Chelsea (NY)

Approved the Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) to understand energy consumption in buildings throughout the city. This ordinance, now known as BERDO, mandates energy benchmarking for large residential and non-residential buildings meeting specific size or unit count criteria.

2. Applicability and Key Deadlines

The BERDO ordinance applies to:

• All public city buildings
• Non-residential buildings (commercial, industrial) with 20,000 sq. ft. or more of gross floor area (GFA)
• Residential buildings with 20 units or more
• Chelsea Housing Authority buildings (regardless of size or unit count)

Key deadlines include:

• June 30th annual deadline for benchmarking reporting

3. Initial Reporting Dates Based on Property Type

• Covered City Properties: Initial reporting date by June 30, 2023
• Covered Commercial and Industrial Properties ≥50,000 sq. ft.: Initial reporting date by June 30, 2023
• Covered Commercial and Industrial Properties ≥20,000 sq. ft.: Initial reporting date by June 30, 2024
• Covered Multifamily Properties ≥20,000 sq. ft. or with at least 20 units: Initial reporting date by June 30, 2024

4. Compliance Requirements

Building owners must report their energy and water usage annually using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool by June 30th.

5. Fines for Non-Compliance

Failure to report benchmarking requirements may result in fines as follows:

• $50 for the first offense
• $150 for the second offense

$300 for the third offense

• Enforcement will be carried out by building inspectors.