photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Evergy's coal-fired power plant sits just on the other side of the river from the proposed Kansas Sky Energy site. In the foreground an irrigation system waters a sod farm field that has not yet sprouted in this April 2024 file photo.

Lawrence’s Environmental Sustainability Advisory Board plans to develop a proposal to create a local policy that would require some Lawrence property owners to collect and report their building’s total energy use to the city each year.

The board discussed during its meeting Thursday exploring a policy which could improve energy use transparency and enable “informed decision-making among tenants and policymakers” about the energy costs of units. S. Mohsen Fatemi, a researcher at the University of Kansas and member of the advisory board, included a sample ordinance that he said was modeled heavily on a similar ordinance in Kansas City, Mo.

The draft ordinance outlines guidelines that would require property owners to submit “total annual energy and water usage data” into a benchmarking tool each year. Public reports on the energy usage would then be posted each year, according to the proposed guidelines. Those public reports can empower renters by showing them what the full cost of a unit could be, as well as encouraging landlords to invest in basic energy-efficiency measures, according to Fatemi.

The board has explored discussions on creating a similar ordinance since April, as the Journal-World reported, but the board agreed during its Thursday meeting they should begin to come up with recommendations to create this policy to eventually present it to the City Commission.

David Johnson, a board member, said he wanted to ensure that the group could hear from renters and landlords before submitting its recommendations to ensure there was nothing in the potential guidance that could cause hidden problems, but he felt the recommendations were a “great idea.”

“The overall idea… to get information to the renters so that they can make informed decisions is fantastic,” Johnson said.

The ordinance likely would involve collecting data on more than just apartment buildings. In Kansas City, Mo., the ordinance requires private property owners with buildings of 50,000-square-feet or more to annually report energy and water usage to city officials.

Exactly what property owners in Lawrence would be subject to the reporting requirements would be a big part of crafting any local ordinance.

During the meeting, Johnson said he would work to develop a policy memo with recommendations to present during the board’s next meeting, and the board will seek input from the public to help craft the policy in future meetings.

Kathy Richardson, the city’s Director of Sustainability, noted that under new guidelines, the city’s boards will not be tasked with crafting any ordinances. Instead, Richardson said the board would advise the City Commission on its policy ideas, and then they could direct city staff to draft an ordinance that align with the recommendations.