Climate and Health Standards for Buildings Code

At a glance

Based on uploaded (human-made) captions.

What: document 2026-377, an ordinance replacing City Code Chapter 17.104 with Climate and Health Standards for large commercial and multifamily buildings: annual energy reporting, carbon performance standards that reach zero emissions by 2050, and cost and health information for renters. Sponsored by Councilor Avalos, who chairs the committee.
Where it stands: heard twice in the Housing & Permitting Committee (October 6 and October 20, 2026). No vote yet. The chair said it returns December 1, 2026 for a hoped-for vote after amendments.
Divide: supporters (climate, health, tenant and equity groups) urge passage as written; opponents (building owners, health systems, universities, gas utilities and unions, among others) ask for a pause, an updated economic analysis, alignment with state standards, and funding. Higher education asks for an exemption like K-12.

Buildings are 42% of Portland's emissions; the state building performance standard would address about 5% of emissions from covered Portland buildings, the city standard about 40% of building-sector emissions (Bureau of Planning and Sustainability figures).
Annual energy reporting, adding multifamily residential buildings to the existing commercial requirement (threshold 20,000 square feet; the state's residential threshold is 35,000).
Carbon performance standards: 20% reduction in 2030 (described by staff as a largely procedural compliance year), then another 20% every five years, to zero by 2050, relying on state law requiring Portland General Electric and Pacific Power to deliver emissions-free electricity by 2040.
Renter information before signing a lease: energy cost peaks and averages, assistance programs, cooling, and heating and cooking appliance types.
Tenant protections: temporary relocation support, right to return, and no pass-through of retrofit costs or fees to residential tenants.
Flexibility: choice of baseline year, alternative compliance plans (including campuses), a carbon pollution impact fee for buildings off track, and extensions and exemptions under section 17.104.170 (nine listed situations, including hardship). Regulated affordable housing and K-12 schools are exempt.

Process: opponents say the July 14 version first required building upgrades and gave owners little time; staff and supporters cite six years of engagement and about 60 organizations.
Cost and analysis: the Eco Northwest study (no net rent-plus-utilities effect) predates later changes, opponents say; owners point to unfunded retrofits and penalties, and small landlords to relocation costs.
Alignment with the state building performance standards and grid and utility rate assumptions.
Higher education and hospitals: request to exempt or delay; health systems say campus plans need a clear amendment process.
Tenants controlling energy use while owners pay penalties; vacancy and baseline problems for downtown offices (staff point to alternative compliance plans).
Technical fixes requested by the Port of Portland (aviation buildings; ground-lease owner definition).
Renter advocates asked for maximum indoor temperature standards later and for information and support to reach low-income homeowners.

Councilor Novick: New York City implementation experience; baselines for multifamily owners; an efficiency-target alternative; cost estimates for naturally occurring affordable housing through 2045 and how much PCEF and other funds would cover; city administration cost as flexibility grows.
Councilor Pirtle-Guiney (absent October 20; statement read by Devin Mullins): contingency if utilities miss clean energy targets, definitions, discretionary enforcement, hospital campuses.
Councilor Green and Councilor Koyama Lane expressed support; Vivian Satterfield said building emissions must be addressed.

About 152 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-20 - Housing & Permitting Committee	152

2026-10-20 - Housing & Permitting Committee - Recap by Damon Motts-Story; more than 40 testifiers (supporters led by Vivek Shandas for the Sustainability and Climate Commission and Samantha Hernandez; opponents including David Thompson and Madeline Miller); committee discussion with Eric Engstrom's bureau; continued to December 1 with no vote.
2026-10-06 - 2026-10-06 - Housing & Permitting Committee: Informational briefing on the framework and benchmarking pilot; no vote or testimony; committee consideration planned for October 20.