Focus

Long Beach votes to oppose SB 50, which seeks to address the state’s housing crisis, due to issues of local control

■Press-Telegram - May 7

The Long Beach City Council voted this Tuesday to formally oppose Senate Bill 50 (SB 50), which aims to help address the state’s housing crisis by encouraging more building near transit corridors and in “jobs-rich” areas. Councilman Al Austin and Councilwoman Stacy Mungo, who co-authored the item, said Long Beach has recently proven its ability to add more housing without disrupting the character of the city’s neighborhoods with the hotly contested discussions over Long Beach’s land-use element. Austin said that SB 50, which would preempt some local zoning rules to allow higher density even in single-family neighborhoods, would nullify that type of city-specific work that should be in the hands of local leaders.

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News

California to fine developer $25 million for building pricey Santa Monica hotel

■Los Angeles Daily News - May 8

A developer could be hit Wednesday with a record $25 million in fines and fees for constructing a high-priced hotel on the Southern California coast after initially obtaining a permit for a property with moderately priced rooms, in what state officials called a “bait-and-switch” building scheme. Sunshine Enterprises violated a state law that enshrines public access to beach areas, according to the California Coastal Commission. The agency staff is recommending approval of a $15.5 million penalty — the largest in its 40-year history, said commission supervisor Andrew Willis. Commissioners could recommend an additional $9.5 million in mitigation fees to make up the loss in low-cost lodging, he said.

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Living Building Challenge group relaxes requirements

■Engineering News-Record - May 8

The International Living Future Institute (ILFI), steward of the world’s most demanding sustainable-building program, on a course to scale up the number of participants and scale down the rigors of its Living Building Challenge, recently introduced a less rigorous option for LBC certification, called Core Green Building Certification. ILFI also announced the first participants, including Salesforce, in a new ILFI program for zero-energy and zero-carbon certification that targets real-estate portfolios rather than individual buildings. The latest version of the 13-year-old standard is designed to direct 80 percent of the effort into 80 percent of the impact. LBC 4.0 grew out of the realization that the seven-petal, or category, program scares away owners and tires participants with its strict performance imperatives for net-zero annual water and energy use and for responsible material use.

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DOE partners on zero-carbon retrofits for the multifamily building sector

■Energy Manager Today - May 6

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) are partnering with the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) to catalyze the development of a speedy and scalable process for zero-carbon retrofits in the multifamily sector. Supported by a $500,000 Department of Energy Building America award and $7.2 million CEC Electric Program Investment Charge grant, the three-year collaboration will develop pilot projects—totaling approximately 500,000 square feet—in multifamily buildings across California, Minnesota, and Massachusetts. America’s 125 million residential units account for approximately 20 percent of the country’s total carbon emissions, but only roughly 12,500 of these units (0.01 percent) are operating at net zero energy.

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California's latest weapon against climate change is low-tech farm soil

■NPR - May 2

Electric cars and solar panels are the most visible signs of California's ambitious climate change policies. Now the state is setting its sights on a lower-tech way to cut carbon emissions: soil. California is spending millions of dollars to help farmers grow plants, which absorb carbon and help move it into the soil where it can be stored long-term. This makes California home to some of the first official "carbon farmers" in the country. Before leaving office, Governor Jerry Brown set a goal for California to be carbon neutral by 2045. California's Healthy Soils initiative is now in its third year, and it's designed to be part of the state's climate strategy. A state report finds that farms and forests could absorb as much as 20 percent of California's current level of emissions.

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Why solar makes sense for schools

■Solar Industry Magazine - May 7

A new study says solar deployed at schools across the country is an under-tapped resource that could help shrink electricity bills. The study, published in the April issue of the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research Letters, says that taking advantage of all viable space for solar panels could allow schools to meet up to 75 percent of their electricity needs and reduce the education sector’s carbon footprint by as much as 28 percent. New solar projects may easily slip down the list of priorities in a time of widespread protests by teachers calling for increased school funding, smaller class sizes and higher wages, the study explains. But the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that K-12 schools spend more than $6 billion per year on energy, and energy costs in many districts are second only to salaries. In the higher-education sector, yearly energy costs add up to more than $14 billion.

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