CHICAGO—After hearing passionate oratory, both for and against, the Chicago City Council approved Mayor Rahm Emanuel's controversial energy use benchmarking ordinance at yesterday's council meeting by a 32-17 vote. The new law will require municipal, commercial and residential properties with more than 50,000-square-feet to track and publicly disclose their energy usage by 2015. The June proposal inspired spirited critiques over the summer from groups like BOMA/Chicago, the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and condo owners living in high-rises along Lake Michigan.

“We support the notion of the benchmarking itself, but what we object to is where they want to post, probably on a city website, the scores of each building,” Michael Cornicelli, executive vice president of BOMA/Chicago, told GlobeSt.com. “Every older class C or class B building can't get a LEED Gold certification.”

The mayor's proposal also found supporters. The Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, an advocacy group, endorsed the idea. And large commercial real estate companies like Jones Lang LaSalle, among many others, also voiced support. "U.S. Equities includes benchmarking energy use of the buildings in our portfolio and using that data to drive results," said Bob Wislow, U.S. Equities chairman and CEO, earlier this summer. "Our buildings see better financial and leasing performance as their environmental performance improves."

In July, alderman representing lakefront residents succeeded in delaying the legislation, saying they needed more time to study its potential impact. Many of their constituents worried the ordinance would eventually impose costly mandates, a charge the mayor's supporters denied.

“There has been a fair amount of misinformation spread about this ordinance,” said 25^th Ward Alderman Daniel Solis, as he kicked off yesterday's debate. Solis chairs the committee that first considered the legislation in July. He claimed the proposal would not require the investment of “a single dime.”

Leslie Hairston, the 5^th Ward alderman, whose Hyde Park district includes many high-rises, immediately fired back. She expressed the frustration that many condo boards have for new government rules, especially in the wake of Illinois State Fire Marshal Larry Matkaitis' June proposal to require buildings with more than four stories to install expensive sprinkler systems. "With all of these fees, we're putting people out of their homes. We need to stop bashing people who live in high-rises on the lakefront." 

Alderman Ameya Pawar of the 47^th Ward objected to complaints about potential costs, calling them “the one thing I don't understand; there is nothing that is mandated here.”

To track energy consumption, for example, the law requires the use of the Environmental Protection Agency's free online tool, ENERGY STAR ® Portfolio Manager, a system already in wide use throughout Chicago. And although the city will make the energy scores for each building public, it will not require owners to make property improvements to boost scores. Pawar said owners will have to pay qualified personnel to certify scores, but the cost will be minimal.

“This ordinance addresses 1% of the buildings in Chicago,” Pawar added, buildings that use 20% of the city's energy, and therefore, the data generated by EPA's portfolio manager may play an important role in showing how Chicago can cut out energy waste and begin to help address pressing issues like climate change. “If not now, when is the right time?”

The other lakefront aldermen were not having it.

“I consider myself one of the great champions of sustainability,” said 42^nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly, but he still rose in opposition. His downtown district contains the highest number of large buildings. He admitted that initial costs associated with the portfolio manager “probably won't break the bank.” However, he charged, once those scores get published, that will change.

“That's when the market forces kick in; what I call public shaming.” In order to continue attracting tenants and buyers, many owners, especially those of older buildings, will feel compelled to do expensive retrofits and bring in a plague of expensive contractors. “We should not be in the business of picking winners and losers in the real estate market.”

At the end of the meeting, however, the final vote again proved that no matter how passionate the debate, or intense the lobbying, if the mayor makes a proposal, it eventually becomes law.