For the purposes of this chapter, the following words shall
have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
COMMERCIAL BUILDING
A building or multiple buildings on a parcel of which not
less than 50% of the gross floor area, including hallways or other
common space, but excluding parking, is used for commercial, retail,
office, professional, educational or other nonresidential purposes,
or some combination thereof, or any grouping of commercial buildings
designated by the Town as an appropriate reporting unit for the purposes
of this chapter; provided, however, that "commercial building" shall
not include a building owned or leased by a municipal, state, or federal
agency.
ENERGY
Electricity, natural gas, steam, hot or chilled water, heating
or fuel oil, propane, on-site renewable energy, or other products
used for heating, cooling, lighting, or water heating, or for powering
or fueling other end uses.
ENERGY USE BENCHMARKING TOOL
The ENERGY STAR® Portfolio
Manager, an online energy use benchmarking tool used by the United
States Environmental Protection Agency for reporting and managing
the energy performance, water efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions
of buildings, or some other tool capable of: i) performing all the
functions relevant to compliance with this chapter; ii) allowing for
reporting by third parties, including, but not limited to, gas distribution
and electric distribution companies; and iii) exchanging information
and data with the ENERGY STAR® Portfolio
Manager.
OWNER
The owner of record of a reporting unit, or a designated
agent thereof, including, but not limited to, the association or organization
of unit owners responsible for management in the case of a condominium,
the board of directors in the case of a cooperative apartment corporation,
the trustees or governing body in the case of a not-for-profit entity
and the net lessee in the case of a building subject to a net lease
with a term of not less than 49 years, inclusive of all renewal options.
REPORTING UNIT
A building or buildings that meet(s) any of the following
criteria: 1) buildings owned or leased by the Town, or 2) as of May
15, 2022, a parcel with one or more buildings of 25,000 square feet
or more with residential or commercial uses or a combination of residential
and commercial uses. In the case of criteria 2) above, where there
is more than one building on a parcel, the Town may permit the entire
complex of buildings to report as a single reporting unit, or may
designate one or more buildings as separate reporting units.
RESIDENTIAL BUILDING
A reporting unit on a parcel of which not less than 50% of
the gross floor area, including hallways and other common space serving
residents, but excluding parking, is used for dwelling purposes, or
any grouping of residential buildings designated by the Town or a
municipality as an appropriate reporting unit for the purposes of
this chapter.
TENANT
Any tenant, tenant-stockholder of a cooperative apartment
corporation, or condominium unit owner.
Owners of reporting units failing to comply (after December 31, 2024) with the energy use reporting and benchmarking requirements of this section or knowingly providing false or incomplete information to the Town shall be subject to a noncriminal disposition fine pursuant to MGL c. 40, § 21D and §
1-6 of the Town's Code of Bylaws, provided that no owner shall be fined for a failure to report data it has not been able to obtain from a tenant or electric and gas distribution company, where the owner has demonstrated it has made a good faith effort to obtain that data. Each day of noncompliance shall constitute a separate violation per day of noncompliance for reporting units.