Los Angeles Municipal Code § 91.9712 Severability

(Division 97 Added by Ord. No. 184,674, Eff. 1/29/17.)

Section

• 91.9701 Title.

• 91.9702 Purpose.

• 91.9703 Scope.

• 91.9704 Definitions.

• 91.9705 Benchmarking and Self-Reporting of Energy and Water Consumption Information.

• 91.9706 Energy and Water Audits and Retro-Commissioning.

• 91.9707 Record Maintenance.

• 91.9708 Schedule for Compliance.

• 91.9709 Noncompliance Fee.

• 91.9710 Submittal Fees.

• 91.9711 Building and Safety Development Surcharge.

• 91.9712 Severability.

(Added by Ord. No. 184,674, Eff. 1/29/17.)

This division shall be known as the City of Los Angeles Existing Buildings Energy and Water Efficiency (EBEWE) Program.

(Added by Ord. No. 184,674, Eff. 1/29/17.)

It is the purpose of this division to reduce energy and water consumption in buildings, including existing buildings, in the City of Los Angeles. These efficiency improvements will lower the use of energy, water, and greenhouse gas emissions citywide.

(Added by Ord. No. 184,674, Eff. 1/29/17.)

This division shall apply to all buildings, including existing buildings, that are either:

1. Owned by the City of Los Angeles and are 7,500 square feet or more;

EXCEPTION: Buildings owned by the City that are less than 15,000 square feet are not subject to the requirements of Section 91.9706.

2. Privately owned and are 20,000 square feet or more; or

3. Owned by a local agency of the state that is required to comply with the City's building ordinances pursuant to Government Code Section 53090, et seq., or successor legislation, and are 20,000 square feet or more.

EXCEPTION: This division shall not apply to one- and two-family dwellings and related accessory structures; residential hotels as defined by the California Health and Safety Code Section 50519; broadcast antennas; vehicle charging stations; utility pumping stations; treatment facilities; sound stages; structures primarily used for the production and post-production of motion pictures and television, and similar uses; and other buildings not meeting the purpose of this division, as determined by the Department of Building and Safety.

(Added by Ord. No. 184,674, Eff. 1/29/17.)

The following words and phrases, whenever used in this division, shall be construed as defined in this section unless context indicates otherwise. Words and phrases not defined here shall be construed as defined in LAMC Sections 91.201 and 91.202:

BASE BUILDING SYSTEMS. The systems and subsystems of a building that use or distribute energy and/or water and/or impact the energy and/or water consumption, including the building envelope; the heating ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems; air conveying systems; electrical and lighting systems; domestic hot water systems; water distribution systems; plumbing fixtures and other water-using equipment; and landscape irrigation systems and water features. Base building systems shall not include:

1. Systems or subsystems owned by a tenant or for which a tenant bears full maintenance responsibility, that are within the tenant's leased space and exclusively serve such leased space, and for which the tenant pays all the energy and water bills according to usage and demand as measured by a meter or sub-meter.

2. Systems or subsystems owned by a residential unit owner that exclusively serve the residential unit of that owner.

3. Systems or subsystems that operate industrial applications such as manufacturing.

BENCHMARKING REPORT. A report, generated by ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager, summarizing the annual energy and water performance of a building.

DEPARTMENT. The City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety.

ENERGY. Electricity, natural gas, steam, heating oil, or other products sold by a utility to a customer of a building, or renewable on-site electricity generation, for purposes of providing heat, cooling, lighting, water heating, or for powering or fueling other end-uses in the building and related facilities.

ENERGY AUDIT. A systematic evaluation to identify potential modifications and improvements to a building's equipment and systems which utilize energy in order to optimize a building's overall energy performance.

ENERGY STAR® PORTFOLIO MANAGER. The United States Environmental Protection Agency's (US EPA) online tool for measuring, tracking, and managing a building's energy, water and greenhouse gas emission data and to benchmark the performance of a building.

ENERGY STAR® PORTFOLIO MANAGER ENERGY STAR SCORE. A number ranging from 1 to 100 assigned by the US EPA's Energy Star Portfolio Manager as a measurement of a building's energy efficiency, normalized for a building's characteristics, operations, and weather, according to methods established by US EPA's ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager.

RETRO-COMMISSIONING. A systematic process for optimizing existing systems relating to building performance through the identification and correction of deficiencies in such systems.

RETRO-COMMISSIONING MEASURES. Work relating to retro-commissioning such as repairs, maintenance, adjustments, changes to controls or related software, or operational improvements that optimize a building's energy and/or water performance.

RETROFIT MEASURES. Upgrades or alterations of building systems involving the installation of energy and/or water efficiency technologies that reduce energy and/or water consumption and improve the efficiency of such systems.

TREATMENT FACILITY. A facility where industrial processes take place for the treatment of substances, which include, but are not limited to, water, waste, sewage, rain water, oil, and chemicals. Paper mills, foundries, and similar operations are also covered by this definition, which is restricted to the building or buildings where the treatment takes place. (Added by Ord. No. 186,789, Eff. 11/12/20.)

WATER AUDIT. A systematic evaluation to identify potential modifications and improvements to a building's equipment and systems which utilize water in order to optimize a building's overall water performance.

(Added by Ord. No. 184,674, Eff. 1/29/17.)

The building owner shall maintain records related to benchmarking, audits and retro-commissioning, including, but not limited to, the energy and water bills and reports or forms received from tenants and/or utilities. Such records shall be preserved for a period of five years. When the building is sold, the records shall be given to the new building owner.

(Amended by Ord. No. 186,789, Eff. 11/12/20.)

Failure to comply with this division shall subject the owner to noncompliance fees as specified in Section 98.0411 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, except that the amount of the noncompliance fee shall be $202.

EXCEPTION: The Department may, at its discretion, waive an EBEWE noncompliance fee and associated late fees and interest if it determines, based on satisfactory and verifiable proof, that late compliance or noncompliance was due to any condition described in Subdivisions 4. through 8. of LAMC Subsection 91.9708.3. The waiver of these fees and interest may be applied retroactively, at the discretion of the Department, to December 1, 2017, as applicable.

(Added by Ord. No. 184,674, Eff. 1/29/17.)

There shall be added to the total of all fees imposed under this division a surcharge in the amount equal to the greater of six percent of the fee or one dollar. All monies received from this surcharge shall be deposited to and expended as the "Building and Safety Systems Development Account" of the Department of Building and Safety Building Permit Enterprise Fund pursuant to Section 5.121.8 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code.

(Added by Ord. No. 184,674, Eff. 1/29/17.)

If any provision of this ordinance is found to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, that invalidity shall not affect the remaining provisions of this ordinance, which can be implemented without the invalid provisions and, to this end, the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted each and every provision and portion thereof not declared invalid or unconstitutional, without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would subsequently be declared invalid or unconstitutional.