TO: HONORABLE MAYOR
AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Jeff Provenzano
SUBJECT: See Below DATE: April 7, 2025
Approved
Date:
4/15/25
COUNCIL DISTRICT: Citywide
SUBJECT: Amendment to Title 17 of the San José Municipal Code Related to the San José Energy and Water Building
Performance Ordinance
RECOMMENDATION
Approve an ordinance amending Sections 17.85.200 and 17.85.420 of Title 17 of the San José Municipal Code related to the San José Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance to remove “functional performance testing reports” and “operational training conducted” from the audit report minimum requirements, to improve clarity and to better align with industry audit standards.
SUMMARY AND OUTCOME
Under Section 17.85.200 B and 17.85.420 A.2 of Title 17 of the San José Building Performance Ordinance (BPO), “functional performance testing reports” and “operational training conducted” are currently listed as minimum requirements to be included in the audit reports. These requirements exceed the American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Standard 211-2018 for commercial building energy audits. The two referenced items are more commonly associated with retro-commissioning reports, not standard energy, or water audits. City of San José (City) staff consulted with five energy and water audit/retro-commissioning industry professionals on this matter and confirmed this conclusion. To better align the ordinance with prevailing industry standards and reduce compliance confusion, staff recommends removing these requirements.
COUNCIL AGENDA: 4/29/25
FILE: 25-435
ITEM: 2.10
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
April 7, 2025
Subject: Amendment to Title 17 of the San José Municipal Code Related to the Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance
BACKGROUND
The San José City Council passed the BPO in December 2018. The BPO requires “covered buildings”, commercial and multi-family buildings 20,000 square feet or larger, to annually report their previous calendar year’s energy and water usage data to City staff using the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager® online reporting tool. Additionally, every five years, the BPO requires that covered buildings achieve specific energy and water efficiency metrics. If these metrics are not met, covered buildings must take improvement action(s) from a list of options. One of the improvement actions available to covered buildings is to conduct an energy or water audit of the property.
ANALYSIS
The BPO currently lists audit requirements that include “functional performance testing reports” and “operational training conducted”. These two referenced items exceed industry-standard audit requirements and are more appropriately associated with building retro-commissioning reports.
The proposed BPO update will align it with industry standards and lessen the compliance burden on building owners and third-party operators of covered buildings.
Additionally, the update will reduce City staff time spent responding to questions about these requirements, which are not aligned with the American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Standard 211-2018. This change will not compromise the City’s broader energy and water efficiency goals, as the remaining audit components are still robust and industry standard.
Climate Smart San José Analysis
This action will allow for the BPO to continue to facilitate the efficient use of energy and water at covered buildings. This aligns with the following goals of the Climate Smart plan, facilitates the reduction of energy or water use consumption, increases the demand for renewable energy, and facilitates the energy and water efficiency of commercial buildings.
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
No evaluation and follow-up necessary on this item.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
April 7, 2025
Subject: Amendment to Title 17 of the San José Municipal Code Related to the Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance
COORDINATION
This memorandum has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office and City Manager’s Budget Office.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
This memorandum will be posted on the City’s Council Agenda website for the April 29, 2025 City Council meeting.
City staff hosted five stakeholder engagement webinars in October and December 2024 to discuss the proposed update. City staff did not receive any comments or concerns from meeting participants regarding this specific proposed change.
In addition to stakeholder engagement webinars, City staff directly consulted energy and water audit professionals, who confirmed that “functional performance testing reports” and “operational training conducted” are not standard elements of audits and are more appropriately associated with retro-commissioning.
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION AND INPUT
No commission recommendation or input is associated with this action.
CEQA
Not a Project, File No. PP17-008, General Procedure and Policy Making resulting in no changes to the physical environment.
/s/
Jeff Provenzano
Director, Environmental Services
For questions, please contact Julie Benabente, Deputy Director, Environmental Services Department, at [email protected].