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Council delays local energy-code supplement to Oct. 1 pending state appeals ruling
Summary
Ithaca's Common Council voted to push its energy-code supplement adoption from July 1 to Oct. 1 to await a Court of Appeals decision in litigation over the state's fossil-fuel provisions; staff will brief council in advance of the new deadline.
The Ithaca Common Council on June 10 agreed to extend the deadline for adopting an updated local energy-code supplement from July 1 to Oct. 1 to await the outcome of pending state litigation.
Director Evans and other staff told council their intent is to avoid adopting a local code that mirrors a portion of the state's 2026 energy code that is subject to legal challenge. The 2026 state code includes a provision that would prohibit fossil fuels in new buildings; the provision has been stayed pending appeals. Staff explained they will bring a fuller code package to council once the courts clarify whether the state provision stands.
Council members asked clarifying procedural questions and were told the extension is procedural (to preserve the council's ability to adopt either the state approach if upheld or an adjusted local supplement if appropriate). The motion to defer until Oct. 1 passed unanimously. Staff committed to an interim briefing from the sustainability office before the October decision point.
No substantive changes to the city's existing code were adopted at the meeting; the council simply extended the internally set deadline for making a local policy decision.
"All we're doing with this resolution," Director Evans said in the meeting, "is deferring our policy decision until we have more clarity as to the state's position."
