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Specialized Stretch Energy Code Review

At a glance

  • What: Docket No. 1801, an order for a hearing on the review of the Municipal Opt-in Specialized Stretch Energy Code at the three-year threshold, offered by Durkan with Culpepper, FitzGerald, Louijeune, Pepén, Weber and Worrell.
  • Where it stands: after a fight over which committee gets it, the Council voted on September 23, 2026 to send it to the Committee on Planning, Development and Transportation rather than Environmental Justice, Resiliency, and Parks. No hearing date appears in the minutes.
  • Why it matters: the vote overruled the presiding officer's referral and shows a split over committee jurisdiction.

The referral dispute

  • The chair first referred the order to the Committee on Environmental Justice, Resiliency, and Parks. Durkan doubted the decision of the chair, recommending that the docket go to Planning, Development, and Transportation; Louijeune seconded.
  • First roll call on whether the chair's decision should prevail: the minutes print "decision of the chair prevailed" with yeas 3 (Breadon, Flynn, Murphy), nays 7 (Culpepper, Durkan, FitzGerald, Louijeune, Pepén, Weber, Worrell) and 3 not present (Coletta Zapata, Mejia, Santana). The tally and result as printed do not agree with each other; read them with care.
  • Later in the session, Durkan moved for reconsideration (seconded by Mejia), and after a recess reconsideration prevailed, 9 to 4: yeas Coletta Zapata, Durkan, FitzGerald, Louijeune, Mejia, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell; nays Breadon, Culpepper, Flynn, Murphy.
  • On the second roll call the decision of the chair did not prevail: yeas 3 (Breadon, Flynn, Murphy), nays 10 (Coletta Zapata, Culpepper, Durkan, FitzGerald, Louijeune, Mejia, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell). The order was referred to the Planning, Development and Transportation Committee.

Sources

Log

2026-09-23 - City Council

Chair's referral overruled 10-3 after reconsideration (9-4); order sent to Planning, Development and Transportation. Video: Durkan argued the specialized code raises costs and the hearing should focus on engineers and developers; Mejia moved reconsideration to send it to Planning, Development and Transportation.