City Manager Letter

I am submitting a proposed ordinance concerning building energy use reporting and disclosure for your consideration.

The proposed ordinance is the result of a recommendation from the City's Climate Protection Action Committee which advised that the City establish a requirement for larger buildings in Cambridge to track and report their annual energy use to the City along with related building information which would be made available on a public website.  As you know, energy use in buildings is our primary source of greenhouse gas emissions.  This proposed ordinance is a foundational measure to support a range of climate change and sustainability initiatives including the Cambridge Community Compact for a Sustainable Future, the Kendall Square Ecodistrict, the Net Zero Task Force, and other efforts to make the city more sustainable and reduce our contribution to climate change.  The ordinance would also enable the City and the community to plan more effectively for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Municipal buildings over 10,000 square feet in size would be subject to the ordinance and would be the first to report and disclose their energy use.  Private non-residential buildings over 25,000 square feet and residential buildings with 50 or more units would follow.  A one page summary of the ordinance and the draft ordinance are attached.

The City is also developing a detailed implementation plan to ensure a high rate of compliance, provide property owners with the data and information they will need to meet the requirements, and identify the training and outreach programs to support property owners.  The Community Development Department will continue to work with stakeholders on the details of implementation, including how best to provide information with the energy use data that helps put the numbers in context.

Should the Council approve the ordinance, Cambridge would join a growing list of local governments that have similar requirements including Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, and Montgomery County, Maryland.

View Roll Call Votes from May 19, 2014