SEC. 91.9708. SCHEDULE FOR COMPLIANCE.

(Added by Ord. No. 184,674, Eff. 1/29/17.)

91.9708.1. Schedule for Benchmarking Report Compliance. (Amended by Ord. No. 185,198, Eff. 11/22/17.) An annual benchmarking report in compliance with LAMC 91.9705 shall be submitted to the Department according to the following schedule:

1. For buildings owned by the City with gross floor area of 7,500 square feet or more, the owner must complete and submit the initial benchmarking report on or before December 1, 2017, and annually no later than June 1 thereafter.

2. For a privately-owned building or a building owned by a local agency of the State with gross floor area of 100,000 square feet or more, the owner must complete and submit the initial benchmarking report on or before December 1, 2017, and annually no later than June 1 thereafter.

3. For a privately-owned building or a building owned by a local agency of the State with gross floor area of 50,000 square feet or more but less than 100,000 square feet, the owner must complete and submit the initial benchmarking report on or before June 1, 2018, and annually no later than June 1 thereafter.

4. For a privately-owned building or a building owned by a local agency of the State with gross floor area of 20,000 square feet or more, but less than 50,000 square feet, the owner shall complete and submit the initial benchmarking report on or before June 1, 2019, and annually no later than June 1st thereafter. (Amended by Ord. No. 186,789, Eff. 11/12/20.)

91.9708.2. Schedule for Audits and Retro-Commissioning Report Compliance or Exemption. Compliance with Section 91.9706 shall be due once every five years, as provided in Table 9708.2 based on the last digit of the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety Building Identification Number (LADBS Building ID) assigned by LADBS to each building subject to this Division under Section 91.9703. Reports or requests for exemption must be received by LADBS by the compliance due date, but not earlier than 90 calendar days prior to the compliance due date. (Amended by Ord. No. 186,789, Eff. 11/12/20.)

Table 9708.2 (Amended by Ord. No. 186,789, Eff. 11/12/20.)

Last digit of LADBS Initial compliance due date Subsequent compliance due Building ID dates 0 or 1 December 1, 2021 Every five years thereafter 2 or 3 December 1, 2022 Every five years thereafter 4 or 5 December 1, 2023 Every five years thereafter 6 or 7 December 1, 2024 Every five years thereafter 8 or 9 December 1, 2025 Every five years thereafter

91.9708.2.1. Timing of Audit and Retro-Commissioning or Exemption. Except as otherwise provided in Subsection 91.9708.3, the audits and retro-commissioning activities shall be completed no earlier than five years prior to a building's reporting compliance due date. (Amended by Ord. No. 186,789, Eff. 11/12/20.)

EXCEPTION: Buildings with an AIN (Assessor Identification Number) ending in 0 or 1 that had an initial compliance due date on January 1, 2021 or December 1, 2021 may choose one of the following options for submitting the initial report:

1. Submit the Audit and Retro-Commissioning report or request an exemption by December 1, 2021. All subsequent reports or requests for exemptions shall be completed in accordance with Table 9708.2, which is based on the last digit of the LADBS Building ID.

2. Submit the initial Audit and Retro-Commissioning report or request an exemption based on the last digit of the LADBS Building ID in accordance with Table 9708.2.

If the December 1, 2021, deadline is not met for buildings covered under this exception, then the compliance due dates for the initial and subsequent Audit and Retro-Commissioning reports or requests for exemptions shall be based on the last digit of the LADBS Building ID in accordance with Table 9708.2.

91.9708.3. Time Extensions. A building owner may be granted an extension of time to file any submittal required by this Division provided satisfactory proof that one of the following conditions applies. Further, the Department may, at its discretion, grant an extension of time without a filing fee for reviewing and approving the request for an extension of time for conditions 4. through 8.: (Amended by Ord. No. 186,789, Eff. 11/12/20.)

1. The building is under temporary financial or legal distress, as verified by recent financial statements, legal filings and other relevant documents showing one or more of the following:

(a) The building is under the control of a court-appointed receiver as a result of financial distress;

(b) The building is owned by a financial institution as a result of borrower default;

(c) The building has been acquired by a financial institution via deed in lieu of foreclosure;

(d) The building is encumbered by a senior mortgage subject to a notice of default;

(e) The building is an asset subject to probate proceedings;

(f) The building was subject to property tax arrearages that resulted in the building's inclusion, within the prior two years, on the Los Angeles County annual tax lien sale list; or

(g) The building is subject to a State of California Board of Equalization (BOE) Welfare Property Tax Exemption and the cost of complying with reporting requirements will exceed or significantly deplete existing cash flow. Proof of a BOE-issued Organizational Clearance Certificate and, where the building owner is a limited partnership, a Supplemental Clearance Certificate must be shown.

2. The building is a residential building currently in the Rent Escrow Account Program (REAP) and compliance with this division will materially interfere with compliance with REAP.

3. The owner is unable to timely comply due to a substantial hardship, as determined by the Department.

4. There was a delay receiving energy and or water usage data from the utilities even though it was requested by the owner as directed by the respective utility. Additionally, the owner must have properly submitted the initial request for usage data at least eight weeks prior to the compliance deadline and provided any subsequent information requested by the utilities within the timeframe the utilities specified or within 10 business days if a timeframe was not specified by the utilities.

5. There was an error on the part of the City in providing the building owner with notification pursuant to Subsection 91.9708.4 Notification.

6. Information provided by the City was in conflict with the requirements or intent of the EBEWE Program.

7. The Energy Star Portfolio Manager system malfunctioned or was inaccessible through no fault of the building owner or owner's designee responsible for filing the report.

8. The building owner became the owner less than 90 calendar days prior to the benchmark compliance date.

91.9708.4. Notification. For buildings with compliance dates of January 1, 2018 or later, the Department shall notify the owner of each building subject to the scope of this division at least six months prior to the due dates specified in Subsections 91.9708.1 and 91.9708.2.