For months the city of St. Paul has encouraged owners of major properties to monitor their energy usage, the first step toward identifying how they compare to other buildings and possibly reducing energy waste.

A proposal before the St. Paul City Council would make both water and energy monitoring the law.

Violation would be considered a petty misdemeanor, punishable by a $200 fine.

Unlike other cities that have embraced energy benchmarking, however, St. Paul building owners would not be mandated to make their results public or share them with City Hall, though they could do so simply by marking a box.

The council held a public hearing on Wednesday on the proposed water and energy benchmarking ordinance, which has been generally well received by the development community.

Monitoring would be required through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager.

In the initial year, owners of privately-owned buildings spanning at least 100,000 square feet would be expected to use the tool by June 1, 2020.

By June 1, 2021, the ordinance would apply to both commercial and residential properties measuring at least 50,000 square feet.

For city-owned property, the threshold is 25,000 square feet.

The ordinance received letters of support from Wellington Management, the Greater St. Paul Building Owners and Managers Association, the U.S. Green Building Council and two architectural associations, AIA Minnesota and AIA St. Paul.

Calling himself a former skeptic and opponent of unnecessary regulation, developer Clint Blaiser also testified on Wednesday in support of the proposal, as did representatives of the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce’s business council, Fresh Energy and St. Paul 350.