Sustainable Development Focus
LOS ANGELES TIMES - Jul 3 The Los Angeles City Council approved plans last Tuesday to allow taller residential and commercial buildings near five Expo Line stations on the Westside, setting a possible precedent for future decisions about development along the region’s growing Metro rail network. The zoning plan represents a compromise between housing advocates and neighborhood groups, which clashed over how much growth should occur along the area’s major roads, many of which are dotted with low-slung commercial strips, gas stations, and industrial sites. The city will allow taller office towers, apartment buildings, and developments that are a mix of both along Olympic Boulevard, Venice Boulevard, and other main streets between Culver City and Centinela Avenue. The plan will also rezone swaths of industrial land near several stations to allow housing and office space.
THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE - Jun 29 San Diego is expanding its plan to use “live-work” spaces to ease the city’s housing crisis and get commuters off the road. City officials say it’s one of the quickest and cheapest ways to boost the local supply of affordable housing. In March, the City Council loosened zoning and other regulations governing live-work spaces, but city officials say they didn’t go far enough. A council committee in late June unanimously approved shrinking the minimum size for a live-work space from 750 square feet to 500 square feet, and increasing the portion of a live-work space that can be residential from 33 percent to 49 percent. The amendments, which were approved by the council’s Smart Growth and Land Use Committee, would also allow live-work spaces in additional San Diego neighborhoods. The proposal to further loosen live-work space restrictions is expected to be presented to the full council for approval next month.
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER - Jul 9 In 2012, San Francisco began regulating onsite non-potable water systems in buildings and later required them in new construction. Today, there are 80 such systems operating or under development that will save a combined 89 million gallons of drinking water annually. By comparison, San Francisco residents use around 65 million gallons of potable water each day. To boost this water conservation effort, which grew in popularity during the last California drought, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is voting Tuesday on a proposal to expand its grant incentive program for building owners to install non-potable water systems to include smaller buildings and also breweries. The systems capture rainwater or water from such things as bathroom sinks or toilets then treat it for reuse in toilet flushing and irrigation.
GREENBIZ - Jul 5 Oakland, California-based Kaiser Permanente hosts solar panels on close to 50 sites — a number that could double in the next two years at facilities it owns outright in its operating territory. These onsite installations will include energy storage technology whenever possible, as the company applies technical and economic learnings from an innovative microgrid project at its Richmond, California, medical center. The project is (so far) the only renewable energy-fueled microgrid at a California hospital. Kaiser Permanente’s investments in renewable power, both on its owned facilities and through virtual power purchase agreements, are part of the health care group’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2020 and to reduce more greenhouse gases than it emits by 2025 (become "carbon positive"), Seth Baruch, national director of energy and utilities for Kaiser Permanente said.
URBAN LAND - Jul 2 The rising popularity of walking and bicycling and widespread availability of ride-hailing services have all reduced the need for individuals to own—and park—cars. At the same time, costs of construction are at historic highs in dense urban areas, creating a challenge for developers to meet housing demand. Individual unit sizes are shrinking in response, allowing for greater density in urban areas. However, with smaller units, the number of parking spaces goes up, too, if traditional parking ratios hold. High construction expenses result in a very high per-space cost for parking spaces. In response to these factors, cities around the United States are eliminating minimum parking requirements for new developments. For example, San Francisco has established parking maximums for downtown and nearby areas well served by public transit, capping the amount of parking that developers are allowed to build for multifamily housing.
SOLAR POWER WORLD - Jul 9 Soltage has completed three solar projects for the Grossmont Union High School District, totaling 3.2 megawatts. These projects were developed utilizing a combination of carport and ground mounted solar arrays and worked within the dense construction footprint of Southern California to maximize the size of the solar arrays, which serve the Granite Hills High School, Steele Canyon High School, and the Helix Charter High School. The solar arrays provide enough electricity to offset 95 percent of each school’s energy needs on an annual basis.
