Item 5b-Staff Response: Questions Regarding ECAD from Member Lanetta Cooper — original pdf

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Page 1 of 3 MEMORANDUM TO: Low Income Consumer Advisory Task Force (LICATF) FROM: Denise Kuehn, Director of Energy Efficiency Services DATE: July 17, 2015 SUBJECT: ECAD Questions by Member: Lanetta Cooper from June 19th, 2015 Meeting The following information is in response to questions that member Lanetta Cooper requested regarding Austin City Code Chapter 6-7, Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) Ordnance (No. 200110421-02) Amended April 21, 2011. Question 1: Who enforces ECAD? (What department and what City offices?) Staff Response: Austin Energy is committed to implementation and Austin Municipal Courts handles a complaint-driven process when citizen complaints are filed. Question 2: How many full-time employees are dedicated to enforcement? Staff Response: The Austin City Code defines enforcement as a complaint-driven process that capitalizes existing resources and procedures. As such, no dedicated City personnel are required to accomplish enforcement. Austin Energy’s (AE) Customer Energy Solutions division (including: Energy Efficiency Services, Data Analytics & Business Intelligence, Green Building, Key Account Management), AE’s Corporate Communication and Marketing Communications divisions, Austin Water Conservation division and City of Austin’s Office of Sustainability personnel resources are committed at different levels of support with implementation and community education campaigns of the Austin City Code. 2 Question 3: How many multifamily rental units as defined by ECAD exist in Austin and how many of those have been verified to the in full compliance with ECAD? Staff Response: Preliminary ECAD 2014 Multifamily Market Statistics. Fiscal Year Apartment Properties Within the Austin City Limits Apartment Properties Exempt from Ordinance Apartment Properties Not Exempt from Ordinance Apartment Properties Audited Non Exempt Properties Audited FY 2014 1,369 368 1,001 850 85% Question 4: How many single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and condo’s are rented in Austin? Staff Response: Austin Energy is not responsible for collecting housing data. It is the responsibility of the City Demographer. The City Demographer has provided the attached TENURE BY UNITS IN STRUCTURE, Universe: Occupied housing units, 2013 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimate. The provided American Community Survey includes housing unit estimates, for both owner-occupied and renter-occupied. It is the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program that produces and disseminates the official estimates of the population for the nation, states, counties, cities and towns, and estimates of housing units for states and counties. Question 5: How many enforcement actions have been taken? Staff Response: Currently, no legal actions have been taken through the Austin Municipal Court processes. Question 6: What does AE do, if anything in relation to enforce the ECAD ordnance? Staff Response: AE’s commitment is to implement the ECAD ordinance initiative to assist multifamily and commercial real estate business markets by educating property owners on the importance of property-wide energy audits, administering single-family and multifamily audit programs, assisting with energy performance benchmarking their commercial buildings, and presenting ways to make their buildings more energy efficient. To date, AE has achieved 441.1 MW of the 900 MW demand savings goal. In charge of executing this initiative since the Austin City Code was approved, the 2014 preliminary results shows AE has achieved over 60% compliance rates for residential and commercial, with over 85% multifamily properties. Also, the existing ECAD datasets for all property types are available to the public on the City of Austin’s Data portal. In 2014, AE has begun to capitalize on energy audit results to energy savings goals by expanding formal marketing and outreach campaigns into the Austin market place. Additional 3 background information may be found on the following website: www.austinenergy.com/go/ecad Question 7: Is there a complaint process setup to enforce ECAD ordnance: complaint form, hearing procedure, appeal procedure, what notice to LLS and public of this procedure? Staff Response: The Austin City Code defines enforcement as a complaint-driven process. The record owner of the property is presumed to be responsible for a violation of this Austin City Code that occurs at a facility on the property. Non-compliance with ECAD is a Class C misdemeanor with fines from $500 to $2,000. A public citizen may file violations with the City of Austin Municipal Courts for review and action. The attached City of Austin Municipal Court Violation Complaint form is available publicly on Austin Energy website. Austin Energy’s Customer Energy Solutions is committed to promoting and educating the public on ECAD. For example, staff is involved in community public and industry outreach events, as well as digital, radio, and print advertising. In addition, during the fiscal year 2014 (October 1, 2013 – September 31, 2014) staff took 2,011 phone calls and 3,693 emails regarding ECAD. During each phone call and email, staff was able to educate and explain the various details of ECAD, including enforcement. Attachments: - TENURE BY UNITS IN STRUCTURE - City of Austin Municipal Court Violation Complaint form B25032TENURE BY UNITS IN STRUCTUREUniverse: Occupied housing units2013 American Community Survey 1-Year EstimatesSupporting documentation on code lists, subject definitions, data accuracy, and statistical testing can be found on the American Community Surveywebsite in the Data and Documentation section.Sample size and data quality measures (including coverage rates, allocation rates, and response rates) can be found on the American CommunitySurvey website in the Methodology section.Although the American Community Survey (ACS) produces population, demographic and housing unit estimates, it is the Census Bureau's PopulationEstimates Program that produces and disseminates the official estimates of the population for the nation, states, counties, cities and towns andestimates of housing units for states and counties.Austin city, TexasEstimateMargin of ErrorTotal:349,200+/-5,054  Owner-occupied housing units:157,643+/-4,175    1, detached137,315+/-4,271    1, attached8,097+/-1,635    21,749+/-729    3 or 41,080+/-542    5 to 9255+/-200    10 to 191,487+/-598    20 to 491,397+/-542    50 or more2,456+/-695    Mobile home3,728+/-1,068    Boat, RV, van, etc.79+/-100  Renter-occupied housing units:191,557+/-5,874    1, detached33,990+/-3,301    1, attached7,049+/-1,313    213,841+/-2,099    3 or 414,197+/-2,152    5 to 919,962+/-2,690    10 to 1933,500+/-2,670    20 to 4927,283+/-2,636    50 or more39,815+/-3,157    Mobile home1,774+/-661    Boat, RV, van, etc.146+/-180Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. The degree of uncertainty for an estimate arising from sampling variability isrepresented through the use of a margin of error. The value shown here is the 90 percent margin of error. The margin of error can be interpretedroughly as providing a 90 percent probability that the interval defined by the estimate minus the margin of error and the estimate plus the margin oferror (the lower and upper confidence bounds) contains the true value. In addition to sampling variability, the ACS estimates are subject tononsampling error (for a discussion of nonsampling variability, see Accuracy of the Data). The effect of nonsampling error is not represented in thesetables.In data year 2013, there were a series of changes to data collection operations that could have affected some estimates. These changes include theaddition of Internet as a mode of data collection, the end of the content portion of Failed Edit Follow-Up interviewing, and the loss of one monthlypanel due to the Federal Government shut down in October 2013. For more information, see: User NotesWhile the 2013 American Community Survey (ACS) data generally reflect the February 2013 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) definitions ofmetropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas; in certain instances the names, codes, and boundaries of the principal1 of207/08/2015cities shown in ACS tables may differ from the OMB definitions due to differences in the effective dates of the geographic entities.Estimates of urban and rural population, housing units, and characteristics reflect boundaries of urban areas defined based on Census 2010 data. Asa result, data for urban and rural areas from the ACS do not necessarily reflect the results of ongoing urbanization.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2013 American Community SurveyExplanation of Symbols: 1. An '**' entry in the margin of error column indicates that either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available tocompute a standard error and thus the margin of error. A statistical test is not appropriate. 2. An '-' entry in the estimate column indicates that either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute anestimate, or a ratio of medians cannot be calculated because one or both of the median estimates falls in the lowest interval or upper interval of anopen-ended distribution. 3. An '-' following a median estimate means the median falls in the lowest interval of an open-ended distribution. 4. An '+' following a median estimate means the median falls in the upper interval of an open-ended distribution. 5. An '***' entry in the margin of error column indicates that the median falls in the lowest interval or upper interval of an open-ended distribution. Astatistical test is not appropriate. 6. An '*****' entry in the margin of error column indicates that the estimate is controlled. A statistical test for sampling variability is not appropriate. 7. An 'N' entry in the estimate and margin of error columns indicates that data for this geographic area cannot be displayed because the number ofsample cases is too small. 8. An '(X)' means that the estimate is not applicable or not available. Revised 12/10 Page 1 of 3 REQUIREMENTS WHEN FILING COMPLAINT 1. The complainant (person making the complaint) must, in good faith, make full, fair and honest disclosure of all facts and circumstances known to him/her at the time the complaint is made. The facts, as presented, must be in the form of an affidavit and signed under oath. Said affidavit will form the basis of any further investigation and the charging instrument. 2. The complainant must appear in court to testify against the defendant if the charges are contested (the accused pleads not guilty and a trial is held). 3. If the defendant is found guilty, the maximum sentence that may be assessed in Municipal Court is a fine plus court costs and fees (no jail time). The defendant may appeal the case to a higher court. 4. The defendant may file a counter-complaint if the complainant has also been involved in some illegal activity. Please be advised that any statement made at this time or in the future to a prosecutor or other city investigative person may be used against you should the counter-complaint go forward to trial. Please be advised that when speaking to the prosecutor, that the prosecutor represents the state and no attorney-client relationship is established by any communications with regard to the application for complaint or any matters related thereto. 5. Once a case is filed, only a Municipal Court Judge, upon recommendation of a prosecutor, has the authority to dismiss the case. 6. The prosecutor reserves the right to subpoena the presence of the citizen-complainant and enforce the subpoena by ordering a peace officer to bring the citizen-complainant to court. I have read and agree to the above requirements. COMPLAINANT’S SIGNATURE (Person making the complaint) DATE  Revised 12/10 Page 2 of 3 AFFIDAVIT BY CITIZEN CITY CODE VIOLATION Information about the person you are accusing: Name of Person Accused: ______________________________________ Address: ______________________________________ City, State, Zip ________________________ Phone Number: _____________________________ Work Number: ___________________________ Race: _______________ Sex: _______________ Height: ______________ Weight: ____________ Date of Birth: ____________________ Age (if no date of birth): _______________ Facts about the case: The undersigned Affiant, who after being duly sworn by me, on oath, makes the following statement: Date of Offense: _______________ Time of Offense: _______________ Location of Offense (must be in Austin city limits): ___________________________________________ Type of Premises: ____________________ What is your Complaint? Describe with as much detail as possible: Use as many pages as necessary to fully, fairly and honestly relate all material facts and circumstances. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Has this occurred before?: Yes No When has it happened before?: ________________ Where charges filed?: Yes No What was the outcome?:____________________________  Revised 12/10 Page 3 of 3 Information about you: Name: ______________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________ City, State, Zip: __________________ Phone Number: _____________________________ Work Number:____________________________ Email Address (if any): _________________________________________________________________ Witness Information (if any): Name of Witness: ____________________________________ Phone Number: ___________________ Address: ____________________________________________ Work Number: ___________________ Name of Witness: ____________________________________ Phone Number: ___________________ Address: ____________________________________________ Work Number: ___________________ Name of Witness: ____________________________________ Phone Number: ___________________ Address: ____________________________________________ Work Number: ___________________ Vehicle Information (if applicable): Year: ________ Make: _________ Model: _________ Body Style: _______ Color: _________ State of Registration: ______ License Plate Number: ____________ Special Features: ______________ I swear that the statements made herein are within my personal knowledge and are true and correct. ___________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________ Printed Name of Person Making Complaint Signature of Person Making Complaint Date Sworn to me on this the __________ day of ____________________, 20_____. _____________________________________ Deputy Court Clerk OR Notary Public for the State of Texas My Commission Expires:_________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ DO NOT WRITE BELOW THIS LINE Reviewed by: ___________________________________ (Prosecutor/Investigator) File Charge: Yes No Charged Offense/Offense Number: _______________________________________________________________ On this, the _____ day of ___________, 20 ____. I hereby acknowledge that I have examined the foregoing affidavit and have determined that probable cause exists for the issuance of an arrest warrant for the individual accused therein. ____________________________________ Magistrate, Municipal Court, Austin, Texas