The Department of Buildings launched a third major set of proposed rules for NYC’s groundbreaking building emissions law. Here’s what you need to know.
Original publication by Urban Green Council • September 27, 2024
On September 27, 2024, the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) announced a new set of proposed rules for Local Law 97. If adopted, this third major set of rules will create new support for affordable housing retrofits, clarify adjustments for financially constrained buildings, and fill in other provisions required by the law.
For full details on the rules, see the Department of Buildings Notice.
Here are four important highlights:
1. A new fund to unlock electrification in affordable housing.
A longtime priority developed and advanced by Urban Green and partners, the proposed rules will create a new Affordable Housing Reinvestment Fund to send much-needed dollars to low-income housing electrification retrofits. Purchasing offsets generated by the Fund will allow building owners to comply with LL97 while reducing emissions in affordable housing throughout New York City. Key details include:
- Building owners can purchase certificates through the Fund that represent one metric ton of CO2e reduced through an electrification project in designated affordable housing.
- Certificates are applicable via the existing LL97 GHG offset deduction, which allows building owners to offset up to 10 percent of a building’s emissions limit.
- The Fund uses third-party verification and a deemed emissions methodology developed by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
- Offset certificates will be available before May 2025 and cost $268 per ton.
- The Fund delivers on a recommendation from the multi-stakeholder LL97 Advisory Board Report.
See the City’s press release and Urban Green’s joint statement on this innovative LL97 solution.
2. Updated GHG coefficients for campus and cogen systems.
The proposed rules amend GHG calculations for campus systems to better account for electricity exported to the grid—provided it’s cleaner than utility power. The rules also add an alternative compliance methodology for some pre-existing cogeneration systems. For the first compliance period (2024-2029), emissions from these systems can be calculated using utility electricity and steam coefficients, provided the systems meet thresholds for efficiency and NOx pollution.
3. Clarity on adjustments for legal, physical or financial constraints.
Local Law 97 includes case-by-case adjustments to emissions limits if buildings face constraints that prevent compliance—like historic preservation or accessibility requirements, physical conditions, or distressed finances. The proposed rules provide much-needed detail on why and how those adjustments may be granted. The rules set a maximum three-year adjustment for legal or physical constraints and a one-year adjustment for financial constraints based on clear-cut financial metrics for different ownership and regulatory building classifications.
4. Detail on filing fees for compliance reports and adjustments.
The proposed rules also set fees for various covered-building submissions, including simple building emissions reports, complex building emissions reports, good faith efforts reports, and the applications for adjustments mentioned above.
The proposed rules were published via a city distribution list, and a formal notice was posted in the City Record on October 4. The Department of Buildings will hold an online public hearing on November 7, 2024, at 11:00 a.m., with comments due by that date. Comments can be submitted by email to dobrules@buildings.nyc.gov or online at the NYC Rules website. Verbal comments can also be shared at DOB’s public hearing on November 7. Sign up to speak by emailing dobrules@buildings.nyc.gov by October 31.
On October 9, 2024, we hosted a webinar with the NYC Department of Buildings to unpack the proposed rules. Watch it below.