§ 14.30.005. Exemptions.

(a)

The manager shall prescribe a form for which an exemption can be requested; and

(b)

An exemption may be granted for the current reporting year, or other term as defined, at the discretion of the manager or an appointed code compliance officer if one of the following conditions exist:

(1)

A new building built under the currently adopted International Energy Conservation Code; or

(2)

A building with a LEED (Leadership in energy and Environmental Design) certification; or

(3)

A building with a National Green Building Standard Multifamily Building certification; or

(4)

A low-income, multifamily housing building with an enterprise green communities certification, is exempt from the requirements of this chapter for a period of:

a.

Three years from the date of the issuance of the certification; or

b.

Six years from the date of the issuance of the certification if the building owner supplies a retuning report during the first three-year period.

(5)

A building with a net-zero energy certification from the International Living Future Institute, or other qualified certification program as required by the manager;

(6)

The building is unoccupied which means there is less than one full-time equivalent occupant over the last calendar year;

(7)

The building is presently experiencing qualifying financial distress, as defined by any of the following:

a.

It is the subject of a qualified tax lien sale or public auction due to property tax arrearages; or

b.

It is controlled by a court appointed receiver; or

c.

The building has been acquired by a deed in lieu of foreclosure;

(8)

Publishing of data will result in the release of proprietary information. To qualify for this exemption, the owner shall specifically identify the data or information it believes is confidential as per NRS 239.010 or other applicable local, state, or federal law, or provides a written statement describing the manner in which public disclosure would cause substantial harm to the owner's competitive position;

(9)

A building for which a demolition permit for the entire building has been issued and for which demolition work has commenced on or before the date the benchmarking report is due;

(10)

A building that had an average physical occupancy of less than 60 percent throughout the calendar year for which benchmarking is required;

(11)

More than 50 percent of gross floor area is used for residential purposes and:

a.

More than four meters are associated with the property; and

b.

The owner does not have access to means to obtain aggregated, whole-building data through the utility or a tenant where applicable; and

c.

The serving electric utility does not provide access to aggregated whole-building data. Once such services are available from the Utility, as determined by the manager, such properties will no longer be exempt from Benchmarking requirements, and shall file initial benchmarking reports in the first required reporting year following such data availability.

(12)

Access to accurate data is reliant on tenant information or cooperation and the tenant cannot or will not provide the data. To claim this exemption, a written statement from the owner is required along with sufficient evidence to support the exemption.

(13)

Any change in ownership of the covered property during the calendar year for which benchmarking is required.

(c)

If an exemption is not denied by the manager in writing within 60 days of receipt of the form described in this section, the exemption shall be deemed approved.

(Ord No. 6493, § 1, 1-9-19)