Fiscal Note
The proposed ordinance creates a building energy savings code and establishes a schedule for the issuance of citations. Requirements associated with this code will start in 2024. Future revenues from citations will be a General Fund revenue source.
Title
SUBSTITUTE: Creating Section 29.40 and amending Section 1.08(3)(a) of the Madison General Ordinances to establish a building energy savings code, and to update the bond schedule accordingly.
Body
DRAFTER’S ANALYSIS: This ordinance will create a building energy savings code for the City of Madison. Under this code, property owners of commercial buildings over 25,000 square feet will be required to benchmark their building’s energy use on an annual basis and perform building tune-ups every four-years for commercial buildings over 50,000 square feet. This ordinance will be part of the property maintenance code and be administered by the Sustainability and Resilience Manager in the Mayor’s Office, with enforcement actions to be undertaken by the Building Inspection Division.
The City of Madison is committed to reaching 100% renewable energy and net-zero carbon emissions for City operations by 2030 and community-wide by 2050. According to a 2015 greenhouse gas inventory, commercial buildings were responsible for 30% of community-wide greenhouse gas emissions. Improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings is a proven strategy for saving energy and reducing their carbon footprint. More than 40 other cities, counties, and states have established policies focused on improving energy efficiency in existing buildings. Cities that have enacted a benchmarking requirement include Minneapolis, Chicago, Ann Arbor, St. Louis, Boulder, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia. Cities including Salt Lake City, Seattle and Philadelphia have policies that require tune-ups. In addition, many states, including Wisconsin, have benchmarking requirements for state-owned bui...
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