Focus
Two affordable housing bills introduced by Assemblymember Marc Berman
San Mateo Daily Journal – February 17
Two bills introduced this week aim to promote affordable housing production. Assembly Bill 2063 would strengthen the state’s longstanding density bonus law, which allows developers to increase residential density above that otherwise permitted by local law in exchange for providing a specified percentage of affordable housing units. Some cities have required developers to pay affordable housing fees for the density bonus units, a practice that would be prohibited by the bill. The second bill, Assembly Bill 2006, would streamline the process required of developers when certifying affordable units with the state.
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News
Biden launches ‘Buy Clean’ task force to boost greener manufacturing
NBC News – February 15
The White House on Tuesday announced a new task force to promote the use of construction materials with lower lifecycle emissions as it works to speed U.S. government purchases of greener products. The move comes after President Joe Biden said in December that the government, which buys goods and services worth more than $650 billion each year, planned to cut its emissions by 65 percent by 2030, on the path to net zero emissions by 2050. The multi-agency “Buy Clean Task Force” will recommend ways to boost federal purchases of clean building materials and identify materials, such as steel and concrete, as well as pollutants to prioritize for consideration in federal government purchases.
Sea level projected to rise a foot on U.S. coasts by 2050
The Hill – February 15
Sea levels along U.S. coasts are projected to rise by up to a foot between now and 2050, an increase equivalent to the rise seen in the past century, according to a report released this Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NOAA projected sea levels will increase 10 to 12 inches, with regional variations, over the next three decades. The increase is projected to be highest along the Gulf Coast, where the report expects an increase of 14-18 inches. On the West Coast, NOAA projected an increase of 4-8 inches.
Proposed California bill would prevent affordable housing from converting to market rates
Spectrum News – February 10
Last Thursday, Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel introduced Assembly Bill 1911, which seeks to preserve affordable housing in the state. More than 31,000 subsidized affordable rental units in California could convert to market rates when state and federal subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit expire within the next decade, according to the California Housing Partnership. If AB 1191 passes, affordable housing owners who are eligible to convert their units to market rates would instead sell them to organizations that would maintain them as affordable housing.
UC Berkeley must slash new enrollment by a third unless Supreme Court intervenes
Berkeleyside – February 14
UC Berkeley will have to significantly reduce new enrollment unless it gets the California Supreme Court to intervene in a lower court ruling, the university said on Monday. About 5,100 fewer students will be offered a place at Cal for the next academic year because of an Alameda County Superior Court ruling that ordered UC Berkeley to freeze enrollment. The California First Court of Appeal turned down the university’s request for a stay of decision last Thursday. The order capping enrollment is the result of a lawsuit filed in 2019 by a neighborhood group arguing that the university needed to study the environmental impacts of increasing its enrollment by more than 30%.
California gets $56 million to expand number of EV charging stations
The Press Democrat – February 10
California’s pressing need for more electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the next decade is getting a boost in the form of $56 million in federal infrastructure funds this year. The state now has nearly 80,000 public and shared private electric vehicle chargers. But it needs far more — nearly 1.2 million chargers to serve the 7.5 million passenger EVs anticipated on state roads by 2030, according to a California Energy Commission report last year.
S.F. supervisor wants to delay Amazon’s proposed expansion by 18 months
San Francisco Chronicle – February 15
A San Francisco Supervisor has introduced legislation that would seek to place an 18-month moratorium on all new parcel delivery services in the city, including Amazon’s proposed 725,000 square foot last-mile logistics center in Showplace Square. Shamann Walton, who represents the neighborhood where the logistics center will be located, introduced the legislation Tuesday.
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