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(a) Consistent with the provisions of this Section 2005 and to the extent permitted by law, the Department of the Environment shall maintain the confidentiality of any information submitted by building owners under this Chapter 20, where the owner has informed the Department in writing within 15 business days of the submittal of such information that the information is confidential business information of the owner or of a building tenant. Estimated costs and benefits for energy conservation measures identified in individual Buildings shall be presumed confidential, unless otherwise indicated in writing by the building owner or it can be demonstrated that the information is already available to the public.
(b) The owner shall not be required by this Chapter 20 to disclose to third parties or the public confidential business information of the owner or individual tenants. However, the following limited summary information is not to be considered confidential:
(1) Confirmation that the Building is in compliance with this Chapter 20;
(2) The minimum ASHRAE audit level required in an energy efficiency audit of the Nonresidential Building, and the most recent date when an energy efficiency audit meeting the relevant standard was completed;
(3) Basic information describing the scale and use of the Nonresidential Building, and the major energy-consuming components of the building as collected via the U.S. Department of Energy Asset Score Audit Template or equivalent; and
(4) Aggregate annual summary statistics for a whole Building, including annual average energy use intensity, ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager Energy Performance Ratings, California energy performance ratings, annual carbon dioxide emissions attributable to energy use in the building, and additional data consistent with State regulations implementing California Public Resources Code Section 25402.10.
(c) If a building owner believes that any information required to be reported or disclosed by this Chapter 20 includes confidential business information, the owner shall provide the information to the Director and shall notify the Director in writing of that belief, detailing the basis of the belief as to each specific item of information the person claims is confidential business information. For purposes of this Chapter, “confidential business information” shall have the same meaning as “trade secret” under California Civil Code Section 3426.1, as amended. The owner designating information as confidential business information shall also provide the Director with a name and street address for notification purposes and shall be responsible for updating such information. The Director shall not disclose any properly substantiated confidential business information which is so designated by an owner except as required by this Chapter or as otherwise permitted by law.
(d) Information designated as confidential may be disclosed to an officer or employee of the City and County of San Francisco, the City’s contractors or utilities, the State of California, or the United States for use in connection with the official duties of such officer or employee acting under authority of law, without liability on the part of the City.
(e) When the Director or other City official or employee receives a request for information that has been designated as, or which the City determines may be, confidential business information, the City shall notify the building owner of the request. The City may request further evidence or explanation from the owner as to why the information requested is confidential business information. If the City determines that the information does not constitute confidential business information, the City shall notify the owner of that conclusion and that the information will be released by a specified date in order to provide the owner the opportunity to obtain a court order prohibiting disclosure.
(f) In adopting this Chapter 20, the Board of Supervisors does not intend to authorize or require the disclosure to the public of any confidential business information protected under the laws of the State of California.
(g) This Section 2005 is not intended to empower a person or business to refuse to disclose any information, including but not limited to confidential business information, to the Director as required under this Chapter 20.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, any officer or employee of the City and County of San Francisco, or former officer or employee or contractor with the City or employee thereof, who by virtue of such employment or official position has obtained possession or has had access to information, the disclosure of which is prohibited by this Section 2005, and who, knowing that disclosure of the information is prohibited, knowingly and willfully discloses the information in any manner to any person or business not entitled to receive it, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(a) The General Manager of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) may elect to develop a compliance plan for municipally owned buildings greater than 10,000 square feet, on or before July 1, 2011. The goal of a compliance plan shall be to apply the results of energy audits and benchmarking to prioritize the implementation of energy efficiency upgrades in municipal buildings and to maximize energy savings. The compliance plan shall constitute the entirety of regulatory compliance with this Chapter for municipal buildings and shall include all of the following:
(1) Consultation with City Departments. The compliance plan shall be developed in consultation with relevant City departments including the Department of the Environment, the Department of Real Estate and the Capital Planning Committee established in Administrative Code Section 3.21, so as to leverage existing energy data collection processes;
(2) Benchmarking tools applicable to municipal building types. Benchmarking shall include, but is not limited to, information substantially equivalent to the Energy Benchmark Information in Section 2003(a)(2) as determined by the General Manager of the Public Utilities Commission. For the purpose of benchmarking municipally owned buildings greater than 10,000 square feet, each City department head or agency general manager shall provide to the General Manager of the Public Utilities Commission the data required by the compliance plan for all municipal buildings under the respective department or agency jurisdiction. Benchmarking municipal facilities shall be completed according to the compliance schedule in Section 2004(a);
(3) Energy audit protocols;
(4) Reporting protocols; and,
(5) A timeline for compliance with energy audit requirements.
(b) If a compliance plan for municipally owned buildings is not developed and implementation initiated pursuant to paragraph (a), each City department head or agency general manager shall be responsible for compliance with the provisions of this Chapter for all municipally owned buildings under the respective department or agency jurisdiction.
(Added by Ord. 17-11, File No. 101105, App. 2/18/2011)
(a) The Director may adopt rules and regulations for the implementation of this Chapter, including rules for the electronic submittal of Annual Energy Benchmark Summary Reports and Confirmations of Energy Efficient Audits, as well as verification that the Department has received an Annual Energy Benchmark Summary or Confirmation of Energy Efficient Audit.
(b) The Director may modify or suspend the requirements of this Chapter if:
(1) The State of California or Federal government adopts a similar or more comprehensive building energy performance rating program, and such regulation requires comprehensive rating and/or public identification of existing building stock; or,
(2) The Director makes written finding to the Commission on the Environment that a technological deficiency in the evaluation tool or tools specified under this Chapter precludes compliance with this Chapter. The Director may lift all or part of such suspension upon the written finding that any such deficiency has been corrected.
(Added by Ord. 17-11, File No. 101105, App. 2/18/2011)
(a) Energy Efficiency Audit. No energy efficiency audit is required if any one of the following exceptions apply:
(1) New Construction. The Nonresidential Building was newly constructed less than five years prior to the date an energy performance summary is due;
(2) Regular ENERGY STAR®. The Nonresidential Building has received the EPA ENERGY STAR® label from the US.1 Environmental Protection Agency for at least three of the five years preceding the filing of the building’s energy performance summary; or,
(3) LEED Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance. The Nonresidential Building has been certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system for Existing Buildings Operation and Maintenance published by the United States Green Building Council or other rating system for whole existing buildings as determined by the Department of the Environment, within five years prior to the date the building’s energy performance summary would otherwise be due.
(4) Financial Distress. Owners of financially distressed buildings may apply for extensions of not more than one year in each instance for completion of an Energy Efficiency Audit and submittal of Confirmation of Energy Efficiency Audit, and for not more than one year in each instance for submittal of an Energy Benchmark Summary. Buildings in financial distress at the time an Energy Efficiency Audit or Energy Benchmark Summary are due include:
(A) Properties qualified for sale at public auction by the Treasurer and Tax Collector due to arrears of property taxes that resulted in the property’s qualification for sale at public auction or acquisition by a public agency within two years prior to the due date of an energy efficiency audit report;
(B) Buildings where a court appointed receiver is in control of the asset due to financial distress;
(C) Buildings owned by a financial institution through default by the borrower;
(D) Buildings acquired by a deed in lieu of foreclosure; and
(E) Buildings where the senior mortgage is subject to a notice of default.
(5) Three or More Buildings Under Common Ownership. Where the same person or entity owns three or more buildings subject to this Chapter, and the Energy Efficiency Audit due dates for more than one-third of those buildings fall within a single twelve-month period, the building owner may apply to the Director for, and shall be granted, an extension, not to exceed one year, of the due dates for the Energy Efficiency Audits and Confirmations of Energy Efficiency Audits for up to two-thirds of the buildings under common ownership. The application shall specify which buildings are to be covered by the extension.
(b) Confirmation of Energy Efficiency Audit. Where an energy efficiency audit is not required due to one of the exceptions in Section 2008(a), the Confirmation of Energy Efficiency Audit shall be filed, shall include reference to the exception that applies, and shall include a copy of relevant documentation for verification by the Department of Environment:
(1) Date of New Construction may be verified using a copy of the Certificate of Occupancy issued by the Department of Building Inspection.
(2) ENERGY STAR® label may be verified using a report from Portfolio Manager signed by the professional engineer, or confirmation of listings on the US Environmental Protection Agency list of ENERGY STAR labeled buildings.
(3) LEED for Existing Buildings Operation and Maintenance certification may be verified using a copy of the relevant certificate or confirmation of listing on the Green Building Certification Institute’s LEED Certified Projects List; and
(4) Financial distress may be verified using a record of sale at public auction or an affidavit from the Treasurer Tax Collector.
(5) Exceptions under subsection (a)(5) may be verified using a copy of the extension granted by the Director.
(c) Annual Energy Benchmark Summary. Exceptions to energy efficiency audit requirements do not affect the date when an AEBS report is due. However, benchmarking with Energy Star Portfolio Manager is not required under the following conditions:
(1) New Buildings. New buildings may receive an extension to the date of submittal of an initial Annual Energy Benchmark Summary report of not less than 24 months from the date that a Certificate of Occupancy is issued by the Department of Building Inspection, or the applicable deadline in the Department of the Environment compliance schedule, whichever is greater. AEBS reports shall be due annually thereafter.
(2) Unoccupied Buildings. Benchmarking with Energy Star Portfolio Manager is not required if the building had less than one full-time equivalent occupant for the twelve-month period preceding the due date of an Annual Energy Benchmark Summary.
CODIFICATION NOTE
1. So in Ord. 74-19.
(a) Written Warning of Violation. The Director shall issue a written warning to any building owner he or she determines is violating any provision of this Chapter. In the event a building owner fails to file an AEBS report for 30 days or more after the relevant deadline, the Director shall indicate that building's compliance status via the publicly accessible electronic reporting interface. If 45 days after issuing a written warning of violation from the Director, the Director finds that building owner continues to violate any provisions of this Chapter, the Director may impose administrative fines as provided in this Section.
(b) Administrative Fines. Violations of the provisions of this Chapter, or of any regulations issued by the Director pursuant to Section 2007, may be punished by administrative fines as follows:
(1) For buildings of 50,000 square feet and greater, up to $100.00 per day for a maximum of 25 days in one twelve-month period for each building in violation.
(2) For buildings of 49,999 square feet or less, up to $50.00 per day for a maximum of 25 days in one twelve-month period for each building in violation.
Except as to the amount of administrative fines, set forth above, Administrative Code Chapter 100, "Procedures Governing the Imposition of Administrative Fines," as may be amended from time to time, is hereby incorporated in its entirety and shall govern the imposition, enforcement, collection, and review of administrative citations issued by the Department of the Environment to enforce this Chapter and any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to this Chapter.
(c) Use of Proceeds. Administrative fine collected under subsection (b) shall be used to fund implementation and enforcement of this Chapter.
(d) This Section shall not apply to the City or to any municipally owned buildings.
(Added by Ord. 17-11, File No. 101105, App. 2/18/2011)
In enacting and implementing this ordinance, the City is assuming an undertaking only to promote the general welfare. It is not assuming, nor is it imposing on its officers and employees, an obligation for breach of which it is liable in money damages to any person who claims that such breach proximately caused injury.
(Added by Ord. 74-19, File No. 190142, App. 4/26/2019, Eff. 5/27/2019)
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