The Durango City Council changed the date builders will need to abide by a more stringent energy conservation Tuesday night.

On a split vote, councilors delayed the date the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code was previously slated to go into effect from July 1 to Oct. 1.

Councilors Chris Bettin, Melissa Youssef and Sweetie Marbury voted for the delay. Mayor Dick White and Councilor Dean Brookie voted against the new date.

Bettin suggested the delay so that the change wouldn’t happen in the middle of building season and to give the building community more time to prepare for the change.

“I would suggest that we wait through the fall when most of the building permits have already been pulled,” Bettin said.

Brookie said the code is three years old and he saw no reason to hesitate in adopting it.

The new energy building code was approved on a split vote in early December after the council heard lengthy arguments from the public.

At the earlier meeting, Youssef supported the code, but on Tuesday, she saw the delay as an important compromise.

“This works well in meeting the needs of the construction community,” she said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com