Page 16 (Departments of State of LA only)

If you selected "yes" while completing the budget request on Page 9 under Facility Requirements, then you are required to complete a Space Utilization Plan. It will be Page 16 in the eCORTS application.

R.S. 39:102 requires the Capital Outlay Budget Request to include a space utilization plan for the requesting agency. The intent of this legislation is to determine whether existing space can be utilized to provide needed space and avoid construction of new space. A space utilization study must be submitted for all project requests that involve construction of new or additional space. It is not necessary to submit a space utilization plan for projects such as Asbestos Abatement, Roof Repairs, Road Repairs, Sewer Improvements, etc. It shall be based on the following criteria and/or any other applicable guidelines.

Explain how the agency determined that a new facility or addition was required. The purpose of this evaluation is to show a before/after scenario and its relationship to a recognized benchmark or standard. One way of expressing this relationship is to first show all existing usable square footage (s.f.) that is of a similar type. For example, if you are requesting a new laboratory building, all existing laboratory square footage should be shown. Also, any other square footage that could be converted to a lab should be shown, separately. Next, compare the existing space and its usage with any benchmark or standards. The benchmark used should be one that is recognized among most institutions within your industry. The intent of the comparison is to measure the s.f./person, number of beds or number of cells, etc. as it relates to the benchmark. The maximum or peak and average or typical occupancy of the facility should be considered in the evaluation. For areas that are not "occupied", such as a loading dock, consider the equipment and other space requirements.

Once total existing usable s.f. has been calculated, add the proposed project s.f. to the existing s.f. and recalculate the s.f./person, etc. and show how the addition of the proposed project affects the relationship you have established with the benchmark. This study of existing space should assist you in the decision to request additional space, renovate, or re-examine the efficiency of your existing facilities. If existing space is determined to be inadequate for conversion or renovation, explain why and what will become of this space. For example, will this space be renovated and fall into another space category? The square footage of this space should be shown and its deletion from the existing space indicated.

All standards, guidelines, and definitions used by the requesting agency shall be submitted for comparison and clarification. The space utilization study shall include gross and usable area as explained in the following section Definitions. If another means for calculating area is used, please include the methodology.

Gross Area - This is the sum of the floor areas of all levels of a building which are totally enclosed within the building envelope.

Usable Area - This is the floor area of a facility that can be assigned to occupant groups. Usable area includes the area of interior walls, building columns and projections and secondary circulation. Usable area excludes exterior walls, major vertical penetrations, primary circulation, building core, and building service areas.