News
Apple taps first $400 million of $2.5 billion California housing pledge
The Mercury News – July 13
Apple announced this Monday that it has committed $400 million to affordable housing projects this year across California, including immediate assistance for struggling Bay Area tenants and four, new low-income projects across the region. The short-term aid and construction projects mark the first installment of the tech giant’s $2.5 billion commitment to address the state’s housing crisis. The corporate funds come amid growing concerns for short-term housing security during the health crisis, on top of the decades-long, growing deficit of affordable housing for low and very-low income residents. California planners estimate the state has a shortfall of at least 1.7 million affordable housing units, coupled with the highest development costs in the nation, according to a recent report from UC Berkley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation.
San Francisco supervisors delay major rezoning that would add thousands of housing units to ‘Hub’ area
San Francisco Examiner – July 20
City supervisors on Monday delayed a major rezoning plan known as ‘The Hub” that is expected to bring thousands of new housing units to the area around Van Ness and Market Street. Supervisor Dean Preston introduced a motion at the Land Use and Transportation Committee to put the redevelopment plan on pause for the next six months while City Hall conducts a racial and social equity analysis. The San Francisco Planning Commission in May approved the Hub plan, which is expected to bring about 15,000 residents to the area. Under the plan, the new height limits approved for 18 projects where the Western Addition, South of Market, Civic Center, and Mission neighborhoods meet would bring an estimated $964 million in public benefits through affordable housing, transit, childcare, and other fees. The proposed delay was met with concern from some housing advocates, who don’t want to imperil thousands of housing units and expected public benefits.
1.4 million homes have accessory dwelling units, Freddie Mac says
HousingWire – July 21
Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) have grown in demand exponentially since the 1950s. According to research from Freddie Mac, there are 1.4 million single-family properties with ADUs. They were identified using a national-level dataset of 600 million Multiple Listing Service transactions dating back to the late 1990s, the report said. California, Florida, Texas, and Georgia account for half of the 1.4 million ADUs in the U.S., according to Freddie Mac. Between 2009 and 2019, the number of first-time listings of ADUs grew an average of 8.6% year over year, Freddie Mac said.
Southern California Edison begins major rollout of chargers for electric buses and trucks
Greentech Media – July 13
Southern California Edison (SCE) has broken ground on a major charging investment for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, despite the ongoing pandemic. The $356 million Charge Ready Transport program will see SCE laying the groundwork for at least 870 commercial charging stations over the next five years, expected to be capable of powering at least 8,490 vehicles. It constitutes a considerable early utility foray into charging infrastructure at a time when utilities across the country are figuring out what role they should play in the emerging overlap between the electric grid and the transportation sector.
Deloitte study: U.S. businesses face increased energy management pressure
Environmental Leader - July 10
U.S. business leaders responding to the 10th annual Deloitte Resources Study indicated that they expect to remain committed to climate and renewable energy efforts — despite the pandemic and resulting economic crisis. The study found that COVID-19 might actually be partially responsible for driving more efforts to manage energy use, reduce carbon emissions, and address climate change. One key trend that the study identified was rising stakeholder pressure on businesses to address climate change. Nearly 6 in 10 businesses surveyed expressed that they feel increased pressure to disclose climate risks and, of those, 9 out of 10 reviewed or changed their disclosure procedures and developed plans to address those risks, Deloitte said.
S.F. building owners may get an extra year for quake retrofits
San Francisco Chronicle – July 14
Hundreds of San Francisco property owners will have an extra year to meet the city’s seismic retrofit requirements under an ordinance Supervisor Rafael Mandelman introduced this Tuesday. The measure, which will delay the soft-story retrofit deadline until September 15, 2021, is meant to provide relief to the owners and tenants of 415 buildings at a time when small businesses are reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, Mandelman said. The buildings are all residential, and most have ground-floor commercial spaces. Introduced in 2013, the Department of Building Inspection’s mandatory soft-story retrofit program applies to wood-frame residential buildings that contain a “soft” ground floor — typically a retail space or garage — that makes the building susceptible to earthquake damage.
Caltrain faces possible shutdown after failure of local tax measure
SFGate – July 15
Caltrain faces a potential shutdown of its rail commuter line after a bid to put a sales tax on the November ballot failed. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors declined to support the measure at a meeting this week. A sales tax in the three counties where the rail line operates — San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara — would have provided a new revenue stream to keep train service afloat. Before a shelter-in-place order was issued by the state of California in mid-March, Caltrain had seen its ridership double in the last 15 years with trains transporting nearly 65,000 daily riders. Since the pandemic, ridership has dramatically dropped, with about 1,500 riders per day at its lowest point.
|