Submitted By
Ahmad M. Zayyad, Deputy Village Manager
Reviewed By
KJ
Agenda Item Title
Title
An Ordinance Amending Chapter 7 ("Buildings") of the Oak Park Village Code By Adding a New Article 15 ("Energy and Water Benchmarking")
End
Overview
Overview
An ordinance to amend the Village Code to include provisions for energy and water benchmarking at large existing buildings.
End
Recommendation
Recommendation
Adopt the ordinance.
Fiscal Impact
The 2023 CIP allocates $25,000 to provide program support to Village staff and local property managers and building owners. The community building data collection platform, USEPA's Energy Star Portfolio Manager, is free to users.
Background
The Oak Park 2019 community greenhouse gas inventory identified that seventy percent of carbon emissions are due to residential and commercial building energy. In order to reach the Village's adopted goal of reducing carbon emissions by 2030, fossil fuel energy use at local buildings must decrease significantly. The plan also calls for water conservation measures.
The Climate Ready Oak Park plan, adopted August 1, 2022, includes short-term action EN01, "Perform annual mandatory energy benchmarking at all large buildings (such as 10,000 sq. ft. or larger) via a transparent platform, as allowed by State statute." Building energy benchmarking refers to measuring a building's energy use, and in some cases water use, and comparing it to the energy use of similar buildings, its own historical energy use, or a reference performance level.
Benchmarking energy use with transparent data sharing can change how people behave in and operate buildings in ways that bring immediate and low-cost reductions in energy consumption. U.S. EPA found that buildings which were consistently benchmarked achieved an average annual energy savings of 2.4 percent, and can result in significant cost savings and increased property value for building owners.
Benchmarking provides property managers a...
Click here for full text