Sustainable Development Focus
THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE - May 9 The California Energy Commission (CEC) passed a first-in-the nation rule Wednesday, mandating all new homes constructed in the state be equipped with solar panels. Under the rule, which will go into effect on January 1, 2020, solar photovoltaic (PV) systems will be installed on every house that receives a building permit, as well as condominiums and apartments up to three stories high. Homes that are shaded by trees or taller buildings, as well as houses with roofs too small to accommodate a PV system, will be eligible for exceptions or alternatives to the mandate. The updated building code also includes stricter efficiency standards on lighting, ventilation, windows, walls, and attics for non-residential as well as residential structures. According to CEC estimates, the new standards will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 700,000 metric tons during the course of the three-year cycle, equivalent to taking 115,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road.
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY EXECUTIVE - May 7 A ceremonial groundbreaking was held for the California Military Department’s new $135 million Consolidated Headquarters Complex (CHQC) in Rancho Cordova, near Sacramento. The 285,000-square-foot, multi-building campus will be home to all four of the department’s “four pillars”: the California Army National Guard, California Air National Guard, California State Military Reserve, and California Youth and Community Programs. The project is targeting LEED Gold certification and will include on-site renewable energy generated by a photovoltaic array that will also serve as shade for parking structures. The CHQC is one of the first large new zero-net energy projects to be undertaken by the State of California after the issuance of Gov. Jerry Brown’s Executive Order B-18-12 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency in the state.
VENTURA COUNTY STAR - Apr 26 The Thousand Oaks City Council last week added 1,088 potential new residential units into the city’s slow-growth measure’s “bank” for possible future development by approving amendments to the land use element of the city’s general plan and zone changes for seven residential neighborhoods to adjust their density downward to match their existing density. The adjustments result in 1,088 potential new residential units being added into Measure E’s “bank” for possible development elsewhere in the city. Measure E is a growth-control law for residential and commercial land uses approved by voters and the council in 1996.
PROUD GREEN BUILDING - May 3 Fans attending the first match at the Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles may not realize the stadium has hit its goal of LEED certification. Home to the Los Angeles Football Club, the 22,000-seat stadium is on the former site of the Los Angeles Sports Arena, near the USC campus. Part of the stadium's green initiatives were centered around sustainable transportation, reported the Orange County Register. Metrolink riders can take the Expo Line to the Expo Park/USC station, and five percent of parking near the stadium will have electric vehicle recharging stations.
RENO GAZETTE JOURNAL - May 7 An American Indian tribe with deep roots in the Lake Tahoe basin is seeking to reclaim land that’s part of a Nevada resort area. The Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California wants to ask Congress for nearly 375 acres of federal land in Incline Village. The property includes land that’s part of Diamond Peak Ski Resort and along fairways at Incline Village Championship Golf Course. Tribal chairman Neil Mortimer made the request as part of an effort by Washoe County to shift thousands of acres from federal to private or local government ownership. The tribe’s request is a duplicate of a request from the Incline Village General Improvement District, the entity that operates the ski area and golf course. Incline Village and county officials had been working together since 2016 to include the U.S. Forest Service-owned property in a draft of a lands bill that county officials would submit to Congress.
LOS ANGELES TIMES - May 2 The Los Angeles City Council unanimously backed a set of proposed rules last Wednesday that would allow Angelenos to host night-to-night rentals only in their own homes but bar them from renting out a house or apartment for short stays if it is not their primary residence. The decision comes years after some Los Angeles lawmakers first called for the city to regulate such short-term rentals, which have boomed with the rise of online platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO. But the rules still must be vetted by the L.A. Planning Commission, whose members are appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti, before the council can vote them into law.
