 and the Planning Board site plan process. Applicants in the zone should plan the USGBC application before the board hearing, because the code ties approval of the design to LEED compliance once the application is accepted.