Title
Resolution in Support of An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 105 of Title VIII of the Code of the City of Ann Arbor to Support Greening of the Rental Market
Memorandum
In November 2019, Ann Arbor's City Council unanimously adopted a Climate Emergency Declaration committing to charting a path for how the entire Ann Arbor community could achieve a just transition to carbon neutrality by the year 2030. In June 2020, City Council unanimously adopted the A2ZERO Carbon Neutrality Plan, a document created with input from thousands of Ann Arborites that lays out seven strategies for our community to achieve carbon neutrality.
The A2ZERO Plan seeks to ensure that buildings in Ann Arbor - which account for 69% of total community-wide greenhouse gas emissions - are as energy and water efficient as possible. This is one of the strategies identified in A2ZERO, and because rentals comprise 55% of the city’s housing stock, a Green Rental Housing program is one of the specific actions in A2ZERO.
Green Rental Housing is a set of standards that encourage safe, healthy, comfortable, and energy efficient rental housing units in the city. These standards will be added to the existing rental inspection program, thereby helping occupants and owners save money and energy while improving comfort and health.
With energy and water costs accounting for an average of 26.8% of building operating costs nationally, and data showing that 30% of energy consumed in buildings is used inefficiently or unnecessarily, efficiency improvements can help building owners and tenants significantly reduce utility bills and greenhouse gas emissions. These savings help reduce the energy burden often placed on tenants and can be put toward other needs such as the purchase of goods and services, which drive local economic activity. Making buildings and properties in Ann Arbor more energy efficient also helps creates jobs at all skill levels and frees up money to flow back into the local economy.
Body
WHEREAS, The City has adopted an aggressive and bold goal to achieve a just transition to community-wide carbon neutrality by the year 2030;
WHEREAS, Energy use in buildings represents over 69% of local greenhouse gas emissions;
WHEREAS, 55% of the housing stock in Ann Arbor is rental units, roughly 31,500 units across around 8,500 properties, meaning that strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve carbon neutrality need to address energy usage in rental units;
WHEREAS, The Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability and Innovations worked with a task force of renters and property owners to develop a series of recommendations to support the greening of rental units in Ann Arbor and received a large amount of public comment that was incorporated and resulted in a draft proposal;
WHEREAS, The draft proposal would encourage safe, healthy, comfortable, and energy efficient rental housing in the City;
WHEREAS, The draft proposal would be added to the existing rental inspection program;
RESOLVED, The Ann Arbor Energy Commission supports the draft proposal related to greening rental units in the City;
RESOLVED, The Energy Commission encourages City Council to direct the City Administrator to review the Checklist Pathway for possible higher thresholds or modifications at the outset of the program and on a defined interval.
RESOLVED, The Energy Commission encourages City Council to adopt the draft proposal, as soon as possible.