HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 01/18/2022 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 005, 2022, AMENDIN Agenda Item 5
Item # 5 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY January 18, 2022
City Council
STAFF
Kirk Longstein, Project Manager
Cyril Vidergar, Legal
SUBJECT
Second Reading of Ordinance No. 005, 2022, Amending Chapter 12 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins
Regarding the Requirements for the Building Energy and Water Scoring Program.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Ordinance, unanimously adopted on First Reading on January 4, 2022, amends City Code sections
related to the Building Energy and Water Scoring (BEWS) program to align with new State of Colorado
legislation and to improve the efficiency of administration. This item does not add any new requirements for
building owners.
These changes include:
• Alignment with Colorado HB 21-1286 (codified at C.R.S. §25-7-142) “Energy Performance for Buildings.”
• Removal of program phasing which was included in the original BEWS ordinance in 2018. All properties
5,000 square feet and larger will have annual reporting requirements starting June 1, 2022.
• Removal of prohibition on setting a required minimum ENERGY STAR ® score for non-City buildings.
• Addition of a requirement for the City Manager to set Building Energy Performance Standards for all City
owned facilities in alignment with HB 21-1286.
• Revisions to violations and penalties to align with Municipal Court processes outlined by §1 -15(f) of the
Code
• Add exemption categories that align with HB 21-1286.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading.
ATTACHMENTS
1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, January 4, 2022 (w/o attachments) (PDF)
2. Ordinance No. 005, 2022 (PDF)
Agenda Item 4
Item # 4 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY January 4, 2022
City Council
STAFF
Kirk Longstein, Project Manager
Cyril Vidergar, Legal
SUBJECT
First Reading of Ordinance No. 005, 2022, Amending Chapter 12 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins
Regarding the Requirements for the Building Energy and Water Scoring Program.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this item is to amend City Code sections related to the Building Energy and Water Scoring
(BEWS) program to align with new State of Colorado legislation and to improve the efficiency of administration.
This item does not add any new requirements for building owners.
These changes include:
Alignment with Colorado HB 21-1286 (codified at C.R.S. §25-7-142) “Energy Performance for Buildings.”
Removal of program phasing which was included in the original BEWS ordinance in 2018. All properties
5,000 square feet and larger will have annual reporting requirements starting June 1, 2022.
Removal of prohibition on setting a required minimum ENERGY STAR ® score for non-City buildings.
Addition of a requirement for the City Manager to set Building Energy Performance Standards for all City
owned facilities in alignment with HB 21-1286.
Revisions to violations and penalties to align with Municipal Court processes outlined by §1-15(f) of the Code
Add exemption categories that align with HB 21-1286.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading.
BACKGROUND
Building Energy and Water Scoring (BEWS) History
Adopted December 4, 2018, the Building Energy and Water Scoring (BEWS) program increases transparency
and access to building energy and water efficiency data for commercial and multifamily buildings 5,000 square
feet and above. The program enhances consumer choices and transparency in the real estate market, providing
access to information about building energy and water use to aid in sales and lease decisions. The alignment
with Utilities incentives provides additional benefits to covered building owners who use benchmarking
information when making decisions related to retrofitting existing buildings with energy conservation investments.
During the first phase of the program’s implementation (2019-2020), 347 covered buildings greater than 20,000
square feet began reporting, and in year two (2021) 849 commercial and multifamily buildings started reporting
benchmarking data to the City. The proposed changes to the Code remove the phased reporting requirements
ATTACHMENT 1
COPY
Agenda Item 4
Item # 4 Page 2
of building sizes and type representing the remaining commercial and multifamily building greater than 5,000
square feet.
Starting June 1, 2022, approx. 2,700 commercial and multifamily buildings will submit benchmarking data to the
City of Fort Collins and the staff will remit approximately 250 covered buildings’ benchmarking data to the State
of Colorado for compliance with HB 21-1286.
Building Energy and Water Scoring (BEWS) Administration
In its first year, the program achieved a 91% percent compliance rate with 317 out of 347 buildings complying
with program requirements. With an initial 12-month grace period offered to covered buildings reporting for the
first time, the City has received 511 benchmarking reports through voluntary compliance and ahead of the next
compliance deadline on June 1, 2022.
Staff’s proposed Code changes reflect lessons learned from three years of program administration and
enforcement. In addition to aligning exemption categories with state statute, changes also align with the
Municipal Court’s due process, as outlined in existing Code at §1-15(f).
State Benchmarking
HB 21- 1286 (codified at C.R.S. 25-7-142) requires owners of large commercial, multifamily, and public buildings
50,000 square feet or more in Colorado to report annual energy use to the Colorado Energy Office (CEO). The
benchmarking requirements are similar to the City of Fort Collins Building Energy and Water Scoring program;
however HB 21-1286 does not expressly supersede or preempt local ordinances. With coordination at the State
of CEO, building owners will report to the City’s program and program staff will remit required benchmarking
data to the State. The City will continue to enforce local requirements and has maintained variance categories
that reflect local conditions. In addition, the City will share any public data from the existing transparency map
posted online, and the CEO has signaled it will share public data of buildings under 50,000 square feet on a
statewide map.
Since the passage of HB 21-1286, Fort Collins has engaged with the CEO to ensure a smooth transition for local
program integration. In collaboration with City of Denver and the City of Boulder, a business process has been
established with the State through a shared reporting deadline, metrics and a single location for building owners
to report benchmarking data. Integration with the State’s program through shared reporting requirements
considers the easiest compliance path for local building owners benchmarking and reporting through the Energy
Star Portfolio Manager (ESPM) tool. By streamlining the compliance path and communications between our
programs, the long-term relationships held by the City will serve as an asset to the State’s program compliance
rate as well as avoid long term challenges with communicating data errors, and non-compliance with both
programs.
State Building Performance Standards
In addition to benchmarking requirements similar to the City’s Building and Energy and Water program, the state
statute commits to Building Performance Standards (BPS) for buildings greater than 50,000 square feet by 2026.
Per statute, the CEO has convened a task force to develop BPS recommendations to meet sector-wide
greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets of 7% by 2026 and 20% by 2030 from a 2021 baseline.
Adopted March 2021, the Fort Collins’ Our Climate Future plan outlines an ongoing framework and list of
strategies for addressing Climate, Waste and Energy goals while improving equity and resilience outcomes.
Within the plan, the Efficient, Emission Free Buildings Big Move directs the community to explore adding
performance standards within the framework of the Building Energy and Water Scoring program.
A BPS model ordinance would require minimum energy performance requirements for specific building sectors.
The proposed ordinance before Council does not propose BPS minimum requirements on non-City owned
buildings, though it does remove language which prohibits the City from considering such standards. COPY
Agenda Item 4
Item # 4 Page 3
Additionally, updates to the Code include a provision that the City Manager will set BPS requirements for City-
owned facilities in alignment with HB 21-1286.
BOARD RECOMMENDATION
The Energy Board discussed the proposed BEWS program update, and HB21-1286 at its December 9, 2021,
regular meeting. The Energy Board added Building Performance Standards to its 2022 work plan. COPY
-1-
ORDINANCE NO. 005, 2022
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AMENDING CHAPTER 12 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF
FORT COLLINS REGARDING THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE BUILDING ENERGY AND WATER SCORING PROGRAM
WHEREAS, the City of Fort Collins’ strategic vision seeks to build a culture of innovation
and a future climate economy; and
WHEREAS, on October 2, 2018, City Council adopted Resolution 2018-094, establishing
a communitywide 100% renewable electricity goal by 2030, in furtherance of the City’s 2015 CAP
Framework (adopted by Resolution 2015-030), 2015 Energy Policy goals; and
WHEREAS, on December 4, 2018, City Council adopted Ordinance No. 144, 2018,
creating the Fort Collins Building Energy and Water Scoring (BEWS) program under Art. XI,
Chapter 12 of the City Code, to increase transparency and access to building information, and
enhance coordination among community efficiency programs and partner organizations across
public, nonprofit, and private sectors; and
WHEREAS, community building performance scoring is an identified strategy in the
City’s Our Climate Future plan (2021) which addresses energy and water goals, and the absence
of this data reduces the efficacy of measures targeting these community goals; and
WHEREAS, public BEWS data provides transparent energy and water performance
information to prospective tenants and investors and thereby improves the City’s ability to attract
tenants and investors seeking to live and work in a world-class City; and
WHEREAS, on September 7, 2021, Colorado HB 21-1286 became effective (codified at
C.R.S. § 25-7-142), requiring owners of commercial, multifamily, and public buildings with gross
floor areas of 50,000 square feet or more to report annual energy use to the Colorado Energy
Office, which building performance reporting is similar to the City’s BEWS program though
expressly does not preempt local building scoring ordinances; and
WHEREAS, based on input from commercial building owners, operators, and real estate
professionals gained during BEWS program implementation, and to align with HB 21-1286, staff
have identified formatting and terminology updates to City Code to improve the clarity with which
BEWS requirements are stated and applied; and
WHEREAS, staff recommends City Council adopt the proposed BEWS program updates
in furtherance of Council’s support of community climate, energy and water efficiency efforts, as
administered by Utilities Customer Connections staff; and
WHEREAS, the Energy Board discussed the proposed BEWS program updates, and HB
21-1286 at its December 9, 2021, regular meeting, and the Board added Building Performance
Standards to its 2022 work plan.; and
-2-
WHEREAS, the Interim City Manager and staff recommend to the City Council the
following program adjustments and City Code language clarifications for all BEWS reporting due
for reporting years starting June 1, 2022; and
WHEREAS, based on the foregoing, the City Council finds and determines that the
adoption of this Ordinance is necessary for the public’s health, safety and welfare and, therefore,
wishes to amend Art. XI, Chapter 12 of the City Code to revise the Building Energy and Water
Scoring program conditions and reporting requirements as set forth herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and
findings contained in the recitals set forth above.
Section 2. That Section 12-201 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby
amended by the adoption of a new subsection (d) to read as follows:
Sec. 12-201. - Purpose and applicability
…
(d) This Article applies to privately owned covered buildings as defined in §12-202 and in
C.R.S. §25-7-142.
Section 3. That Section 12-202 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 12-202. - Definitions
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Article, shall have the meaning
ascribed to them in this section. Words, terms and phrases defined in the rules, regulations, policies
and procedures adopted by the City Manager shall have the meaning set forth therein:
. . .
Covered building shall mean any building or group of adjacent buildings in the City of Fort
Collins with a Gross Floor Area that is five thousand (5,000) square feet or larger and is a
commercial covered building as defined by ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® or Building
Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) published by the United States Energy Information
Administration (EIA). Covered buildings include apartment and condominium buildings three
stories or more in height above grade and representing multifamily structures defined by a typical
R-2 occupancy by the International Building Code.
. . .
-3-
Owner shall mean the person or entity including common interest ownership groups having
a legal or equitable interest in real property and the associated asset features of a covered building
during the calendar year in which benchmarking is required under §12-203(b)(1).
Public building shall mean a covered building owned by:
(1) The state;
(2) A local government;
(3) A district or special district regulated under Title 32 of the Colorado Revised
Statutes;
(4) A state institution of higher education;
(5) A private institution of higher education as defined in C.R.S §23-18-102(9);
(6) A school district created pursuant to Article 30, Title 22 of the Colorado Revised
Statues; and
(7) A charter school authorized pursuant to Part 1 of Article 30.5, Title 22 of the
Colorado Revised Statutes.
. . .
Section 3. That Section 12-203 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 12-203. - Building energy and water score reporting.
(a) Reporting properties. Owners of commercial and multifamily covered buildings, including
City-owned covered buildings, with a gross floor area greater than five thousand (5,000) square
feet, shall begin benchmarking building energy and water usage through ENERGY STAR®
Portfolio Manager® starting June 1, 2022, and follow an annual reporting cycle thereafter:
(b) Ongoing compliance. Each covered building owner will report on an annual basis, as
follows:
(1) Benchmarking. The Owner shall provide the information necessary to benchmark
energy and water usage as defined in § 12-202 for the previous calendar year, such that
reported data encompasses January 1 to December 31 of the prior calendar year.
(2) Reporting. For every building subject to this Article, the Owner shall annually
submit to the City an energy and water benchmarking report according to the schedule set
forth herein. The report shall be based on data entered into ENERGY STAR® Portfolio
-4-
Manager® reflecting the energy and water performance information for the whole building
during the full calendar year reported. The report shall, at minimum, include the building
address, facility gross square footage, property type, and the individual or entity
responsible for submitting the benchmarking report.
(3) Transparency. Reported benchmarking information and data obtained from reports
submitted pursuant to this Article, including ENERGY STAR score, Energy Use Intensity,
and Water Use Intensity, shall be available to the public, consistent with City open data
policies, as adopted in Resolution No. 2017-014 and as amended from time to time.
(c) Building Performance Standards. The City Manager will promulgate rules consistent with
§12-207 and pursuant to capital expansion projects, facilities master plan and design standards for
City-owned buildings by December 31, 2022, establishing performance standards to achieve a
reduction in building energy use of at least seven percent (7%) by 2026, compared to 2021
benchmarking data. City-owned building energy performance will be included in annual reports
submitted to City Council as required in §12-208.
Section 4. That Section 12-205(a) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 12-205. – Exemptions; variance.
(a) Owners may apply annually to the City Manager for exemption from the benchmarking
and reporting requirements of this Article and in the manner described in any rules and regulations
promulgated by the City Manager. The City Manager, or their delegate will review and render a
decision on any application for exemption or variance from the requirements of this Article. An
exemption or variance may be granted for any building that meets at least one of the following
criteria:
(1) The building had an average physical occupancy of less than sixty (60) percent,
throughout the calendar year for which benchmarking is required, based on criteria set forth
in rules, regulations, policies and procedures adopted by the City Manager;
(2) The building is used 50% or more for industrial or agricultural processes, as such
activities are defined by ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®;
(3) The Owner can demonstrate the subject building’s performance information is or
involves a confidential business practice, including trade secret, privileged, or confidential
commercial information. To qualify for this exemption, the Owner shall specifically
identify the information it believes to be confidential and provide a written statement
describing the manner in which public disclosure would cause substantial harm to the
Owner's competitive position in efficient energy usage alone will not be considered
confidential commercial information; and
(4) The building is a “public building” as defined by §12-202.
-5-
(5) The covered building meets the criteria for a waiver from benchmarking or
reporting deadlines under C.R.S. §25-7-142 (5).
(6) The City Manager determines that, due to special circumstances unique to the
applicant's building and not based on a condition caused by actions of the applicant, strict
compliance with the benchmarking and reporting requirements would cause undue
hardship or would not be in the public interest.
. . .
Section 5. That Section 12-207(a) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 12-207. - Violations and penalties.
Any person who violates §12-203 or §12-204 without an applicable exception or variance
commits a civil infraction and is subject to the penalty provisions of §1-15(f) of the Code.
Failure to comply with §12-203 or §12-204 in any calendar year shall constitute a single
violation in that calendar year.
Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 4th day of
January, A.D. 2022, and to be presented for final passage on the 18th day of January, A.D. 2022.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
Interim City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading on the 18th day of January, A.D. 2022.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
City Clerk