Proposed environmental mandate would aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, housing stress for Lawrence renters

The Environmental Sustainability Advisory Board plans to urge Lawrence city commissioners to adopt an environmentally friendly ordinance that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions while saving renters money.

The policy would require owners and landlords of certain covered properties to submit energy consumption data to the city annually, a process known as energy benchmarking. Then, the data would be available in the public record to increase transparency for tenants about a building’s energy efficiency.

Per an early draft of the policy recommendation, covered properties addressed in the ordinance could include all multifamily residential buildings or complexes; single-family rental properties not occupied by the owner; mixed-use rental properties containing residential and commercial/retail spaces; and specialized residential units such as private student housing facilities and senior living communities. 

Energy benchmark policies have been adopted in cities throughout the country, including Kansas City, Missouri. Currently, the ESAB is developing a letter for the city commission to explain the benefits of a potential ordinance. If the commission expresses an appetite for the idea, the board would proceed with further market research and community engagement.

According to the draft letter, a recent study from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) “found that renters were 21% more likely to choose energy-efficient units when energy labels were provided upfront.”

Members of the ESAB predicted that transparency around a building’s energy efficiency might induce landlords to make improvements to existing buildings. 

“Requiring transparent reporting and providing the benchmark uses consumer demand, which we’ve outlined here, as the market-based incentive for landlords to make upgrades,” said ESAB board member Christopher Reimer. “Like, that’s what makes this a good policy for the city. It costs very little. You’re basically using transparency in a marketplace to ensure that landlords are held to high standards of energy efficiency.”

The fruit of such a policy could be twofold. First, it could reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A climate protection plan approved by the city commission in 2009 set goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2020, 50% by 2030, 70% by 2040, and 80% by 2050, with numbers from 2005 serving as the benchmark. The city also stated its intention to improve energy efficiency in residential, industrial and commercial buildings as part of the “Strong, Welcoming Neighborhoods” portion of the Strategic Plan.

Lawrence is not on track to meet these goals.

As it stands, ACEEE numbers suggest that “rental units use 15% more energy per square foot than owner-occupied homes,” per the ESAB’s draft letter.

Approximately 53% to 57% of housing in the city consists of rental properties. ESAB estimated that closing the energy efficiency gap between rental properties and owner-occupied homes could lead to a 7.5% decrease in energy use.

Furthermore, if tenants are spending less money on utilities, their budgets can stretch to cover more necessities.

A Douglas County Tenant Experiences survey found that about half of renters are cost-burdened, meaning they spend one-third or more of their income on rent. As part of the strategic plan, the city aims to decrease the amount of renter households experiencing housing stress to 35% or less. The city is also off track on this goal.

Rough estimates from board member Mohsen Fatemi suggest that a landlord spending $1,000 on retrofits for an existing building could save $200 to $300 in utilities costs per year per unit. 

“Like, people are under severe housing stress. This policy not only reduces greenhouse gas, it also puts money back in people’s pocket who are at risk within our community,” Reimer said.

Fatemi, who largely drafted the proposed policy, believed it could have broad implications for decision-making.

“It makes a database for the city to use for other decisions as well, for allocating resources to projects and things like that,” he said.

The ESAB plans to review and edit a draft of the letter to the commission during their next meeting. If they receive a green light from the city commission, they hope to establish a joint meeting with the Affordable Housing Advisory Board to discuss housing stress.

Next, they would seek community engagement and feedback before refining the mandate and conducting a budget analysis.

The next ESAB meeting will be Thursday, Sept. 25.

Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at wulfe@lawrencekstimes.com.

Read their complete bio here. Read their work for the Times here.

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