(a) Established. The County Executive must appoint, subject to confirmation by the Council, a Building Performance Improvement Board comprised of 15 voting members. Designees of the Department of Environmental Protection, Department of General Services, Department of Housing and Community Affairs, Department of Housing and Community Development, and Department of Permitting Services are ex officio nonvoting members of the Board.
(b) Membership. Each voting member of the Board must be a resident of the County or a member of the governing body or staff of an entity doing business in the County. The Board should include:
(1) Representatives of local electricity or natural gas utilities;
(2) Providers of energy efficiency, building resilience and/or renewable energy services or consulting;
(3) Owners or managers of affordable housing;
(4) Owners or managers of multi-family residential buildings containing market-rate units;
(5) Nonresidential building owners or managers;
(6) Nonprofit building owners or managers;
(7) Technical building design or operations professionals;
(8) Providers of facilities, mechanical, or similar engineering services;
(9) Commercial or multi-family residential construction finance or investment professionals;
(10) Representatives of nonprofit organizations dedicated to climate action, resiliency, public health, green building, economic development, or building decarbonization; and
(11) Representatives of nonprofit organizations dedicated to racial equity or environmental justice.
(c) Terms. Each voting member serves a 3-year term beginning on January 1. Of the members first appointed, one-third must be appointed for 1-year terms, one-third must be appointed for 2-year terms, and one-third must be appointed for 3-year terms. A member must not serve more than 2 consecutive full terms. A member appointed to fill a vacancy serves the rest of the unexpired term. Members continue in office until their successors are appointed and qualified. The Board must elect one of its members as Chair to be who must serve as such for one calendar year or until a successor is elected.
(d) Procedures. The Board must adopt rules to govern its procedures including meeting frequency, managing Chair elections, establishing committees, and other issues that pertain to Board governance.
(e) Duties and responsibilities. The Board must generally advise the Department on implementation of building energy performance standards. This includes providing recommendations to the Director on:
(1) Building type groupings;
(2) Interim and final performance standards for each building type;
(3) Managing situations where ownership of a building is transferred or a building’s type changes;
(4) Building performance improvement plan technical review and approval processes;
(5) Complementary programs or policies, with particular attention to assistance or accommodations for challenged or under-resourced sectors, such as affordable housing, non-profit organizations, and small businesses; and
(6) Enforcement of benchmarking requirements and performance standards.