A Climate Schedule Order is a DOB-approved adjusted Local Law 97 compliance pathway for buildings that can document good-faith pursuit, technical infeasibility, or financial hardship. It restructures the compliance timeline with reduced or deferred penalties during the schedule period — it is not a permanent exemption.
No. A CSO restructures the compliance timeline with reduced or deferred penalties during the schedule period; the building is still expected to come into compliance on the adjusted schedule. The DOB monitors progress against the milestones in the order.
When the building cannot meet the 2030 cap with reasonable effort — typically due to landmarked-building restrictions on envelope work, steam-loop or structural constraints, or documented financial hardship that makes a single-period retrofit infeasible. The decision should be supported by an engineering decarbonization study and a board resolution.
Engineering documentation of the building's current emissions profile and the technical barriers to compliance, an adopted capital plan with cost and timeline, financing evidence (PACE, green loan, reserve plan), and board minutes documenting the analysis and decision. Verify the current application procedure with NYC DOB — the rule has been updated repeatedly since LL97 took effect.