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BIC endorses expanded water-conservation rules for residential and commercial buildings, SFPUC sets 2017 commercial deadline
Summary
The commission recommended amendments to residential and commercial water-conservation ordinances, including a $150,000 alteration threshold for commercial retrofits phased to Jan. 1, 2017, and recordation/certificate processes for residential resale.
The Building Inspection Commission voted to recommend amendments to the city's residential and commercial water-conservation rules after a lengthy staff presentation and questions from commissioners on enforcement, inspector roles and outreach.
SFPUC representatives described a two-part approach: a fixed final compliance deadline of Jan. 1, 2017 for commercial buildings, and a trigger-based requirement that requires water-conservation retrofits when commercial alterations exceed $150,000. For residential properties, the ordinance retains the existing retrofit-upon-resale structure but tightens recordation and certification procedures.
Bart Broom of the SFPUC told the commission, "By 01/01/2017, all commercial buildings in San Francisco are to be retrofitted." He said the threshold was negotiated with building owners and managers to allow phased compliance as owners renovate.
Commissioners asked who performs compliance inspections and how leak detection will be enforced. Staff said DBI will accept certificates from authorized outside inspectors (the current practice for energy and water retrofit inspections) and that SFPUC has on-call water-conservation teams for targeted leak response. The ordinance allows a fee to be charged to cover DBI/PUC implementation costs and requires certificates of compliance to be recorded when properties transfer.
The commission moved and approved both ordinance recommendations unanimously and requested staff return with implementation details including a finalized fee schedule and list of authorized inspectors.
Next steps include SFPUC outreach to property owners, publication of an approved-inspector list and DBI finalizing fee language for Commission review.
