An ordinance that met significant opposition from some building owners has passed The Kansas City Council. Owners of large buildings in Kansas City, Missouri will be required to make information public on energy and water consumption.
The reporting program will begin with municipal buildings and voluntary business participants, but by May, 2017 owners of buildings over 100,000 square feet will be required to calculate so-called energy “benchmarks” or face fines. The data goes public in the fall of 2018.
Sponsoring councilman Scott Taylor told the council there are no penalties for energy inefficiency but the program will make Kansas City a greener city.
“What we have seen in other cities that have done this is if you mandate the benchmarking you have data to make a data-driven decision as a property owner whether it makes sense to make some changes in the way you operate your building,” Taylor said.
And, Taylor says, building owners are then voluntarily making those changes.
The ordinance passed on a 12-1 vote.
Some building owners have said they will lobby for a state law overruling it.