[Ord. No. 6919, 2-11-2025]
In order to assess energy consumption and create opportunities for energy conservation and operational savings for building owners, the energy and water use of covered property shall be benchmarked and a report thereof submitted to the City in accord with this Chapter.
[Ord. No. 6919, 2-11-2025]
Unless the context specifically requires otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this Chapter shall be as follows:
BENCHMARK
To collect, input and submit data regarding the total energy and water consumed for a covered property for the previous calendar year and providing other descriptive information for such property as required by the benchmarking tool. Total energy and water consumption shall include separately metered uses in the subject building that document all the energy used by the property, but sub-metering which records energy already metered by a primary meter for the property and would, therefore be duplicative as determined by the Building Official need not also be reported.
BENCHMARKING SUBMISSION
A submission of information to the Building Official, on an annual basis evidencing the covered property's compliance with the benchmarking requirements of this Chapter, including all required benchmarking report data and information for the applicable year.
BENCHMARKING TOOL
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager" (defined below) to track and assess the energy and water use of certain covered properties relative to similar covered properties.
BUILDING OFFICIAL
The City of Clayton's official in charge of the Department of Planning and Development, Building Division, or the Building Official's designee.
CITY MANAGER
The City of Clayton's chief executive and administrative officer, or the City Manager's designee.
CONDOMINIUM
Has the meaning specified in the City's subdivision regulations at Section 415.100 of this Code.
COVERED PROPERTY
Any Group 1 covered property or Group 2 covered property as defined herein. The term "covered property" shall not include any building owned by St. Louis County, the State of Missouri, or the Federal government.
ENERGY
Electricity, natural gas, steam, or fuel oil sold by a utility to a customer for a covered property, or generated on-site, for purposes of providing heating, cooling, lighting, water heating, or for powering or fueling other end-uses included within the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
ENERGY STAR PORTFOLIO MANAGER
The tool developed and maintained by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to track and assess the relative energy performance of buildings nationwide.
ENERGY STAR SCORE
The numeric rating generated by the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool to track and assess the energy and water use of properties relative to similar properties.
GROUP 1 COVERED PROPERTY
A property that contains a building, or collection of buildings used or operated jointly, owned or partially owned by the City having ten thousand (10,000) gross square feet or more in total combined floor area.
GROUP 2 COVERED PROPERTY
A property, other than Group 1 covered property:
1. 
That contains a building or collection of buildings used or operated jointly, having one hundred thousand (100,000) gross square feet or more in total combined floor area; or
2. 
That is one (1) or more buildings use or operated jointly held in the condominium form of ownership governed by the same board, and having one hundred thousand (100,000) gross square feet or more in total combined floor area.
OWNER
Any of the following:
1. 
An individual or entity possessing title to a covered property;
2. 
The net lessee in the case of a property subject to a triple net lease;
3. 
The board in the case of a condominium;
4. 
The board in the case of a cooperative apartment corporation; or
5. 
An agent authorized, in writing on file with Building Official, to act on behalf of any of the above.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, co-partnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity or any other legal entity, or their legal representatives, agents, or assigns. This definition includes all Federal, State or local governmental entities.
REPORTED BENCHMARKING INFORMATION
Information both defined and generated by the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager and descriptive information about the covered property and its operational characteristics that are submitted to the Building Official including the following:
1. 
Descriptive information:
a. 
Building ID, as assigned by the Building Official;
b. 
Property address and contact information;
c. 
Primary property type(s); and
d. 
Gross floor area(s).
2. 
Output information (generated by ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager), limited to the following:
a. 
Weather Normalized Site and Source Energy Use Intensity (Site EUI and Source EUI);
b. 
Direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions;
c. 
Indoor and outdoor water use;
d. 
The ENERGY STAR score, if available; and
e. 
Data accuracy.
TENANT
A person occupying or holding possession of a covered property, or part of a covered property, pursuant to a rental or lease agreement.
TRIPLE NET LEASE
A lease agreement on a property that designates the lessee or tenant as being solely responsible for all real estate taxes, building insurance, and maintenance on the property in addition to any customary fees that are expected under the lease agreement, including, but not limited to, rent and utility fees or payments.
UTILITY
An entity that distributes and sells water, steam, natural gas, electricity, thermal energy services or other services for covered property.
[Ord. No. 6919, 2-11-2025]
A. 
Every owner shall annually provide a benchmarking submission for each covered property to the Building Official, in an electronic form as specified by the Building Official, by the date specified below:
1. 
Group 1 Properties. No later than April 1, 2025, and no later than every April 1 thereafter, each Group 1 covered property shall be benchmarked for the previous calendar.
2. 
Group 2 Properties. No later than April 1, 2027, and no later than every April 1 thereafter, the owner of a Group 2 covered property shall benchmark such property for the previous calendar year.
Prior to making any benchmarking submission, the owner of a covered property shall run all data through all data quality assurance tools within the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager and correct all missing or incorrect information identified by the tool.
B. 
Where the current owner learns that any information reported as part of a benchmarking submission is inaccurate or incomplete, the information so reported shall be amended in the benchmarking tool by the owner and the owner shall provide an updated benchmarking submission within thirty (30) days of learning the inaccuracy.
C. 
The Building Official may grant an extension of the benchmarking submission date or an exemption from the benchmarking requirements to the owner of a covered property that submits a request, together with documentation, in a form prescribed by the Building Official, at least thirty (30) days prior to any benchmarking submission deadline, establishing to the Building Official's reasonable professional discretion any one (1) or more of the following criteria:
1. 
A demolition permit was issued during the prior calendar year, and that demolition work commenced during that prior calendar year and energy-related systems had been significantly compromised during the benchmarking year by reason of such demolition.
2. 
The covered property had an average monthly physical occupancy of less than fifty percent (50%) throughout the calendar year for which benchmarking is required.
3. 
The property is primarily used for manufacturing or other industrial purposes for which benchmarking results would not meaningfully reflect covered property energy use characteristics due to the intensive use of process energy.
4. 
The owner is unable to benchmark due to the failure of either a utility or a tenant (or both) to report the information necessary for the owner to complete any benchmarking submittal requirement.
5. 
The property is primarily multi-family residential, it is not master metered, and the serving electric and/or water utility does not provide data aggregation services or access to whole-building utility data. Once such services are available from a utility, as determined by the Building Official, such buildings will no longer be exempt from benchmarking requirements and shall file initial benchmarking reports in the first required reporting year following such data availability.
6. 
Any owner requesting such an extension or exemption shall provide the Building Official any and all documentation requested to substantiate the request or otherwise assist the Building Official in the extension or exemption determination. Any extension or exemption granted shall be limited to the benchmarking submission for which the request was made and shall not extend to past or future submittals.
D. 
Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as to prevent a person in control of a building, not otherwise a covered property, from submitting any benchmarking information to the Building Official, otherwise in accordance with this Section.
[Ord. No. 6919, 2-11-2025]
A. 
The Building Official shall make available to the public annually the reported benchmarking information for the previous calendar year.
1. 
The Building Official shall publish an annual summary report containing information reflecting benchmarking of Group 1 and Group 2 covered property, summary energy and water consumption statistics and trends observed, including an assessment of changes across the portfolio over time.
B. 
In no event shall any Building Official's summary report, mandated by this Section, include a covered property's ENERGY STAR score without the owner's consent.
C. 
All reported benchmarking information and data on a covered property obtained from any benchmarking submittal, including any ENERGY STAR score, shall be available to the public, without restriction, unless the owner specifically requests confidentiality and is able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Building Official that the release of such information would divulge confidential information that is otherwise protected from disclosure by law. Any such request shall state, with specificity, the source of law giving rise to the purported disclosure protection.
D. 
The City may provide non-anonymized data from benchmarking submissions to any utility serving a covered building or to any Federal, State, or City-managed energy efficiency program, provided that the data will be used only for purposes of targeting incentives provided through energy efficiency programs, and provided that the City has first obtained the covered building owner's written or electronic permission to share the data with the utility or energy efficiency program. Where the building owner's permission can be granted electronically through acceptance of a default option, the City shall provide a clearly delineated option for owners of covered buildings to choose to opt out of granting this permission.
E. 
The City may disclose data from benchmarking submissions to a third party for academic or other non-commercial research purposes provided that such data is anonymized.
[Ord. No. 6919, 2-11-2025]
A. 
Owners of covered property shall maintain records that are necessary for demonstrating compliance with this Chapter, including, but not limited to, the energy and water bills and any reports or forms received from tenants and utilities. All such records shall be preserved for a period of three (3) years from the applicable benchmarking submission date. At the request of the Building Official, such records shall be made available for inspection and audit by the Building Official.
B. 
When a covered property changes ownership, the previous owner shall provide the new owner all information for the months of the calendar year being benchmarked during the time the previous owner was still in possession of the property.
[Ord. No. 6919, 2-11-2025]
A. 
Any party aggrieved by a decision of Building Official in the course of administering these procedures and requirements may appeal the decision of the Building Official to the City Manager within five (5) business days of the Building Official's decision. The City Manager may reverse or modify the decision of the Building Official, if the applicant establishes to the City Manager's reasonable professional judgment that:
1. 
The Building Official has inaccurately or improperly construed or applied the Chapter; or
2. 
The appellant is unable to comply with the Chapter provision in question or the Building Official decision because the ownership structure or physical arrangement of the building(s) or utility infrastructure in question make it impossible or impractical to determine the utility usage data required; or
3. 
Compliance with the reporting requirement would cause an unreasonable financial hardship to the appellant.
[Ord. No. 6919, 2-11-2025]
The violation of any provision of this Chapter shall be deemed an ordinance violation punishable as provided in Section 100.110 of this Code of Ordinances. Each day of such violation shall constitute a separate offense.