ProGov21 Policy Library

2015 Energy Benchmarking Report: San Francisco Municipal Buildings

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2016

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source San Francisco Water Power Sewer

Policy Areas Energy, Community Development, Public Spaces, Environment & Natural Resources

This fifth annual report details the energy performance of 468 San Francisco municipal facilities encompassing nearly 49 million square feet of building area during calendar year 2015. San Francisco began to benchmark its properties in 2011, when the San Francisco Existing Commercial...

2012 Alachua County Ordinance 8 Promoting Water Conservation

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2012

Level County

State(s) Florida

Source Alachua County Board of County Commissioners

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources

This ordinance creates year-round conservation measures and regulations for the use of water resources during shortage seasons. This ordinance grants county authorities the right to declare a water shortage emergency, during which separate regulations governing water usage go into...

2012 Minneapolis Ordinance Benchmarking Energy and Water Usage

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2012

Level City or Town

State(s) Minnesota

Source Minneapolis City Council

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces, Energy

This ordinance establishes the Minneapolis building energy benchmarking program. It requires each city-owned building and covered building to be benchmarked for the previous calendar year. Such information shall be made available to the public, including summary statistics on the...

Energy Savings Performance Contracting

Type Fact Sheet or Infographic

Year 2011

Level City or Town

State(s) All States, Wyoming

Source U.S. Department Of Energy

Policy Areas Energy, Community Development, Public Spaces, Environment & Natural Resources

U.S. Department of Energy fact sheet guide to Energy Savings Performance Contracting for governments....

Local Technical Assistance Toolkit: Lead by Example

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2011

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy

Policy Areas Energy, Public Spaces, Environment & Natural Resources, Economic Justice, Democracy & Governance

This toolkit outlines how local governments can implement "lead by example" programs that reduce energy consumption and emissions, foster markets for sustainable products, encourage green building standards, and promote economic development. It provides a guide for developing facility...

Austin Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure Ordinance

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2008

Level City or Town

State(s) Texas

Source City of Austin

Policy Areas Energy, Community Development, Public Spaces, Environment & Natural Resources

This ordinance requires commercial building owners to benchmark and report their energy use rating by June 1st each year. The ordinance applies to commercial buildings 10,000 square foot or larger that are located within Austin City limits and receive electricity from Austin Energy....

2012 Pittsburgh Ordinance 2010-0909 Regulating Natural Gas Extraction

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2012

Level City or Town

State(s) Pennsylvania

Source City of Pittsburgh

Policy Areas Public Safety, Environment & Natural Resources, Health

This ordinance bans the commercial extraction of natural gas within the city and establishes a bill of rights which includes the rights of natural ecosystems, the right of self government for city residents, and the right to sustainably access natural water sources. It also removes...

IMT Model Statutory Language for States or Localities to Require Building Benchmarking

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2014

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Institute for Market Transformation

Policy Areas Energy, Public Spaces, Environment & Natural Resources

This model ordinance requires electric and gas utilities to maintain records of the energy consumption data of all nonresidential buildings to which they provide service....

Energy Disclosure & The New Frontier for American Jobs

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2012

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Institute For Market Transformation

Policy Areas Energy, Community Development, Public Spaces, Environment & Natural Resources

We have entered a new era of constrained spending, high unemployment and complex political turmoil, yet the question on everyone's mind is simple: How do we create jobs? Surprisingly, the answer is right in front of us. New laws in New York City, San Francisco and other large cities...

Pathways to 100: An Energy Supply Transformation Primer for U.S. Cities

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Meister Consultants Group

Policy Areas Energy, Democracy & Governance, Environment & Natural Resources

Pathways to 100 provides a high-level map of pathways for municipalities seeking to transform their energy supply, outlining strategies for both municipal operations and for all energy users within municipal limits. The document is organized around a three-step process that cities...

Benchmarking and Energy Savings Guide

Type Fact Sheet or Infographic

Year 2012

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Energy Star

Policy Areas Energy, Community Development, Public Spaces, Environment & Natural Resources

This fact sheet documents the energy-saving of buildings that consistently benchmark energy performance, with increased efficiency across all building types that track performance. It estimates that 18 million metric tons of CO2 could be reduced annually through consistent performance...

Illinois Gun Owners' Safety and Responsibility Ordinance

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2011

Level City or Town

State(s) Maryland

Source Town of Mountain Lake Park

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Health

This ordinance prohibits the future extraction of natural gas in the city of Mountain Lake Park, and establishes a bill of rights which includes the civil rights of local natural ecosystems, the right to a sustainable energy future for city residents, and the right to self government....

2018 Westchester County Executive Order to Promote Native Plants

Type Executive Order

Year 2018

Level County

State(s) New York

Source Westchester County

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources

This executive order encourages the use of native plant species in landscaping and land management to preserve and protect the local environment. Key provisions include requiring the use of native plants in county contracts involving landscaping, prohibiting invasive plant species,...

Building Energy, Rating, and Disclosure Policies Update and Lessons From the Field

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2013

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships

Policy Areas Energy, Community Development, Public Spaces, Environment & Natural Resources

As states and cities seek to meet their energy savings and carbon emissions reduction goals, new and innovative solutions are needed to improve energy efficiency in the stock of existing homes and buildings. One key tool-building energy rating and disclosure (BER&D) -seeks...

D.C Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008

Type Act or Session Law

Year 2008

Level City or Town

State(s) -

Source Council Of The District Of Columbia

Policy Areas Energy, Community Development, Public Spaces, Environment & Natural Resources

This act establishes the authority to contract with the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) to administer sustainable energy programs in the district of Columbia. It also sets up an advisory board for the SEU and defines their responsibilities. The act includes provisions for a renewable...

Maximizing the Economic Benefits of Hydraulic Fracturing While Mitigating the Risk to Human Health in Colorado

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level State

State(s) Colorado

Source Journal of Science Policy & Governance

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Energy, Public Safety, Health

This paper highlights the state of Colorado and the exponential growth of fracking in the state over the last two decades. The growth of fracking has benefitted the economy of the state and employs hundreds of thousands of residents, but fracking presents serious environmental and...

Purchase of Development Rights

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2018

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Sustainable Development Code

Policy Areas Community Development, Democracy & Governance, Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces

Local governments prevent environmentally damaging land development by developing purchase of development rights (PDR) programs. PDR programs enable landowners to sell the development rights of their land to a trust while keeping ownership and use. This brief outlines best practices...

Retrofitting Institutions

Type Fact Sheet or Infographic

Year 2012

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source COWS

Policy Areas Energy, Community Development, Public Spaces, Environment & Natural Resources, Economic Justice, Civil Rights

Governments everywhere are looking for ways to create new, quality jobs, despite restricted budgets. Although many have enacted programs that facilitate energy efficiency retrofits for the residential and commercial sectors, retrofit of public buildings has garnered little policy...

Native Plantings as a Strategy for Local Governments

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, County

State(s) New York, Oregon, Vermont

Source The Elisabeth Haub School of Law Environmental Law and Policy Hack

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Environment & Natural Resources

Local governments often struggle to protect endangered species within their jurisdictions from threats like invasive species, land development, and pollution. This article analyzes the legal obligations imposed by the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and offers practical steps for local...

2010 San Francisco Ordinance Benchmarking Energy Efficiency

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2010

Level City or Town, County

State(s) California

Source City and County of San Francisco

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces, Energy

This ordinance amends the San Francisco Environmental code by requiring owners of nonresidential buildings to conduct Energy Efficiency Audits of their properties and file Annual Energy Benchmark Summaries for their buildings, that will be publicly shared. Not only will this double...

2013 Boston Ordinance Benchmarking Energy and Water Usage

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2013

Level City or Town

State(s) Massachusetts

Source Boston City Council

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces, Energy

In order to reduce the emissions of air pollutants from energy production, encourage efficient use of energy and water, and develop further investments in building a green economy, this ordinance requires that the City and building owners disclose the previous year's energy and water...

2012 Philadelphia Ordinance Benchmarking Energy and Water Usage

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2012

Level City or Town

State(s) Pennsylvania

Source Philadelphia City Council

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces, Energy

This ordinance requires certain buildings to benchmark and report energy and water usage data; these buildings include commercial buildings with indoor floor space of 50,000 square feet or more and commercial portions of any mixed-use building with at least 50,000 square feet of indoor...

Debate Over Environmental Rights and State Constitutional Convention

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level Other Boards and Agencies

State(s) New York

Source New York Law Journal

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Environment & Natural Resources

During the election on November 7, the voters in New York state will be presented with the ballot question, "Shall there be a convention to revise the constitution and amend the same?" If the referendum passes, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention will be elected in November...

Urban Water Conservation Policies in the United States

Type Act or Session Law

Year 2018

Level City or Town, State

State(s) All States

Source Advancing Earth and Space Sciences

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Public Safety

As urban water supply systems confront growing populations, growing economies, and climatic stress, water conservation efforts are necessary to ensure sustainable access to water. This report examines water conservation policies from 195 cities and finds that cities' political leanings...

Setbacks and Buffers Between Non-Agricultural and Agricultural Areas

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2018

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Sustainable Development Code

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces

i. Local governments can establish setback requirements in zoning codes to preserve farmland and mitigate conflicting land uses. This policy memo highlights effective setback policy strategies to appropriately account for varying uses and development types, and for creating buffers...

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