Evanston buildings may have to be powered by renewable electricity; Council postpones vote

Action was again postponed on an Evanston City Council measure that, if adopted, would require certain Evanston buildings to convert from natural gas to renewable electricity over the next 25 years.

The Evanston City Council on Feb. 24 voted 7-1 to table action on the Healthy Buildings Ordinance until its next meeting on March 10 so aldermen could finalize the language in a series of newly proposed amendments and review them. Twelve previous amendments were approved during a Feb. 10 meeting and final action on the ordinance was also tabled. The ordinance had been introduced in January.

If approved, the HBO, as it is known, would create a process for buildings over 20,000 square feet—and municipal buildings over 10,000 square feet—to be powered by renewable electricity and create zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Nearly 500 apartment and commercial buildings in Evanston measure more than 20,000 square feet and are already required to track and report annual energy and water usage, according to information from the city.

Condominiums under 50,000 square feet and co-op buildings would be excluded from the requirements of the HBO, under the current language.

The HBO is an outgrowth of Evanston’s 2018 Climate Action and Resilience Plan, which established community goals of carbon neutrality, zero waste and 100% renewable electricity. Other benefits of the HBO, city officials say, include improved air quality, reduced utility costs, and improved heating, cooling and ventilation systems that use less energy.

According to the city, the biggest challenges of rolling out the ordinance are “equity, technical and financial hurdles.”

“Staff recognizes that building electrification is costly and plans to devote significant time … to helping buildings acquire funding for decarbonization,” a city memo on the HBO says. This funding may be in the form of grants from regional, state, and other entities.

“It is not the intent of this ordinance to force businesses out of business, to force tenants out of their apartments, to force major institutions into financial distress,” 4th Ward Ald. Jonathan Nieuwsma said.

The HBO does not outline the standards that building owners would need to meet and the particular rules they would need to follow. These details will be established during a rule-making process that will involve a newly formed Healthy Buildings Accountability Board and a Healthy Buildings Technical Committee, city officials said. Members, who will be approved by the City Council, will work with city staff and must have specific expertise related to the decisions they will be making, indicated Cara Pratt, sustainability and resilience manager for the city of Evanston.

Prioritizing buildings for city financial aid, establishing fine structures for building owners who do not comply, and exploring “synergistic policies like rent protection,” will also be among the boards’ tasks, according to the ordinance.

Some speakers who addressed the City Council on Feb. 24 urged aldermen to hold off on adopting the HBO until these details could be determined.

“The potential negative impact on land owners, renters and commercial-owned retail tenants is too significant to not take the time needed to fully develop the details of this ordinance (before it is adopted),” said speaker Mike Purcell.

Sixth Ward Ald. Thomas Suffredin agreed that rules should be created first.

“As much as I support the objectives here, I don’t understand the sequencing of doing rule-making after passing the ordinance,” he said.

Fifth Ward Ald. Bobby Burns said the HBO will impact building owners and called for them to have a say during the rule-making process.

“They have to have a meaningful seat at the table,” he said. “I will not vote on this if they don’t.”

Speaker Bill Schermerhorn, a property manager, expressed concerns about the financial impacts of the HBO.

“We can build bridges, but this is a bridge too far,” he said. “We need certainty and we have way too much uncertainty. We’re going to get hit in the pocketbook and it’s going to hit the tenants the most.”

But a number of speakers urged adoption of the HBO that night.

“This is the first step in planning the inevitable transition away from gas over the next few decades,” said Mardi Klevs, a volunteer with the Citizens Utility Board.

“We really need to move the needle with real action,” added Jack Jordan, speaking on behalf of Climate Action Evanston. “Tonight you can take a very important first step.”

Building owners could apply for an “alternative compliance pathway plan” if they believe their property cannot meet the established standards, the HBO says.