The City of West Hollywood is working to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035, adapt to climate change, and focus on equity and quality-of-life outcomes for the West Hollywood community. On December 20, 2021, the City Council adopted WeHo Climate Action, setting a 2035 carbon neutrality goal and committing the City to reducing energy use from existing buildings.

Energy use from buildings is one of the City's largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Burning fossil fuels like methane gas or propane - for cooking, heating, and operating buildings - can also significantly contribute to indoor air pollution. Since WeHo has a significant number of older buildings, many of which were constructed before modern energy efficiency standards, improving energy performance in existing buildings is a critical step toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2035 and improving the health of our City's environment.

There are numerous benefits to improving energy performance in existing buildings:

• Healthier and safer homes and buildings, for example, when switching gas-burning appliances to electric.
• More efficient buildings and lower energy costs.
• Addressing climate change and resilience.

On December 1, 2025, the City Council adopted the Equitable Building Performance Standards (EBPS) policy, as directed by WeHo Climate Action, that will not only help the City achieve its climate goals but also improve the comfort, health, and sustainability of existing buildings and people who live and work in them. West Hollywood is leading the way as the first City in Los Angeles County and the second in California to adopt a building performance standards policy. View the adopted ordinance in the "Document Library" and learn more about building performance standards below.

In addition to EBPS, the City is exploring existing building reach codes. Click through the tabs below to learn more about each policy.

Building Performance Standards (BPS) are designed to improve the energy performance of existing buildings and reduce emissions through energy efficiency and electrification. They require buildings to meet specific energy use or carbon emissions performance targets by a deadline. BPS are applied to existing buildings, typically of a particular size, addressing their performance throughout the entire lifecycle and progressively raising targets to achieve enhanced performance over time.

Equitable Building Performance Standards (EBPS) can address a range of community priorities, including building energy use, carbon emissions, public health, resilience, and economic opportunity.

Numerous states and cities across the country have adopted BPS policies, which are tailored to each community's specific context. View the map of Building Performance Standards passed and in development in the U.S., courtesy of the Institute of Market Transformation. Close to a dozen BPS are in development in California.

Existing Building Reach Codes are local building codes that go beyond or "reach" past state standards. They aim to achieve higher energy efficiency or sustainability goals in existing buildings by requiring energy and electrification upgrades when major renovation work is done, such as replacing gas water heaters or furnaces with electric options. Existing Building Reach Codes typically apply to major renovations and would be triggered by pulling a project permit and specific project valuation.

Developing reach codes can ultimately save energy and future-proof buildings by eliminating retrofitting costs and making progress toward mitigating climate change.

The adopted Equitable Building Performance Standards policy is available to view in the "Document Library." This policy will help the City meet its carbon neutrality goal and improve the energy performance and comfort in existing buildings across the City.

The purpose of this policy is to lower carbon emissions from existing buildings and modernize the City's building stock through energy efficiency and electrification measures. The policy will require owners of all existing buildings over 20,000 square feet in the City to 1) report their building energy use annually beginning in 2026, through a process called "benchmarking" and 2) make improvements to their building to meet performance targets beginning in 2028 that get more stringent over time, or develop a plan that shows how the building will meet those targets.

Some buildings, including residential condominiums and those under financial hardship, are only required to benchmark and can apply to be exempted from meeting performance targets (please refer to Section 15.100.080 of the ordinance).

If you’d like to share your thoughts directly with staff, please send your comments to cshen@weho.gov and erotman@weho.gov

My WeHo Climate Action is an exciting new platform designed to empower West Hollywood individuals, families, neighborhoods, and community groups to take meaningful steps toward a sustainable future. This user-friendly website provides personalized resources and actionable tips to help community members take climate-friendly actions, save money, and build a resilient, connected community.