HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 12/04/2018 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 144, 2018 AMENDINGAgenda Item 25
Item # 25 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY December 4, 2018
City Council
STAFF
Kirk Longstein, Project Manager
Cyril Vidergar, Legal
SUBJECT
Second Reading of Ordinance No. 144, 2018 Amending Chapter 12 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins to
Establish the Requirements for a Building Energy and Water Scoring Program.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Ordinance, adopted on First Reading on November 20, 2018 by a vote of 6-1 (Nays: Summers),
establishes requirements for building owners to provide information related to energy and water use in
commercial and multifamily buildings larger than 5,000 square feet.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading.
ATTACHMENTS
1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, November 20, 2018 (w/o attachments) (PDF)
2. Ordinance No. 144, 2018 (PDF)
Agenda Item 20
Item # 20 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY November 20, 2018
City Council
STAFF
Kirk Longstein, Project Manager
Cyril Vidergar, Legal
SUBJECT
First Reading of Ordinance No. 144, 2018 Amending Chapter 12 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins to
Establish the Requirements for a Building Energy and Water Scoring Program.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this item is to establish requirements for building owners to provide information related to energy
and water use in commercial and multifamily buildings larger than 5,000 square feet.
The ordinance requires:
• Building owners to benchmark and report energy and water performance data to the City;
• Energy and water performance data be made available to the public;
• A phased implementation over three years based on building size and sector;
• Building owners to apply for exemptions to the requirement if necessary;
• A compliance mechanism for enforcement if necessary.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading.
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
The proposed Building Energy and Water Scoring (BES) Ordinance reflects the findings of the City’s community
engagement efforts and community Working Group recommendations as presented in the City Council Agenda
at the August 28, 2018 Work Session (Attachment 1). In the long-term, a critical mass of commercial building
energy and water Scores will give the community the ability to select the lowest operating cost option before
renting or buying a building. An essential element of the recommendations is an emphasis on the availability of
consistent and credible information to facilitate informed choice in the marketplace. BES is a foundational
element which will encourage the voluntary improvement of efficiency through improved operations in the short-
term and investment over time. Comparing the energy and water performance of one building against another
allows commercial real estate stakeholders, such as building owners, investors, brokers and tenants, to evaluate
the highest-performing, lowest-operating cost option, and monitor their performance in the market place. Building
energy and water scoring provides a simple, yet valuable, way for building owners, property managers and
tenants to understand their facilities’ energy and water use and to begin to identify opportunities to reduce water
and energy-related costs.
ATTACHMENT 1
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Requirements, Exemptions and Compliance
Requirements
Covered Buildings.
As defined in the Ordinance, "Covered Building" means 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. Commercial covered
buildings are defined by ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® and defined by Commercial Building Energy
Consumption Survey (CBECS). Covered buildings include apartments and condominiums three stories or more
in height above grade and representing multifamily structures defined by a typical R-2 occupancy by the
International Building Code.
Figure 1. illustrates how buildings are determined to fall into the Covered Building category. The Ordinance
refers to Portfolio Manager® to define specific commercial and multifamily property use types.
Figure 1. Covered Buildings Determinations
Phased Implementation.
The ordinance highlights an initial phased-implementation for buildings required to submit an annual report. The
phased implementation will assist City staff in communicating with and educating all impacted stakeholders and
allow building owners to communicate and operationalize the new requirements. The chart below shows the
timeline for initial compliance. Reports are due to the City by March 1 of each year starting with the largest
building square footages (SF) as highlighted in the chart below.
Sector / Year 2020 2021 2022 2023
Commercial >20,000 SF >10,000 SF >5,000 SF >5,000 SF
Multifamily >20,000 SF >10,000 SF >5,000 SF
Once fully implemented in 2023, Covered Buildings greater than 5,000 square feet (including multifamily and
commercial) will be required to report data which information will represent 30 percent of the total square footage
of buildings across the City’s built environment and 53 percent of the total electricity delivered by Fort Collins
Utilities. Covered Buildings account for approximately 32 percent of the total water delivered by Fort Collins
Utilities. The chart below highlights the number of property owners who will be required to submit a report to the
City, each year under the currently proposed phased-implementation.
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Sector / Year 2020 2021 2022 2023
Commercial 430 771 1,223 1,223
Multifamily 0 148 223 377
Total 430 919 1,446 1,600
The Ordinance requires benchmarking, reporting and transparency for tracking energy and water use. The steps
within each required component are outlined here. Additionally, coordination between Fort Collins Utilities and
the City Manager’s Office are outlined in Attachment 2. The City Manager’s Office may further delegate authority
for enforcement to the appropriate City department(s).
Benchmarking.
• Create a free Portfolio Manager® account
• Determine property use type (ex. Office, Retail, Mixed Use)
• Collect building data including square footage, occupancy, basic equipment inventory (ex. computers,
electronics)
• Collect 12-months of electricity, natural gas and water use data by using Portfolio Manager® standard
upload templates (see Attachment C)
o Electricity: Contact Fort Collins Utilities Customer Connections for data request
o Natural Gas: Use Xcel’s Portfolio Manager® online web services tool
o Water: Contact Fort Collins Utilities Customer Connections or the property’s local water provider for
data request.
• Upload building data from templates into the Portfolio Manager® to start tracking annual energy
performance
Reporting.
• Click proposed Reporting link on Fort Collins BES website which will lead to Portfolio Manager® reporting
tool
• Validate report data using Data Quality Checker tool within Portfolio Manager® and correct any errors
• Submit annual report through Portfolio Manager® system and Fort Collins will have access to covered
buildings’ reports in Portfolio Manager® (Attachment 4)
Transparency.
• City staff will compile and reconcile reports inventory with covered buildings list and review data for
accuracy and completeness and contact those buildings owners that need to revise their reports
• City staff will publish BES scores on City map of covered buildings (Attachment 5)
Exemptions
The Ordinance includes exemptions to the requirements based on capabilities of Portfolio Manager® and unique
building characteristics. Covered building owners who do not submit a report are required to apply for one of the
following exemptions:
• Unoccupied building for twelve (12) months
• Building with average physical occupancy of less than sixty (60) percent
• Building with demolition permit
• Building with financial distress
• Building used for industrial or agricultural processes
• Building with confidential business practice
• Building with unique circumstances, if approved by the City Manager’s Office
Compliance
• Building owners will receive notifications via regular mail and email, if available, to alert them of the
requirement and approaching deadline.
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• After the deadline has passed, non-compliant building owners will receive reminder notifications with offers
for customer service and resources to help owners submit report.
• After education and assistance efforts, City staff will cite non-compliant building owners for a civil infraction
that will be heard in Municipal Court.
• Civil penalty will include fines not to exceed $1,000. The Ordinance does not provide for criminal penalties
at any time.
Technical Documentation
Pending Council adoption of the proposed Ordinance, staff will make available a technical manual, adopted by
the City Manager’s Office, which will detail all of the requirements, definitions and procedures for implementation
of this ordinance.
Progress Since August 28, 2018 Council Work Session
Staff addressed Council’s concerns as summarized in the Summary Memo delivered September 11, 2018 by
submitting a follow-up Memo delivered September 25, 2018 (Attachment 6 and 7). The memo offered that:
• BES contributes to Energy Policy goals for energy efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction
goals of the Climate Action Plan;
• BES contributes to Fort Collins Climate Economy objectives for clean energy investment, green job creation
and expansion of local business opportunities;
• BES aligns with existing programs and planned initiatives delivered by Utilities and Platte River Power
Authority; and
• Based on local and national pilots, BES will provide these outcomes only through a reporting requirement
approach.
Between the August 28, 2018 Work Session and end of November 2018, staff continued its community
engagement and implementation preparation efforts:
• Staff met with more boards and commissions (Energy Board, Water Board, Building Review Board,
Economic Advisory Commission, Youth Advisory Board), the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce Local
Legislative Affairs Committee, brokers groups (CBRE, Chrisland Real Estate, Brinkman, Waypoint, FC
Board of Realtors) and presented at the Utilities Multifamily Luncheon. (see attachment H for a list of
business and groups providing feedback)
• Based on these additional discussions, staff recommends adding water benchmarking to the requirements
because water benchmarking enhances a customer’s understanding of their facility by allowing customers
to identify improvements, detect leaks, and eliminate waste and unnecessary cost. Additionally, water and
electricity are heavily connected (e.g. heating water, cooling processes) and should be examined together
to maximize customer benefits.
• Staff submitted a grant application through Innovate Fort Collins Challenge and was awarded funds, with a
partial match from the City Energy Project, to initiate a Buildings Challenge Competition (Lose to Win Energy
Use), increase tenant engagement in large multi-family buildings, and provide benchmarking informational
sessions and jams for hands-on learning in the free, online ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® tool.
Community Feedback
In discussions with business and community members, staff received the following feedback:
Transparency in the Market. Most business owners and brokers in the community support the idea of adding
information to increase the efficiency of markets in the long-term and to make decisions and transactions
easier for the consumer.
Regulation. Some business owners expressed concerns that Fort Collins will follow City of Boulder’s
example and, instead of requiring only reporting and transparency, will in future years require mandatory
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upgrades for buildings with low ENERGY STAR® scores. The proposed Ordinance does not require
mandatory audits, upgrades or retro-commissioning as some other cities around the nation have adopted in
their ordinances. Fort Collins’ approach focusses on consumer advocacy by providing more transparency
of information in the marketplace.
Tenant Data Access. Some owners have expressed concern that obtaining tenant energy use data will be
difficult to obtain. Staff recognizes some of the barriers for both Fort Collins Utilities and Xcel Energy.
Processes are in place at Fort Collins Utilities to facilitate the transfer of aggregated electricity information.
Xcel Energy has established a building energy scoring portal to facilitate the transfer of natural gas data. In
addition, staff has available for distribution sample language that building owners can incorporate into their
commercial and multifamily leases that addresses data access and consent.
Market Differentiator. Some business owners and brokers are attracted to the potential of a higher
ENERGY STAR® score setting their properties apart from others in the market. Some have noted that an
“energy efficient broker” designation, in alignment with BES scores, would help individual real estate
professionals.
Time Commitment. The initial benchmarking account set-up is more labor intensive than the subsequent
and ongoing reporting requirement. The initial one-time set-up on average takes 4-6 hours of time for a
business owner or representative. Once the initial set-up is completed, automatic uploads of utility data
follow, with little effort throughout the year. The reporting process is expected to take 1-2 hours per year
and will involve an automated “push” to the City from Portfolio Manager®.
Prioritizing Future Investments. Some business owners and investors thought that the score, as an
indicator of potentially higher or lower operating costs, would help them better select future investments
and implement best management practices in their current operations.
Fort Collins Utilities Customer Testimonials
The following excerpts are taken from 2018 BizWest Thought Leaders columns. Additionally, Attachment 9
includes letters of support received to date.
Ram’s Village: We volunteered to be a test case using the ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager tool…Our goal
is to take part in Building Energy Scoring and continue using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to maintain a
positive reputation for efficiency in the rental market and be a good steward in the community.
Brinkman Partners: Building Energy Scoring has allowed us to give feedback on the front end to our development
and construction teams. For existing buildings, we can benchmark how they are performing…This is not just
savings for property owners but also for the tenants within the buildings.
Neighbor to Neighbor: N2N was initially drawn to Building Energy Scoring because it provides tools for reducing
utility costs and energy usage...and we have been able to increase efficiency and reduce monthly energy bills.
The changes made have improved overall livability of the community. We share this information with tenants,
and we are helping them make the best housing choices to provide stability in the future.
WW Reynolds: I have confidence in recommendations to owners on where to spend their money on energy and
water efficiency upgrades, including lighting changes going to LED or integrating new HVAC equipment because
of Building Energy Scoring…we can leverage efficiency upgrades, financial incentives and technical assistance
too. BES offers increased potential to remain competitive as well as to be a good steward of our energy.
City of Fort Collins: Qualifying (City) buildings use benchmarking and energy scores to track improvements and
cost-savings over time…the advantages go beyond energy performance to indoor air quality, lighting, building
comfort and reduced utility costs. The baseline shows how our compare nationwide and offers a variety of
efficiency opportunities, including no- and low-cost options that can maximize a building’s overall performance.
Customer Service and Utilities Supporting Programs
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In providing exceptional customer service, City staff is working to ease the burden to the customer of Building
Energy Scoring. Supporting programs intend to reduce the estimated time estimated to benchmark a building
using the EPA Portfolio Manager tool. Each of the supporting programs do not require additional funding and
are designed with scalability in mind as more buildings are required to benchmark. City staff recognize the
additional time commitment needed in the first year of implementation with less support needed in subsequent
years. The following are underway or in development to help customers with the BES program requirements:
Data Access. City staff is working with Xcel Energy and other Water Districts to develop web services,
automated data upload capabilities and data transfer systems to ease the burden on building owners to
access data for their BES reports. Currently, Fort Collins Utilities has established internal process to
formatting electric and water data into Portfolio Manager upload templates.
HelpDesk. Using current staff members, Utilities plans to create a BES HelpDesk service for building
owners/representative to contact for help while they are benchmarking and/or reporting. The “helpdesk”
includes a dedicated help line, and additional training resources to owners of covered buildings.
Trainings. City and partnering organizations will continue to provide benchmarking and reporting related
trainings throughout the year to help covered building owners one-on-one with technical questions related
to entering data into the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool, ex. Benchmarking Jams.
Preferred Brokers Network. The City and the Utilities will develop criteria for local brokers to join a network
supporting high performing building information focused real estate transactions, including, a Real Estate
Ally directory, Broker Trainings, and marketing collateral and templates for including into real estate
marketing materials.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Agenda Item Summary August 28, 2018 (PDF)
2. Initial Compliance Checklist (PDF)
3. Sample Portfolio Manager Data Collection Worksheet (PDF)
4. Sample Annual Reporting Portal (PDF)
5. Sample Transparency Map (PDF)
6. Memo to Council September 11, 2018 (PDF)
7. Memo to Council September 25, 2018 (PDF)
8. Community Engagement (PDF)
9. Letters of Support to Date (PDF)
10. PowerPoint Presentation (PDF)
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ORDINANCE NO. 144, 2018
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AMENDING CHAPTER 12 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF
FORT COLLINS TO ESTABLISH THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR A 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 March 3, 2015, City Council adopted Resolution 2015-030, recognizing
the 2015 Climate Action Plan Framework (“2015 CAP Framework”), which contains a high level
analysis of the strategies necessary to reduce Fort Collins’s community-wide greenhouse gas
emissions and established goals to reduce emissions to 20% below 2005 levels by 2020; and
additionally, established the goals of reducing emissions to 80% below 2005 levels by 2030 and
to be carbon neutral by 2050; and
WHEREAS, on December 15, 2015, City Council adopted Resolution 2015-115,
approving the 2015 Energy Policy, which establishes goals for reducing energy in existing
buildings; and
WHEREAS, on March 1, 2016, City Council adopted Resolution 2016-023, approving the
2015 Water Efficiency Plan and establishing a goal to reduce water use to 130 gallons per capita
per day by 2030 of which goal community building water scoring serves an integral component in
identifying strategies; and
WHEREAS, on April 19, 2016, City Council adopted Ordinance No. 046, 2016,
recognized the electric utility benefits of community building energy scoring by authorizing
funding from the Electric Utility Fund to establish a Building Energy Disclosure and Scoring
effort to manage or reduce peak demand and overall electric service loads; 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, 2015 Energy Policy goals; and
WHEREAS, on-going community building energy and water scoring serves as an integral
component in identifying strategies to meet the City’s 2015 CAP Framework, 2015 Energy Policy,
2015 Water Efficiency Plan, and renewable electricity goals, and the absence of this tracking
metric reduces the efficiency of measures intended to meet those community goals; and
WHEREAS, Building Energy and Water Scoring (BES) increases transparency and access
to building information, and enhances coordination and efficiencies among efficiency programs
and partner organizations across public, nonprofit, and private sectors; and
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WHEREAS, publicly available BES data provides transparent energy and water
performance information to prospective tenants and investors and will thereby improve the City’s
ability to attract tenants and investors seeking to live and work in a world-class City; and
WHEREAS, as of 2018, more than twenty leading peer U.S. cities, including Denver,
Boulder, Kansas City, St. Louis, Seattle, and Austin, have adopted BES reporting and transparency
requirements, demonstrating the acceptability and feasibility of such requirements among local
governments; and
WHEREAS, Utilities, Sustainability Services, and Environmental Services staff have
identified proposed BES program requirements with input from a community working group
composed of independent commercial building owners, operators, and real estate professionals;
and public engagement at a series of community events and a project website; and
WHEREAS, Utilities staff further identified specific benefits of a BES program that will
facilitate energy and resource conservation by improving building owner awareness of whole
building utility consumption and incentivizing efficiency upgrades, which will reduce demand and
replace inefficient or damaged building systems to the benefit large commercial building utility
ratepayers; and
WHEREAS, the BES program recommended by staff relies on support from Utility
Services and Sustainability and Environmental Services divisions, over a phased implementation
with delayed compliance enforcement expected to begin in 2021-2022, and
WHEREAS, consistent with Article XII, Section 6 of the Fort Collins City Charter,
approving funding a portion of the total cost of a BES program with Electric Utility Funds
reflects the proportionate benefit expected to accrue to Electric Utility ratepayers across service
levels through focus and management on minimizing overall operating capital needs of the
Electric Utility and avoiding rate impacts that otherwise may be required to support increasing
peak demand and electric service loads; and
WHEREAS, consistent with findings in Ordinance No. 046, 2016 and Resolution 2016-
023, the proposed BES program can be supported by available staff and resources funded pro
rata with Electric and Water utility funds, and General Fund revenues from the Sustainability and
Environmental Services divisions, based on projected energy, water and environmental benefits,
and
WHEREAS, staff recommends City Council adopt the proposed BES program
requirements, in furtherance of Council’s support of community climate, energy and water
efficiency efforts, with such program to be administered by Sustainability Services staff in
collaboration with Utilities Customer Connections and Environmental Services resources; and
WHEREAS, 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 authorize the creation
and administration of the Building Energy and Water Scoring program requirements described in
this Ordinance.
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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 Chapter 12 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended
by the adoption of a new Article XI to be entitled “Building Energy and Water Scoring” with the
applicable requirements and conditions of such program to read as follows:
Sec. 12-201. - Purpose and applicability
(a) The purpose of this Article is to establish a Building Energy and Water Scoring Program
that requires owners of existing buildings (“Covered Buildings”) to benchmark building energy
and water performance, and makes such building performance information publicly available, in
the interest of increasing transparency and access to community building information, and
enhanced coordination and efficiencies among City energy efficiency programs and partner
organizations across public, nonprofit, and private sectors.
(b) The provisions of this Article shall:
(1) Apply to any person who owns a Covered Building or is a registered agent of an
entity owning a Covered Building within the City limits; and
(2) Apply to aggregated utility usage data reported in a statistical format; including
ENERGY STAR® score.
(c) This Article shall not apply to Fort Collins Utilities customer financial data or other data
protected from disclosure under §26-26 of this Code, unless requested in writing by the utility
customer.
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:
Benchmarking shall mean measuring a Covered Building's energy performance using the
ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® tool.
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.
Commercial covered buildings are defined by ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® and
defined by Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS). Covered
buildings include apartments and condominium three stories or more in height above grade
and representing multifamily structures defined by a typical R-2 occupancy by the
International Building Code.
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Energy Efficiency Program shall mean the administrative program funded by the City of
Fort Collins Utilities providing rebate and incentive money for energy efficiency upgrades
for new construction and existing commercial buildings.
ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® shall mean the online tool created by the US
Environmental Protection Agency used to measure and track a building's energy use, water
consumption, waste diversion and greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy Use Intensity or EUI shall mean a building’s energy use expressed as energy per
square foot per year as a function of its size and other characteristics. A whole building's
EUI is typically measured in thousands of BTU per square foot per year (kBTU/ft2/yr).
Gross Floor Area or GFA shall mean the total property square footage, measured between
the principal exterior surfaces of the enclosing fixed walls of a building, as defined in the
ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® definitions.
Occupancy shall mean the percentage of a property’s Gross Floor Area that is occupied
and operational.
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.
Reporting or Report shall mean the data submitted each year via the ENERGY STAR®
Portfolio Manager® tool using a template and submission link to be distributed and
publicized by the City of Fort Collins. All information expressly denoted as mandatory by
either ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® or the City shall be included in the
submission.
Water Use Intensity or WUI shall mean a building’s water use expressed as all water
sources divided by the building sq. ft. (not including parking or irrigated area). A whole
building’s WUI is typically expressed in gallons per square foot per year (gal/ft2/yr).
Sec. 12-203. - Building energy and water score reporting.
(a) Initial Compliance. Owners shall begin benchmarking building energy and water usage
through ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® upon the dates listed below and will follow an
annual reporting cycle thereafter:
(1) Owners of Commercial Covered Buildings, other than City-owned Covered
Buildings, with a Gross Floor Area equal to or greater than twenty thousand (20,000)
square feet shall begin reporting by March 1, 2020.
(2) Owners of Commercial Covered Buildings, including City-owned Covered
Buildings, with a Gross Floor Area between ten thousand (10,000) and twenty thousand
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(20,000) square feet shall begin reporting by March 1, 2021.
(3) Owners of Multifamily Covered Buildings with a Gross Floor Area equal to or
greater than twenty thousand (20,000) square feet shall begin reporting by March 1, 2021.
(4) Owners of Commercial Covered Buildings, including City-owned Covered
Buildings, with a Gross Floor Area between five thousand (5,000) and ten thousand
(10,000) square feet shall begin reporting by March 1, 2022.
(5) Owners of Multifamily Covered Buildings with a Gross Floor Area equal to or
greater than ten thousand (10,000) and up to twenty thousand (20,000) square feet shall
begin reporting by March 1, 2022.
(6) Owners of Multifamily Covered Buildings, with a Gross Floor Area between five
thousand (5,000) and ten thousand (10,000) square feet shall begin reporting by March 1,
2023.
(b) Ongoing compliance. After the Initial Compliance Date for each Owners group, as set forth
in section (a), each Owner group 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 in accordance with this Article and any rules,
regulations, policies and procedures adopted by the City Manager.
(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 energy and water benchmarking report shall be based on data entered into
ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® reflecting the energy and water performance
information for the whole building during the full calendar year being reported. The energy
and water benchmarking “report” shall, at minimum, include the building address, facility
gross square footage, property type, and the individual or entity responsible for the
benchmarking report.
(3) Transparency. Reported benchmarking information and data obtained from reports
submitted pursuant to this Article, including only 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 2017-014 and on file with the City Clerk as
shall be amended from time to time.
Sec. 12-204. - Data verification; records retention.
(a) Owners are required to submit accurate and complete data as defined in this Article and
ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® How to Get Utility Data into Portfolio Manager® and by
using the data quality checker tool within ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® for each
Covered Building in their portfolio.
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(b) Owners shall maintain the following records for a period of at least three years, and shall
make such records available for inspection during business hours upon reasonable notice from the
City:
(1) ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® account data;
(2) Proof of tenant data requests for energy or space use attribute data from any
separately metered tenants; and
(3) Any back-up information substantiating the energy data and space use attribute
information entered into the ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®.
(c) Any person who fails, neglects or refuses to submit accurate and complete data as
required by this Article is subject to enforcement under §12-206 of this Code.
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 his or her 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 was not occupied for all twelve (12) months of the calendar year for
which benchmarking is required;
(2) A demolition permit for the entire building has been issued and for which
demolition work has commenced on or before the date the benchmarking report is due;
(3) The building is presently experiencing qualifying financial distress, as defined by
any of the following: (1) the building is the subject of a qualified tax lien sale or public
auction due to property tax arrearages; (2) the building is controlled by a court appointed
receiver; or (3) the building has been acquired by a deed in lieu of foreclosure;
(4) 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;
(5) The building is used 50% or more for industrial or agricultural processes, as such
activities are defined by ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®;
(6) 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. In order to qualify for this exemption, the Owner shall
specifically identify the information it believes to be confidential and provide a written
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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
(7) 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.
(b) The City Manager’s determination regarding applicability of an exception or variance
under this section shall be final; no further administrative review or appeal to the City shall be
available to an Owner aggrieved by such determination.
Sec. 12-206. – Implementation.
The City Manager may adopt such other rules and regulations concerning the benchmarking and
reporting of building performance information as may be necessary to implement the provisions
of this Article not in conflict with such provisions.
Sec. 12-207. - Violations and penalties.
Any person who violates §§12-203 or 12-204 of this Article without an applicable exception or
variance commits a civil infraction and is subject to the penalty provisions of subsection 1-15(f)
of the Code, except:
(a) the civil penalty for such infraction shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.)
per violation; and
(b) 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 20th day of
November, A.D. 2018, and to be presented for final passage on the 4th day of December, A.D.
2018.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
City Clerk
-8-
Passed and adopted on final reading on the 4th day of December, A.D. 2018.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
City Clerk