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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD - MINUTES - 08/25/20251 8/25/2025 - Minutes Air Quality Advisory Board REGULAR MEETING Monday, August 25, 2025 – 5:30 PM 222 Laporte Avenue, Colorado River Room 1. CALL TO ORDER: 5:31 PM 2. ROLL CALL a. Board Members Present – • Mark Houdashelt (Vice Chair) • Howard Gebhart • Christina Swope • Adam Schmidt • Maria Moore (arrived late) • Michael Cheeseman (arrived late) b. Board Members Absent – • Dan Welsh (Chair) • Michael Johnson • Matt Ayres c. Staff Members Present – • Brad Smith, Fort Collins Utilities Energy Services Senior Project Manager • Marcus Coldiron, Chief Building Official • Brian Tholl, Energy Services Director d. Guest(s) – 3. AGENDA REVIEW No changes. 4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – JULY 2025 Members discussed changes to the minutes. (**Secretary’s Note: The Board considered previous business prior to the approval of minutes pending a quorum.) Gebhart made a motion, seconded by Moore, to approve the minutes of the July 2025 meeting as amended. The motion was adopted unanimously with Schmidt abstaining. THE MOTION CARRIED. 2 8/25/2025 - Minutes 6. PREVIOUS BUSINESS a. Air Quality Monitoring Advisory Committee Update Chair Welsh was not present to provide this update. b. NRAB/AQAB Collaboration on Building Performance Standards policy Vice Chair Houdashelt noted an email was received from the Chair of the NRAB indicating they are going to be writing a memo to Council regarding Building Performance Standards and inquiring as to whether the AQAB would like to send a joint recommendation. He noted the item goes to Council at the end of October; therefore, the Board would need to see a presentation from staff prior to that in order for a recommendation to be written. Lujan de Albers clarified that the ask from NRAB related to whether the AQAB would be willing to review their recommendation for alignment in messaging. Vice Chair Houdashelt commented on the last joint memo related to the budget. Members concurred they would receive the draft memo from NRAB and have a staff presentation on Building Performance Standards to determine whether the AQAB also wants to write a memo. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Building Energy Code Updates – Brad Smith, Fort Collins Utilities Energy Services Senior Project Manager Brad Smith stated this presentation relates to the Building Energy Code and the developed path to zero carbon new construction by 2030 as well as some additional Building Code updates. He briefly discussed the Building Code publication and adoption process and stated the City is currently looking to adopt the 2024 version in late 2025 or early 2026. He noted Fort Collins typically amends the Codes to strengthen them to better align with City policies and he commented on the regional alignment meetings with area municipalities and others. Smith discussed Big Move 6 in Our Climate Future which is ‘Efficient, Emissions Free Buildings,’ and the associated supporting move related to developing an energy performance path for new construction to zero carbon building by 2030. Moore stated she has been disappointed with the Our Climate Future (OCF) progress over the past ten years; however, she commended Energy Services and asked about its level of involvement with OCF. Smith replied the work of Energy Services is largely driven by the OCF priorities. 3 8/25/2025 - Minutes Members asked if embodied carbon is considered as part of this. Smith replied embodied carbon is not addressed in this Code; however, it could be incorporated in the future. He noted there is currently no standardization for calculating embodied carbon but stated embodied carbon calculation is a bit easier with concrete and steel. Smith noted there are four compliance paths under the current Energy Code: a prescriptive path, a total UA path which involves modeling the building, a simulated building performance path which is a bit more in -depth, and an ERI path and ASHRAE 90.1 for commercial buildings. He noted all paths are equally compliant and stated the City has opted to go away from an annual energy cost and move toward an energy use and carbon emissions target. He stated that has been done to increase flexibility for th e building community, increase transparency to span over three Code cycles, offer real energy outcomes, and provide data-informed decision -making. Smith also noted this effort is not a ban on gas, not the same as Building Performance Standards, not a restrictive building code approach, and also not a foregone conclusion. He discussed the definition of a zero carbon/energy building, including being energy efficient, free of on -site greenhouse gas emissions from energy use, powered by 100% non -carbon energy, and having the ability to utilize demand response for electric grid resilience. Members and staff discussed demand response and grid connectivity. Smith stated Fort Collins has developed its own Code appendix that has been layered into Code amendments, and staff has chosen to propose that Fort Collins adopt the zero-carbon commercial and residential building code appendi ces in their entirety. Moore asked if the appendices apply to existing homes or remodels. Smith replied they only apply to new construction, not existing homes. He stated it would be very difficult to comply with the appendices in the instance of a remodel or alteration. He clarified that these codes would be required to be met for a new stand-alone ADU. Moore stated it is disappointing that these requirements only apply to new construction, particularly given that this accounts for only about 5% of the city’s housing stock. Smith stated policy work is being considered to address existing buildings beyond incentive programs and clarified this step happens to be one step to address the OCF big move around new construction. Smith stated the move away from gas appliances is going to be difficult, but noted that if those appliances are chosen, builders will need to offset that choice with solar panels or other items. Marcus Coldiron, Chief Building Official, discussed the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code which was established via a State House Bill. He noted the Wildfire Resiliency Code Board was also tasked with defining and mapping the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) and adopting rules for jurisdictions within the WUI. Additionally, he noted every jurisdiction that has property within the 4 8/25/2025 - Minutes WUI must adopt the Wildfire Resiliency Code by April 1, 2026, and it applies to existing and new structures. He stated the Code has to do primarily with exterior hardening and material requirements and establishing landscape buffers and ongoing maintenance requirements. He stated this Code is proposed to be adopted with the larger building code, though with an effective date of April 1, 2026. Coldiron noted most of Fort Collins does not fall within the WUI, though there are areas in the northwest and southwest that do, along with a few in the northeast and southeast. He stated the WUI area will change over time, but stated the frequency of updates has yet to be determined. Additionally, he noted jurisdictions can set their own map parameters though Fort Collins staff is proposing to initially adopt the map that the Board created to establish the WUI. Coldiron stated the main goal of these regulations is to slow the pace of burning to allow people to evacuate safely. Smith discussed the EV charging components of the Building Code, which include revised language to align with the newest Land Use Code and additional design flexibility. Coldiron provided a grid example of proposed alternatives to meet EV requirements for a new residential project that would provide 100 total parking spaces. Moore commended the work of staff and noted Fort Collins is a leader in Northern Colorado in terms of Code adoption. Smith commended the City’s Building Plan Reviewers and Building Inspectors. Moore asked how Building staff is collaborating with OCF, stating the efforts to advance OCF have been disappointing. Smith replied staff capacity is an issue and prioritization of items within the plan is important. Brian Tholl, Energy Services Director, replied it is important to remember that Our Climate Future is a community plan, and along with the accountability of its goals comes everyone’s role in the plan. Additionally, he noted there are several items not within the City’s influence, including how appliance standards advance and other federally controlled issues. He also noted it was never anticipated that the path to get to the 2030 or 2050 goals would be linear. Tholl commented on the importance of taking action as a community, despite being frustrated with progress. Vice Chair Houdashelt stated he would like the OCF team to have been more aggressive and gotten off to an earlier start. Smith stated there are ongoing efforts to work more collaboratively across departments in terms of OCF. Lujan de Albers noted work is still being done to develop a strategic funding plan for the 2050 tax revenue. She asked if the Board would be interested in inviting colleagues from FC Moves to do a presentation on Shift Your Ride in terms of emission reduction impacts. Chair Houdashelt noted there will be an all -electric cooking demonstration in 5 8/25/2025 - Minutes Denver on September 16th . Smith stated a staff member is looking at bringing that type of concept to Fort Collins in the coming months. He also commented on energy use per square foot of restaurants being tenfold that of most other commercial buildings. He noted there is a procurement factor for those offset requirements. Gebhart asked if offset requirements for new buildings could be met by making energy efficiency improvements to other existing buildings. Smith replied that that concept could be considered. He noted there is currently not enough community solar for this proposed Code to be successful. Gebhart asked about validating the models being used. Smith replied that that would be part of the work after the buildings are permitted, constructed, and occupied. He stated that futures code adaptation based on analysis would kick in if models are not validated and reiterated this effort will span three Code cycles. Swope expressed concern about the shift from a more prescriptive pathway to compliance toward a more experimental model. Smith replied it is not an experimental model and noted that over 50% of everything built in the city models for performance and has since 2012. He stated the shift proposed is from an energy cost to an energy use and carbon emission target. Vice Chair Houdashelt asked if community solar projects are completed by the City or PRPA. Smith replied the Riverside community solar garden was not originally owned or maintained by the City, but ended up participating due to some equipment failures. H e stated developers may end up having to invest in community solar given these new Code requirements. 8. OTHER BUSINESS a. Board Member Reports Vice Chair Houdashelt reported on attending the recent RAQC meeting. b. Six Month Calendar Review Lujan de Albers discussed a Council item regarding radon disclosure requirements between home sellers and home buyers. Lujan de Albers noted that staff will recommend that Council repeal the City’s local ordinance to minimize redundancies and confusion with the state law that has broader requirements. In advance of presenting the repeal to Council, staff is interested in providing the board an update. Moore stated the State law is already in practice and she did not feel the Board needed to discuss the item. Vice Chair Houdashelt stated he would still be interested in hearing about the State and local regulations. c. Revisit Action Items from Previous Meetings and Preview of Next Meeting 6 8/25/2025 - Minutes Vice Chair Houdashelt noted there are a few upcoming agenda items that will need to be scheduled. Lujan de Albers requested input as to which topics should be prioritized for the next meeting. Vice Chair Houdashelt commented on the timing for items for which staff may desire memos from the Board. Members discussed upcoming items and timing. Lujan de Albers replied she would work with appropriate staff members to determine what is feasible based on the Board’s schedule. 9. ADJOURNMENT ● 8:13 pm Minutes approved by a vote of the Board on 10/20/2025