News
S.F. approves legislation requiring renewable electricity sources for commercial buildings
San Francisco Chronicle – September 17
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors this Tuesday approved an ordinance that requires commercial buildings over 50,000 square feet to begin relying on electricity generated from renewable sources. The legislation, introduced by Mayor London Breed, was passed by unanimous vote and amends existing environment code for all non-residential buildings. The ordinance requires the city’s largest buildings, more than 500,000 square feet, to rely fully on renewable electricity by 2022. In 2024, buildings larger than 50,000 square feet will have to start converting to renewable electricity. The goal is to have all those buildings using renewable electricity by 2030.
San Jose moves to ban natural gas in new residential buildings
Reuters - September 17
San Jose, the 10th most populous U.S. city and political center of Silicon Valley, this Tuesday moved to ban natural gas in most new residential buildings beginning next year. With a unanimous vote by the 10-member city council and Mayor Sam Liccardo, San Jose became the largest U.S. city so far to seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by favoring appliances that run on renewable electricity sources over those powered by natural gas. As expected, the city council adopted new building codes that favor electrification over natural gas during a meeting broadcast on San Jose’s official website. But the vote also required the council to return next month with an ordinance that would go further by banning natural gas in most new homes. Mayor Liccardo had pushed for the stricter rules in recent days.
California lawmakers send ADU legislation to Governor Newsom
The Sacramento Bee – September 17
They used to be called granny flats. Now, they are billed as a secret element to solving California’s housing crisis. Striving for ways to boost housing, California legislators have sent two controversial bills to Governor Gavin Newsom that would make it easier for homeowners to turn garages into rental units or build cottage apartments in the backyard. Assembly Bill 68, authored by San Francisco Assembly member Phil Ting, would, in part, limit cities’ ability to say no when a homeowner files for permits to build second units that are less than 850 square feet in size and 16 feet in height. Senate Bill 13, sponsored by Senator Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, would eliminate or reduce development impact fees cities charge homeowners who want to add an in-law unit. It also will eliminate some cities’ requirements that the property owners reside in the main house if they build a rental unit on their property.
Approved affordable housing project in Cambria hits another snag with Coastal Commission
The Tribune - September 17
People’s Self-Help Housing’s proposed affordable-housing units at 2845 Schoolhouse Lane in Cambria in San Luis Obispo County have hit another snag: California’s Coastal Commissioners agreed on September 11 that they want a full review of the development before it can proceed, given Cambria’s current water-supply issues and other concerns. The appeals have pitted two critical Cambria needs against each other in the small coastal community: a severe lack of worker housing and not having enough water for development, despite the services district’s brackish-water-treating Sustainable Water Project, which is itself caught up in the county-permit process.
Mission Valley approved for massive overhaul
The San Diego Union-Tribune – September 10
City leaders have set in motion a 30-year plan for Mission Valley that flips the region’s focus from its roads to the San Diego River and the trolley system. It simultaneously creates room for 50,000 additional residents and 7 million more square feet of commercial development. In early September, the City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Mission Valley Community Plan Update and certify the associated environmental impact report. The approval is the last needed in a process that dates to 2015, when city planners first teamed with community members to come up with a new framework for Mission Valley. The updated document replaces a plan that was adopted in 1985 and contributed to the town’s highly commercial, auto-centric character.
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