Name: San Mateo council adopts new rules to go all-electric
Brand: smdailyjournal.com
SKU: smdailyjournal-com-96
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

San Mateo council adopts new rules to go all-electric

preview

Please to continue reading.×Thank you for visiting the Daily Journal.We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.×To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!Please purchase an Enhanced Subscription to continue reading.Your current subscription does not provide access to this content.DIGITAL ACCESS to all our award winning content onlineCommenting capabilities on every storyAccess to our daily e-edition for the past 90 issuesThe good feeling of supporting real, local news in your community$99.00for 365 daysRatePriceDuration1 Year$99.00for 365 days6 Months$72.00for 180 days3 Months$45.00for 90 days1 Month$20.00for 30 days1 Week$8.25for 7 days$60.00for 365 daysRatePriceDuration1 Year$60.00for 365 days6 Months$42.00for 180 days3 Months$27.00for 90 days1 Month$12.00for 30 days1 Week$5.00for 7 daysThank you for visiting our booth at the Rediscover San Mateo Community Fest! Enjoy one free month of access to the San Mateo Daily Journal's website and e-edition. Offer expires September 15, 2022, so sign up today!You have permission to edit this article.Welcome,The San Mateo City Council on Monday unanimously adopted reach codes requiring new residential and office developments be all-electric.That means those types of projects will not be allowed to be constructed with gas hookups once the new rules take effect likely in January 2021. The rules apply to single-family homes and duplexes as well as multi-family developments, and do not apply to existing buildings.“At this moment in time it’s cheaper, safer and better for us to push in that all-electric direction,” said Mayor Joe Goethals during Monday’s meeting. “Economists talk about curbing behavior with nudging people in the right direction. We’re at the point where our crisis with the environment is such that we have to forcibly violently shove people in the right direction.”The new rules replace reach codes adopted by the council in 2019 that encourage, but do not require building electrification in new single-family and duplex homes as well as office buildings.The ordinance focuses on commercial buildings with offices because that’s the primary type of commercial use in the city and no challenges in electrifying office space came up during the city’s stakeholder outreach, according to a report prepared by staff.The reach codes will not apply to other commercial uses such as hospital, manufacturing or retail, including restaurants. Based on stakeholder feedback, city staff determined electrifying those types of buildings would be too challenging, according to the report.The reach codes also include an exemption for 100% affordable housing projects, but will apply to accessory dwelling units — both topics of discussion during the meeting. Councilmembers requested language in the reach codes that encourage electrifying 100% affordable housing projects, but they didn’t want to make that preference a requirement out of fear it might render such projects economically infeasible.“For affordable housing, a subtle increase in financing could really torpedo a whole project,” said Assistant City Manager Kathy Kleinbaum.Diane Bailey, executive director of the environmental advocacy nonprofit Menlo Spark, argued against an affordable housing exception during the public comment portion of the meeting.“We know [the 100% affordable housing exception] is very well intentioned, but it creates a massive equity disparity between low-income families and those with greater means,” she said. “That’s because allowing affordable housing projects to continue using dirty and dangerous fossil gas shifts all the safety risk and pollution onto the low-income families who move into those buildings.”Bailey added that the shift toward electric appliances will cause the price of gas to rise sharply, leaving low-income residents in affordable housing paying disproportionately higher utility bills.Every other speaker during public comment supported the proposed ordinance and many cited climate change as the justification.“In addition to the pandemic natural disasters are destroying property and claiming lives, wildfires are tearing through California and we’ve already gone through the alphabet for hurricane naming and all fingers point to climate change. … I’m kind of terrified about what the future has in store for me,” said Justin Hwang, a college student living in San Mateo. “When I see my city doing all it can to ameliorate the climate crisis I can’t thank you all enough.”The council will consider the reach codes on second reading at its next regular meeting and then the new rules by law are subject to a 60-day public comment period. If approved by the council and California Energy Commission, the reach codes will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2021.Reach codes expire after a three-year cycle, with the current one ending on Dec. 31, 2022. The council will then have to readopt reach codes for future building cycles.(650) 344-5200 ext. 102Editor,×××Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,racist or sexually-oriented language.PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.Don't Threaten. Threats of harming anotherperson will not be tolerated.Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyoneor anything.Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ismthat is degrading to another person.Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link oneach comment to let us know of abusive posts.Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitnessaccounts, the history behind an article.Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.Error! There was an error processing your request.If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now!© Copyright 2022 , 1720 S. Amphlett Blvd., Suite 123 San Mateo, CA&nbsp;| &nbsp;|Powered by from .

Please to continue reading.×Thank you for visiting the Daily Journal.We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.×To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our...

San Mateo council adopts new rules to go all-electric

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS