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College Park joins LEED for Cities cohort, targets Silver certification
Summary
City staff announced College Park was selected for the 2026 LEED for Cities cohort and will pursue LEED for Cities certification, targeting Silver within 12–24 months; staff said costs will be modest (membership $1,500, registration $1,350, certification $8,000) and emphasized grant competitiveness and regional partnerships.
College Park city staff told the mayor and council on June 2 that the city has been accepted into a LEED for Cities cohort and will pursue certification as a municipality to measure and improve sustainability performance.
Deputy City Manager Michelle Bailey Hedgepath introduced the initiative and said College Park was one of 17 communities selected for the 2026 cohort. "LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design," Senior Planner Carlos Nunez told the council. "It provides a framework for healthy, efficient, carbon-saving and cost-effective sustainable buildings," and it also offers a local-government certification track to recognize cities that prioritize environmental practice.
Staff described a data-driven path to certification: the city has completed gap analysis and initial workshops and is in a data-collection and benchmarking phase. Nunez said the team is targeting Silver certification and estimated the direct program fees listed in staff materials: a $1,500 membership, a $1,350 project registration fee and about $8,000 for the certification review. He added that many staff costs are covered by the cohort participation and that ongoing work will focus on data management and documentation.
Council members asked how the certification would affect existing private development and what the council might be asked to do. Council Member Alan Hugh asked whether the city would need to require or subsidize retrofit work for older buildings. Nunez replied that the LEED for Cities scorecard awards credits in many categories and that jurisdictions frequently score below full points in some categories; "it's not a requirement to retrofit every private building," he said, adding that the designation helps with grant competitiveness and signals sustainability leadership.
Councilors also discussed how they can support the effort. Bailey Hedgepath asked the council to promote the city’s participation and noted Mayor Kabir will speak at a regional USGBC summit on June 11. Staff said the primary near-term obstacle is collecting data from third parties (for example, utilities) that are outside city control; if data come back promptly, the city hopes to finish documentation more quickly, possibly in 12–14 months.
The presentation noted partnerships with the University of Maryland and regional agencies, said the process will be a cross-departmental effort, and listed benefits including improved grant competitiveness and a framework to measure progress over time. Council members expressed support for including the LEED for Cities goals in future strategic-planning work.
The council took no formal vote on the presentation; staff asked for council promotion and continued interagency coordination as the city proceeds with the certification process.
