Council committee moves out Energy Code bill

Oahu builders will have to make a certain number of parking stalls ready for electric vehicle charging and install solar hot water heaters in new residences under a major energy conservation bill poised for a final vote of the Honolulu City Council next month.

After months of wrangling — marked by intense lobbying at Honolulu Hale by special interests — the Council Zoning, Planning and Housing Committee voted Thursday to move out Bill 25 (2019), a revised Energy Conservation Code that’s been pushed by Mayor Kirk Caldwell and his administration.

The original draft of the bill was applauded by environmental groups, which argued that Honolulu is far behind other municipalities when it comes to fighting the impacts of global warming and climate change.

But the legislation, crafted largely by Caldwell’s Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency, met with strong resistance from a host of groups that included homebuilders and construction workers, who argued the new conditions would add unreasonably to the cost of building houses. Hawaii Gas, retailers and others also joined the early opposition.

Council Zoning Chairman Ron Menor said the draft that his committee approved Thursday represents a compromise that attempted to take into account the concerns of all the stakeholders.

“Any amendments we would adopt would have to promote the state’s goal of achieving 100% renewable energy utilization by 2045 while mitigating the potential cost impacts of the requirements of Bill 25 on the future development of affordable housing, for which there is a dire need,” Menor said.

Josh Stanbro, the city’s chief resiliency officer, said despite developers’ protests, the new regulations actually allow homeowners to save money over time due to the lower costs of using solar energy and electric vehicles. Retrofitting traditional outlets into EV-ready ones costs four to 10 times more than installing them on new buildings, he said.

Stanbro said that in a typical new home, the changes in the bill would cost a homeowner $5-$20 more in monthly mortgage payments. But they would also save anywhere from $50 to $100 a month on their electrical bills, he said.

The major battles Thursday involved electrical vehicle charging stations. Council members began the meeting with a basic requirement that 25% of parking stalls in all multiunit buildings be “EV-ready,” meaning they would have to have the conduits allowing electric vehicle owners to connect at a Level 2 charge. Breaks would be given, however, based on a complicated “points system” that would lower the 25% minimum by allowing for Level 3 charging or some other trade-off.

While breaks on the number of EV-ready stalls were being proposed at the start of Thursday’s meeting for houses aimed at those making at or below 80% of area median income, Nathaniel Kinney of the Hawaii Construction Alliance lobbied to allow more substantial breaks for homes for those between 80% and 140% AMI.

While helping workforce families in the “gap group” income level, “none of those projects receive any sort of government subsidy, unlike lower income 60% and below AMI. … The margins on rental affordable housing is razor thin,” he said.

But Menor scoffed at the notion that homes aimed at those making 140% AMI could be considered affordable housing. In the bill that finally passed Thursday, units being constructed for those between 100%-140% AMI will now be required to make 20% of its stalls EV-ready.

Instead, after hearing from Karen Seddon, regional vice president of affordable home builder Michaels Development, the committee decided to do away with all EV-ready stall requirements for units aimed at those making 100% AMI and below.

That didn’t sit well with Jeff Mikulina, executive director of the Blue Planet Foundation, who said those concessions were just the latest in a string of givebacks Council members made to special interests that weakened the bill originally proposed by the administration.

The committee “had the opportunity to pass a measure that would substantially reduce the long-term cost for homeowners, businesses and especially renters while reducing our island’s contribution to climate change, but instead it chose to adopt a developer- drafted version that does little to advance either goal,” Mikulina said.

REVISED ENERGY CONSERVATION CODE

If Bill 25 passes, the following requirements will have to be met:

>> Solar hot water heaters required in new single- family homes unless a variance obtained from the Energy Division of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

>> A minimum of 25% of parking stalls required in new multifamily buildings required to have conduits allowing for connection of EV Level 2 chargers. Builders of “affordable” multifamily units would be completely exempt, while builders may also qualify to build fewer EV-ready stalls for other concessions. Single-family residential units must have dedicated outlets with Level 2 charge. Commercial buildings must make 20% of new stalls EV-ready.

Source: City and County of Honolulu