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San Jose staff report early compliance gains under building performance ordinance, outline next steps and data center review
Summary
City staff reported early reductions in energy and water use among covered buildings and described options to expand the San Jose Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance, including more flexible improvement measures, potential building performance standards and recommended inclusion of data centers in upcoming Council considerations.
City Clean Energy staff told the Transportation & Environment Committee that San Jose’s Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance has produced early measurable improvements, and staff outlined planned ordinance updates and next steps including a review of data center standards.
Jenna, a Clean Energy program staffer, said the ordinance — adopted by City Council in 2018 — applies to roughly 1,800 covered properties and requires annual benchmarking plus a five‑year "beyond benchmarking" check. "There are roughly 1,800 properties in San Jose that have to comply with this ordinance," she said. Staff reported an average 87% benchmarking compliance rate and a 71% beyond-benchmarking compliance rate across the last three reporting years (2023–2025).
Staff presented specific outcomes from submitted data: a 12% reduction in median energy use intensity across covered properties, a 9% reduction in median water use intensity and a 10% increase in median Energy Star scores. Jenna said the city does not yet know the full impact of beyond-benchmarking because 2023 was the first compliance year for many properties and the first repeat checks are not due until 2028.
Planned FY26-27 actions include surveying building owners on the impact of beyond-benchmarking, expanding options for acceptable efficiency improvement measures, creating covered-building case studies to share best practices, and connecting building owners with available incentive programs. Staff also flagged a potential longer-term change: evaluating a building performance standard that would require on-site greenhouse gas reductions over time and could replace the current ordinance.
On data centers, Deputy City Manager Manuel Pineda said staff will coordinate with the City Manager’s Office and bring recommendations to Council in December 2026 on how to incorporate data centers into the audit process and whether to require audits without exceptions for those facilities.
