Focus
Proposed California law would fast-track environmentally sustainable transit
San Francisco Chronicle – June 15
Transportation projects focused on public transit, bikes, and pedestrians would get fast-tracked for construction under a bill that Senator Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, introduced on Monday. His goal is two-fold: ramp up sustainable transportation and stimulate the economy. SB288, the Sustainable Transportation COVID-19 Recovery Act, would exempt “sustainable” transportation projects from challenges under CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act, which mandates environmental protection as part of decision-making for all kinds of construction. The bill would not benefit projects that help put more cars on the road. Instead it targets updated and new transit stations, bus rapid transit lines, safer streets for biking and walking, and repairs for bridge and transit storage facilities.
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News
California crafts pilot program to reduce building emissions
Utility Dive – June 16
California energy regulators are crafting a pilot program to provide building owners and developers with incentives to deploy technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as customer bills in new residential buildings. The Building Initiative for Low-Emissions Development program is "one of our major clean energy initiatives," Clifford Rechtschaffen, commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), said at a joint agency workshop Monday. The pilot will also have a strong focus on equity, "given the economic dislocation and the economic disparities laid bare by COVID," he added. The California Energy Commission intends to provide the CPUC with an implementation plan for the program on July 24, with a launch scheduled for the second quarter of 2021.
An ‘empty homes’ tax could go before L.A. voters in November
Los Angeles Times – June 16
The Los Angeles City Council took a first step this Tuesday toward asking voters to approve a new tax on empty homes, directing city lawyers to draft the measure ahead of a looming deadline. But the council has not made a final decision to put the tax on the November ballot, in the face of an ongoing debate about how such a tax should work and how it would affect Angelenos. The vacancy tax has been proposed as a way to nudge landlords to put vacant apartments back on the market and generate revenue for affordable housing. Backers of the idea, including tenant and housing advocates, have pointed to Vancouver, Canada, where such a tax was credited with bringing empty homes back into use, as a success story. The council now faces a July 1 deadline to decide whether to put the proposed measure on the November ballot.
San Luis Obispo City Council passes energy policy encouraging all-electric new buildings
The Tribune - June 17
After two years of planning, meetings, and policy draft changes, the San Luis Obispo City Council unanimously passed a new energy framework supporting all-electric new buildings. The council voted 4-0 in favor of “clean energy choice” for new buildings, moving forward with city legislation that encourages all-electric energy use. The council has a target of 2035 carbon neutrality, 10 years ahead of a California net-zero energy goal of reducing as much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere as possible, with the overall goal to achieve a zero carbon footprint.
San Jose developers get reassurance from Mayor Liccardo amid concerns over fees
The Mercury News – June 16
Amid concerns from the development community about potential retroactive construction fees, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo has issued a memo designed to alleviate “confusion and concern” about city rules regarding the levies. “Due to the historically unprecedented impacts of COVID-19 on construction lending and the longer-term unknowns in the commercial office real estate market, it is critical for the City of San Jose to provide clarity and a degree of certainty to builders wherever possible,” Mayor Liccardo wrote in a new memo connected with caps on development fees in a section of western downtown San Jose. Mayor Liccardo issued the clarification after business executives raised the specter of stalled or aborted development projects due to the prospect of retroactive building fees.
City of Santa Monica maps first U.S. zero-emission delivery zone
GreenBiz – June 17
Santa Monica could become the first zero-emission delivery zone in the country. That means every good delivered in the region, from food to packages, would be transported in a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV), whether that's an electric delivery van, a hydrogen fuel cell truck, or an e-cargo bike. The new pilot project — which includes a one-square-mile area of Santa Monica's downtown corridor — is under development by the city and the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator. Los Angeles' green leaders hope to use learnings from the initiative to expand ZEV zones to other Los Angeles regions such as Culver City, Pasadena, and downtown L.A.
U.S. clean energy sector loses 18% of jobs during pandemic
Reuters – June 15
The U.S. clean energy sector has lost more than 620,000 jobs, or 18 percent of its work force, as stay-at-home orders and a weakened economy have slowed demand for solar panels and energy-efficient systems and curbed production of electric vehicles and clean fuels, a report published on Monday showed. The industry lost 27,000 jobs in May, a slower rate of decline than in April and March, when states first implemented lockdown orders to combat the spread of the coronavirus, according to the analysis of U.S. unemployment data conducted by BW Research Partnership. The report warned that many of the sector’s jobs are being supported by a federal program to help cover the payroll costs of small businesses hurt by the COVID-19 disruption. The expiration of that program “may result in a fresh round of layoffs in clean energy if there is no further intervention,” it said.
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