Building Energy Savings Program, Family Definition, Annie Stewart Fountain

Greetings friends and neighbors,

I hope you're getting outside to enjoy this beautful weather!

Here are this week's updates:

Building Energy Savings Program To Be Voted on this Tuesday

Our next Common Council meeting is this Tuesday, March 7. We will be taking up the proposed Building Energy Savings Program (BESP). This is something dear to my heart. I started working on this two years ago with the Mayor's office and fellow alders. Commercial buildings are our city's second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, with 30% of the total – only transportation generates more. The proposed program requires buildings 25,000 square feet and larger to track their energy use through a process known as benchmarking. Buildings 50,000 square feet and larger will be required to execute tune-ups every four years to recalibrate existing systems, e.g., lighting and HVAC, to their design set point.

Flexibility is built into the ordinance, with multiple paths available for compliance. Nonetheless, several in the business community have objected, stating the program should be entirely voluntary. It's curious to me that these voices calling for a voluntary program are also the same ones complaining the simple actions required by this ordinance would be too costly and too time consuming. This begs the question: Why should we think these businesses would act in unison to opt-in to a voluntary program?

Programs like BESP have been implemented in over 40 cities nationwide. On average, these programs reduce energy use in buildings by 10% to 15%. Adopting BESP in Madison would cut greenhouse gas emissions locally by an estimated 90,727 to 136,090 tons per year! If we are serious about meeting our climate goals, it's critically important we pass this measure.

Family Definition Revision Adopted Last Week

At our meeting last week, Council passed the Family Definition Revision that has been much discussed by many residents in District 13. The amendment Alder Vidaver and I put forth to slow down the process for the campus-adjacent neighborhoods failed to pass.

Many questions were raised during the three months this was discussed. On the afternoon of our vote last week, staff posted an analysis of the potential for housing speculation that might ensue due to the proposed revision. The analysis suggests only homes selling under $400k are likely to be good candidates for conversion to rental property. Moreover, a Racial Equity and Social Justice analysis was done by staff which identified ways to address negative impacts.

Though I have reservations about portions of the proposed revision, I still voted for it. More work needs to be done, in my mind, but it's important not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. And it's clear to me that there are many good elements to this change.

That said, Alder Vidaver and I have already begun working with staff to track data so that the City can effectively monitor potential impacts in four primary areas:

1. The rate of conversions from single-family homes to rentals, and vice versa.
2. The rate of price changes in monthly rents.
3. The number of evictions.
4. The number of properties purchased by LLCs.

Lastly, it's possible that these changes will have minimal impact. As Kurt Paulsen, professor of Urban Planning at UW, shared with me in a recent conversation, it may be that since the family definition policy was not proactively enforced, but only enjoined in response to complaints, there may not be an upswell in demand sufficient to incentivize conversions.

At any rate, Alder Vidaver and I am determined to monitor this closely and continue working with the Mayor and city staff to advance our housing equity goals.

Annie Stewart Fountain

Help Decide the Future of Annie C. Stewart Fountain: The fate of the City's oldest piece of art will soon be decided, but the Madison Arts Commission wants to hear from you first. Don't delay, time is of the essence!

Homebuyer Education Class

FREE HUD-APPROVED HOMEBUYER EDUCATION CLASS (IN PERSON) – SATURDAY MARCH 18TH: The City of Madison, in partnership with the Home Buyers Round Table of Dane County and Consumer Credit Counseling Service, want to share with you our next HUD Approved Homebuyer Education class of 2023 for the month of March. The 2023 class schedule is up and you can find it here. 

Summer Internships

The City of Madison is currently accepting applications for its AASPIRE internship. This is a paid, summer internship that lasts for 8-10 weeks. Applicants should be currently enrolled in college or have graduated since May 2021. Application deadline is March 19th.

Internships are available in the following City departments and areas of interest: 

• Common Council
• Engineering Division - Public Information
• Finance Department - Data & Innovation
• Fire Department - Digital Media Archivist
• Human Resources Department - Compensation Study
• Madison Public Library - Marketing Intern
• Parks Division (4 openings) - Ecology, Golf, Parks Alive!, and Public Information Officer
• Planning Division (2 openings) - Geographic information System (GIS) and Neighborhood Planning
• Traffic Engineering - Vision Zero Public Information Assistant

Random Notes

Madison Launches MadCAP to Reduce Bills of Low-Income Utility Customers: On March 1, the City of Madison will launch the Madison Customer Assistance Program (MadCAP).

The City of Madison Needs More Crossing Guards: The City of Madison Traffic Engineering Division is again looking to hire several qualified candidates to work part-time as a School Cross...

Street Sweepers Working Overnight Hours Starting March 5: Spring cleanup begins!

Take care and stay safe,

Tag