City Council Minutes 2022 12 20 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes December 20, 2022 Page 6 of 11 Councilmember Dickinson asked why Louisville is not a part of the Cohort. Christine Brinker, SWEEP, stated a group applied to DOLA for a grant for this project and during the time if took the grant to come through Louisville decided to move forward more quickly on its own. It will be a part of the cohort for the phase 2 process. Public Comments Christian Dino, Louisville, (pooled time with Peter Geise) stated he was concerned about the costs of these new requirements. He stated he has done a case study on his own home and has found the costs to be much higher than the current code. He stated the metering equipment is costly and hard to get. He added this code requires equipment that has not been proven and may have a long lead time to get. This will keep people from building here or renting vacant spaces if they can build more quickly and cheaper in neighboring communities. He urged a no vote. Eric Lund, Louisville Chamber of Commerce, stated his restaurant members have many concerns about the cost of refurbishing properties and they have said that clarification on the rules would be helpful. He suggested postponing a decision until clarification can be made. He stated that for Louisville to be competitive with neighbors, our rules should align with the cohort and not be too far ahead. Matt Berry, Louisville, stated this code is too far in advance to the current technology and will create waste as new technology arrives in just a couple of years. He does not want to have to dispose of technology when something better and easier to use arrives on the market in a few years. He urged a no vote. Rick Kron, Downtown Business Association, urged a no vote on this ordinance. Louisville should not get ahead of the cohort but rather should act in line with the cohort so we are not ahead of them and businesses then choose to go elsewhere. We don't yet know the real costs or benefits of this change. This ordinance it is not clear what it does in some places and needs additional work. Jeff Sheets, Koelbel and Company, stated in his other developments there are serious delays in getting equipment and asking for this type of specific equipment will make it even worse. We need to better understand what this ordinance does. It has flaws in how it calculates costs for owners and tenants. This ordinance will make Louisville less competitive for businesses. He urged a no vote. Tiffany Boyd, Louisville, urged Council to approve this ordinance. She suggested waiting for the cohort is just waiting for the inevitable and Louisville should be at the forefront. We should not kick the can down the road. We need stringent greenhouse gas limits to be put in place.