Title
Approving a partial waiver of the Sustainable Building Ordinance for the 80 Cottage Avenue SKD Auto development.
Body
WHEREAS, in January 2018, the City Council of the City of Saint Paul adopted the Sustainable Building Ordinance (Ord 17-60, Chapter 81) for (a) New construction or the major renovation of facilities owned or operated by the City of Saint Paul or the HRA, (b) New construction or the major renovation of any facilities of which the city or HRA are, or will become, the sole tenant, and (c) New construction or major renovation of any facilities within the City of Saint Paul receiving more than two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) of city funding; and
WHEREAS, the Ordinance requires that such buildings be certified under one of the eligible green building rating systems, and comply with each of the requirements found in the Saint Paul Overlay; and
WHEREAS, the 2026 Draft Sustainable Building Ordinance Update requires New Construction projects receiving between $200,000 and $500,000 in City Funding to comply with Saint Paul Overlay requirements 1 (Energy Efficiency) and 2 (Water Efficiency), and does not require certification through one of the eligible green building rating systems; and
WHEREAS, the SKD Auto development project was awarded $300,000 in Neighborhood STAR funds, and
WHEREAS, the SKD Auto development will be an approximately 8,000 square-foot facility, and because of the small building size, the costs associated with the administration of one of the green building rating systems as specified in the Ordinance would be disproportionate to the construction cost of the building; and
WHEREAS, the PED Clean Energy Coordinator recommends applying the 2026 Draft Sustainable Building Ordinance Update requirements to the SKD Auto project; and
WHEREAS, the requirements of this chapter may be waived, in whole or in part, by the Saint Paul City Council, or, in the event that the expenditure of city funds is approved by the HRA, the HRA board of commissioners; and
WHEREAS, compliance with the 2026 Draft Sustainable Building Ordinance Update will ensure that the building conserves energy and water, while averting the high cost of certification through a green building rating system; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the City Council hereby waives the requirements in Chapter 81 of the Saint Paul Administrative Code for the SKD Auto development, and in its place applies the requirements found in the 2026 Draft Sustainable Building Ordinance as described herein.