On Friday, BATC and representatives from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, the commercial construction and commercial building management industries met representatives from the Buildings, Benchmarks & Beyond (B3) bench marking group regarding a proposal for a secondary energy code (stretch codes) for Minnesota cities.
This stretch code, if enacted by the State of Minnesota, would allow local governments to require the Sustainable Buildings 2030 (SB2030) standard as their local energy code in addition to Minnesota’s existing energy code. Created by B3, SB2030 is based off more restrictive energy codes, like California, and is currently required for any building receiving funding from the State of Minnesota.
The proposal, which is targeted at new and renovated commercial buildings, may be applied to multifamily housing and townhomes but would not initially be applied to single-family or twin homes.
BATC does not support a secondary code structure for Minnesota and is committed to decreasing the barriers and costs associated with home ownership. BATC will continue to be engaged with opposing stretch codes.
For more information, please contact Nick Erickson, regulatory affairs manager.
