All new building construction in Burlingame will require electric appliances as the city steps away from natural gas and looks to address greenhouse gas emissions.
During Monday’s meeting, the City Council approved an ordinance updating its energy reach codes, fully electrifying all new residential and commercial buildings and large remodels when the building adds on an additional 50% in mass, by removing indoor and outdoor gas cooking ranges and fireplaces for future construction projects beginning in 2023.
Additionally, the energy code update requires charging stations for electric vehicles in hotels while requiring EV ready outlets in newly constructed single and multifamily homes.
During Monday’s meeting, Dashiell Leeds, conservation organizer for the Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter, supports the city’s move to remove natural gas from new construction projects.
“Gas pipelines are poison, they make new construction more expensive, they make our homes more dangerous to live in and they poison our future in regards to fighting climate change,” Leeds said.
Councilmember Donna Colson questioned the need for EV charging stations for 100% affordable housing developments that are not required to have parking.
Peninsula Clean Energy program manager Phillip Kobernick addressed Colson’s question and clarified code requirements.
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“The reach codes do not require the creation of parking spaces, so if there are no parking spaces then it wouldn’t require the development to address the need for EV charging stations,” Kobernick said.
In 2020, the city adopted reach codes that required new commercial and multifamily residential developments to use electric appliances for heating, cooling and cooking, with some exceptions including single-family homes; and install electric vehicle infrastructure and solar power. However, the state’s new building code encourages new developments to opt for all-electric designs and high-efficiency heat pumps for space and water heating, according to the staff report.
To come up with the updated codes, the city worked with Peninsula Clean Energy — a local joint powers authority providing energy for San Mateo County and the city of Los Banos, founded in 2016 — to offer lower and more sustainable energy. While PCE provides the electricity, Pacific Gas and Electric does the billing and also maintains the infrastructure.
Burlingame’s reach codes were adopted as part of the 2019 building code cycle, and will expire at the end of 2022. If the City Council wishes to continue applying reach codes beyond 2022, the city must adopt new codes by the end of the year, according to the report.
The City Council will return the ordinance for a second reading before it is published and implemented.
Ho-hum, another day, another city virtue signaling about electrification without telling us where this magic electricity will come from… Let me summarize what this electrification will accomplish… nothing. Absolutely nothing in terms of emissions, as emissions are still happily generated by fossil-fuel generating plants to provide electricity for another “electric” city. Unfortunately, this idiotic ordinance only increases the costs of residential and commercial building. Huzzah for Burlingame for winning the virtue-signaling award today!
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Ho-hum, another day, another city virtue signaling about electrification without telling us where this magic electricity will come from… Let me summarize what this electrification will accomplish… nothing. Absolutely nothing in terms of emissions, as emissions are still happily generated by fossil-fuel generating plants to provide electricity for another “electric” city. Unfortunately, this idiotic ordinance only increases the costs of residential and commercial building. Huzzah for Burlingame for winning the virtue-signaling award today!
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