1
Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 2
3
4
5
A PROPOSED RESOLUTION 6
__________ 7
8
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 9
____________________ 10
11
To declare an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Housing Production Trust Fund 12
Act of 1988 to insert net zero energy requirements for large residential and mixed- use 13
construction projects receiving local subsidies; the Clean Energy DC Building Code 14
Amendment Act of 2022 to require periodic reporting on the development of universal 15
net zero energy building code regulations that will apply to residential and mixed- use 16
construction; and the Green Building Act of 2006 to remove those net zero energy 17
compliance provisions inserted by the Greener Government Buildings Amendment Act of 18
2022 that apply to residential and mixed- use projects; and to repeal the Green Housing 19
Transition Extension Temporary Amendment Act of 2024. 20
21
RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 22
resolution may be cited as the “Green Housing Coordination Emergency Declaration Resolution 23
of 2024”. 24
Sec. 2. (a) Under the Clean Energy DC Building Code Amendment Act of 2022, the 25
Mayor is required to promulgate rules by the end of calendar year 2026 that will impose a net 26
zero energy standard, including a prohibition on onsite fossil fuel combustion, on most new 27
construction and major renovation projects. 28
(b) On January 12, 2023, Mayor Bowser signed into law the Greener Government 29
Buildings Act of 2022 (GGBA) , which among other things compels District government 30
agencies to achieve net zero energy compliance in most new or substantially improved 31
government-owned and government-funded buildings. 32
(c) The Council funded the GGBA as part of the fiscal year 2024 budget process. 33 (d) In light of earlier legislation, the effect of the net zero energy compliance provisions 34
of the GGBA was to accelerate the existing net zero mandate specifically for government and 35
government-funded buildings. 36
(e) The Council, in consultation with the executive, affordable housing providers, and 37
local environmental advocates, has determined that the timing and nature of net zero standards 38
for residential and mixed-use construction projects should be adjusted. 39
(d) Large new-construction residential and mixed -use projects that receive funding 40
through the Department of Housing and Community Development’s Consolidated Request for 41
Proposals process should still be held to strong environmental standards , but these standard s 42
should be applied through the solicitation and award process rather than the building permit 43
process. 44
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances 45
enumerated in section 2 constitute an emergency making it necessary that the Green Housing 46
Coordination Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 be adopted after a single reading. 47
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 48