3.2 Sensitive Land Protection & High Priority Site
Key Takeaways
- LT Credit: Sensitive Land Protection (1-2 pts) discourages building on prime farmland, floodplains, habitat for protected species, water-body buffers, and wetland buffers.
- Prime farmland is defined by NRCS soil classes I, II, and III (sometimes referenced as 'unique farmland' and 'farmland of statewide importance').
- Floodplain protection uses the FEMA 100-year (1% annual chance) floodplain; some references also include the 500-year (0.2% annual chance) zone.
- Required water-body and wetland setbacks are 100 feet from a water body and 50 feet from a wetland.
- LT Credit: High Priority Site (2-3 pts) rewards development on brownfields, EPA-designated priority sites, historic districts, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit areas, or local-equivalent priority zones.
Sensitive Land Protection (1-2 points)
The purpose of LT Credit: Sensitive Land Protection is to avoid the development of environmentally sensitive land and to reduce the ecological impact from the location of a building on a site. The credit offers two compliance options.
Option 1 — Locate on previously developed land (1 pt)
The entire development footprint must sit on land that was already altered by paving, construction, or land-clearing prior to project planning. Greenfields do not qualify.
Option 2 — Avoid sensitive land (1-2 pts)
The project may build on previously undeveloped land only if none of the development footprint falls on any of the following five categories of sensitive land.
| Sensitive Land Category | Definition / Threshold |
|---|---|
| Prime farmland | Soils classified by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) as Class I, II, or III prime farmland, unique farmland, or farmland of statewide/local importance |
| Floodplain | Land inside the FEMA 100-year floodplain (1% annual chance). The 500-year floodplain (0.2% annual chance) is treated more leniently in v4.1 but still triggers review |
| Habitat | Land identified as habitat for species listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, NatureServe G1/G2, or state/local equivalent |
| Water body | Land within 100 feet of any water body — perennial or intermittent stream, lake, pond, ocean |
| Wetland | Land within 50 feet of any wetland (as defined by the federal Code of Federal Regulations) |
Minor exceptions apply for shore-dependent infrastructure (e.g., a small footbridge crossing a stream), but the rule of thumb for the exam is: 100 ft from water, 50 ft from wetland, no prime farmland, no 100-yr floodplain, no protected habitat.
High Priority Site (2-3 points)
LT Credit: High Priority Site is the conceptual mirror of Sensitive Land Protection. Instead of avoiding harm, it rewards going to sites that need investment. There are three primary compliance pathways.
Option 1 — Historic district (2 pts)
Locate the project in an infill location within a historic district listed on the National Register or a state/local equivalent.
Option 2 — Priority designation (2 pts)
Locate on a site that the EPA, state, or local government has formally designated as a priority for redevelopment. Common designations include EPA Brownfields Program areas, Federal Empowerment Zones, Federal Enterprise Communities, Federal Renewal Communities, and state-designated Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) qualified census tracts.
Option 3 — Brownfield remediation (3 pts)
Locate on a site identified as contaminated by means of an ASTM E1903-11 Phase II Environmental Site Assessment or a local equivalent, and complete remediation under a federal, state, or local voluntary cleanup program. This pathway earns the maximum 3 points because the project removes existing contamination rather than merely redeveloping clean land.
Strategic reading
For the exam, internalize the asymmetry: Sensitive Land = avoid; High Priority Site = seek. Watch the distractors: previously developed land qualifies for Sensitive Land Protection Option 1, but a previously developed greenfield is not automatically a high-priority site — the high-priority award requires a formal government designation or a documented contamination + cleanup record.
Synergies and conflicts
A brownfield that was historically a factory typically satisfies BOTH credits: it is previously developed (Sensitive Land Option 1) and it carries contamination eligible for remediation (High Priority Site Option 3). This is the highest-leverage location strategy short of an ND plan. Conflict: a pristine wetland adjacent to a federal empowerment zone cannot earn High Priority Site without violating Sensitive Land Protection — the wetland buffer rule wins.
A project site is located on previously undeveloped land. A small stream runs along one edge of the parcel, and a delineated wetland sits in the southwest corner. What setbacks must the development footprint observe to qualify for LT Credit: Sensitive Land Protection Option 2?
Which scenario qualifies for the maximum 3 points under LT Credit: High Priority Site?