San Francisco becomes the 40th city statewide to legislate a ban on natural gas in development projects.
San Francisco has followed in Berkeley's historic 2019 footsteps to place a city-wide ban on the use of natural gas in new buildings.
"In a meeting on Tuesday, the city's Board of Supervisors passed legislation requiring new residential and commercial building construction to utilize all-electric power, starting with projects that file permits next year," reports Kristin Musulin.
The ordinance comes as part of an ongoing effort on the part of city officials to reduce climate change-fueling carbon dioxide emissions, says District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, connecting the state's brutal 2020 wildfire season to the destructive effects of climate change.
"The board's unanimous vote concludes nearly a year of deliberation with the Zero Emissions Building Taskforce, Mandelman said, which brought together affordable housing and mixed-use developers, architects and engineers, labor and building trades and community advocates to craft the legislation," writes Musulin.
Since Berkeley passed a groundbreaking gas banning ordinance in 2019, 40 cities in California have followed suit. Musulin reports that ordinance proponents are now looking to large cities like Los Angeles to pass gas ban legislation and for Governor Gavin Newsom to champion statewide legislation.
Musulin's article lays out several lines of reasoning for San Francisco's recent ordinance and describes how "a shift to all-electric construction can be done incrementally to ensure it doesn't overburden industries."
FULL STORY: San Francisco's gas ban on new buildings could prompt statewide action
The High Cost of Curbside Electric Vehicle Charging
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Bay Area Not Prepared for Next Big One
As the death toll from Mexico's 7.1 magnitude earthquake on Sept. 19 climbs above 300, the San Francisco Chronicle investigates how well prepared the Bay Area is for an earthquake of comparable magnitude. Not very well.
Cities Try To Figure Out How To Be 'Resilient'
The organization 100 Resilient Cities has funded 'chief resilience officers' in 66 cities worldwide. It's helping four California cities prepare for 'stresses and shocks' including earthquakes, sea level rise, and even poverty.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
The City of Santa Clarita just celebrated the grand opening of its 38th park, the 10.5-acre Skyline Ranch Park.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
How Urban Form Impacts Housing Affordability
The way we design cities affects housing costs differently than you might think.
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