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Rockville staff introduces expanded Green Building Code proposals including EV requirements and NGBS verification
Summary
City staff introduced amendments to the Green Building Code to allow off-site renewables, increase EV-charging requirements, and require National Green Building Standard (NGBS) third-party verification for applicable one- and two-family and small multifamily projects; the council voted to introduce the ordinance and asked staff for additional equity and cost data.
City staff introduced proposed amendments to Chapter 5 of the Rockville City Code to revise the Green Building Code and related implementation steps and asked the council to introduce the ordinance for further public outreach and return for adoption early next year.
Staff said the changes would relocate scoping and definitions into the adopted model codes, allow use of off-site renewable energy to meet on-site provisions, and add EV-charging infrastructure requirements beyond the current energy conservation code. For single-family, two-family and certain low/mid-rise multifamily projects regulated under the National Green Building Standard (NGBS), staff proposed requiring NGBS third‑party verification. Staff quoted typical verification fees for one- and two-family dwellings as roughly $400–$1,000 per unit (one-time fee) based on Home Innovation Labs guidance and said verification would be online-portal based to avoid occupancy delays.
Councilmembers asked for more detail on how the equity impact statement was informed (census tracts, income bands and renter populations) and how verification costs might affect rents and housing affordability. Staff agreed to provide additional data and outreach to projects currently in the pipeline and said they anticipate returning with recommendations and adoption no earlier than February.
Dr. Miles moved to introduce the ordinance amending Chapter 5 (Green Building Code) and the council introduced the ordinance for later adoption and further public engagement.
