Seattle’s Building Emissions Performance Standard
Seattle signed its Building Emissions Performance Standard in December 2023. It covers nonresidential and multifamily buildings larger than 20,000 square feet and sets greenhouse gas targets that tighten over time.
The city phases it in by size. The largest buildings file their first benchmarking verification and emissions report in 2027 and the smallest by 2030, with the first emissions targets falling due between 2031 and 2035.
Source: City of Seattle, Building Emissions Performance Standard, read November 2026.
What it means for your study
For a condominium tower or a mid-rise with gas boilers, the timing matters. A boiler, a domestic hot water plant or a rooftop unit that the study shows lasting to 2038 may need replacing sooner if the building is to meet its target, and an electric replacement rarely costs the same as a like-for-like swap.
Ask the firm how it treats components that the emissions standard may retire early, and whether it will show the board two lines in the 30-year projection: one on expected life, one on the compliance date.
King County also sits partly inside the Tacoma Smelter Plume mapped by the Department of Ecology, which matters for soil work on some south King County sites.
The rule in Seattle
King County associations follow the same state law as everyone else. Under RCW 64.90.545, the study is updated every year and
“An updated reserve study must be prepared at least every third year by a reserve study professional and based upon a visual site inspection conducted by the reserve study professional.”
Communities created before July 1, 2018 may still be partly under the older acts until January 1, 2028 (how that works).
- 2026Site visit
A reserve study professional walks the property. The first study can instead rest on plans, for buildings not yet built.
- 2027Annual update
Balances, costs and contributions brought up to date. No visit required.
- 2028Annual update
The same again, ready for the budget the board adopts.
- 2029Site visit
The update is prepared by a professional from a fresh visual inspection.
- 2030Annual update
The cycle carries on.
- 2031Annual update
Each update feeds the budget summary owners receive before they ratify the budget.
- 2032Site visit
And again, at least every third year.
Professional study from a visual site inspectionAnnual update; a desk review is enough
Firms that name Seattle
These firms name Seattle, King County or the surrounding region on their own websites.
| Firm | Based | Works in | Credentials stated | From its own website |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bach Associates | Bellevue | Washington | RS | David Bach & Associates; reserve studies since 1999. |
| Reserve Studies NW | Renton | Washington | Not stated | Level 1, 2 and 3 studies; names King, Snohomish, Pierce, Thurston, Mason and Kitsap counties. |
| Facilities Advisors | Edmonds office | Washington, Oregon and seven more states | RS | Says it has prepared reserve studies since 1982; the Edmonds office covers Washington and Oregon. |
National firms that say they work in every state: Association Reserves, Reserve Advisors, MillerDodson Associates, Reserve Data Analysis, Global Solution Partners, Apex Reserve Group. See all firms in Washington.