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City of Largo earns LEED for Cities Gold certification, USGBC praises transportation and stormwater work
Summary
The U.S. Green Building Council certified the City of Largo as LEED for Cities Gold, recognizing strengths in transportation, land-use, renewable energy thresholds, stormwater management and innovation credits tied to sewer-system hardening.
The City of Largo announced it achieved Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Cities rating system at the April 1 commission meeting, a city official said. Alexis Berry of the USGBC presented the certificate and commended Largo’s work on transportation, land use and stormwater management.
Berry said LEED for Cities assesses municipal performance across topics such as renewable energy, solid-waste management, land-use planning, transportation, and air and water quality. She noted Largo stood out for compact, mixed‑use and transit‑supportive land-use practices and for meeting thresholds that address impervious-surface limits and renewable energy.
City staff were singled out for work on energy tracking, municipal building audits and street‑lighting efficiency; staff were also credited for innovation points the city received for projects including relocation and hardening of sanitary‑sewer components through the city’s lift‑station modernization project and the integration of sustainability criteria into the capital improvements budgeting process.
USGBC noted that fewer than 150 local governments nationwide have earned LEED for Cities certification and that 27 Florida jurisdictions hold LEED for Cities credentials. The Gold award is the rating system’s second‑highest level. The presentation thanked staff members Sheridan and Constance by name for their leadership in the certification process.
The certification signals the city’s documented progress on a range of operational sustainability and resilience measures but does not by itself require new local ordinances or appropriations; it is intended to guide future investment priorities and implementation steps.
