City Council Minutes 2022 09 27 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes September 27, 2022 Page 5 of 6 He stated he is confident we are moving in the right direction and he likes some of the cohort goals. How we move from here is the question. The concern is we could act independently without the entire cohort then things will be built in other communities to a lower standard. Anything being built in 2022 should be built to the highest environmental standards. We have a shared goal of getting to net zero we need to find the best path to get there. It is a matter of how and how fast. Councilmember Most stated we have to act now to address the climate crisis; it is a clear and present danger. In 2022, you have to build to the highest standards. If a business can't afford to do that, they probably couldn't afford to run the business. We want the greenest businesses to come to Louisville and we should go out to attract them. Our vacancy rates are not a bad as people seem to think and we need to make decisions based on real data. Councilmember Brown stated he favors option 2 with all -electric requirements. It's nice to believe in incentives but at the end of the day requirements are important. He is interested in talking about exemptions if there is more information. It is a false choice that we can't have new businesses and these regulations. We won't get to the highest levels without pushing the discussion. Councilmember Fahey agreed the climate crisis is real, it needs to be addressed and we all need to act. This discussion is only related to new construction. She would support all -electric for new construction with an exemption for hospitals and possibly a couple of other industrial uses. Mayor Pro Tem Maloney stated we wall want to move forward, it is a matter of how quickly we move forward. He stated he likes the cohort idea and wishes it was state wide so we aren't creating competition between communities. He stated he is concerned about getting so far ahead of the curve that we don't any new building at all. We may want to move quicker than the cohort if it makes sense to us and we can remain business friendly. He stated there should be further discussion about any exemptions and what the trigger point would be for renovations. Stainability goals should balance with the economic vitality of the city. Councilmember Leh agreed this is an important topic to almost everyone in town. He noted the three pillars of sustainability are economy, environment, and equity. He reviewed the sustainability goals of the city noting it is a question of how fast we do it. It is important to recognize we have already made some big strides in this area with the adoption of the 2021 IECC. He would like more answers to some of the questions before moving forward. We don't need to be the leader on all of these efforts given the crisis we have had this year in this community. He would prefer to hold tight until we see results from the other communities. He is concerned what it would mean to businesses trying to expand. He wants to be able to give flexibility to those businesses that need other sorts of energy such as hospitals, etc.