San Mateo avoids legal challenges with energy codes

Berkeley passed one of the strictest requirements in 2019, which explicitly banned natural gas infrastructure in new developments, and while the code was struck down in 2023, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals finalized the decision earlier this year. 

Since then, many cities, including San Mateo, have reevaluated and subsequently suspended their own reach codes while working with Peninsula Clean Energy, a public electricity provider throughout the county, to construct more legally defensible policies. 

The city’s new reach codes would be in effect until the state’s latest, and mandatory, building codes go into effect in January 2026 — at which point, the city would evaluate what, if any, additional codes it would like to update.

Instead of explicitly requiring that new construction is all-electric, the new codes require adherence to a certain emissions and compliance score. While attaining the score is technically possible with a mix of gas and electric sources, it is significantly more cost effective to do so with all-electric appliances, according to a staff report. The reach codes would only apply to both space and water heaters, not appliances such as stoves, washer and dryers or fire pits. 

The council unanimously agreed to move forward with the updated reach codes.

“This next year may be very important because if Measure T passes, then we may see some renewed interest in development in our city,” Councilmember Adam Loraine said, referring to the ballot measure that would allow for increased height and density limits in certain parts of the city if passed. 

“A number of buildings may be considered for new construction. We may see a number of new designs, more than we’ve seen in the last four to five years, so I think having a replacement code that seeks to put us back to what we had already passed earlier … is most in line with the city’s goals and values.”

By the time the city’s reach codes get approved by the state and officially adopted by the council, they’ll only be in effect for a little over a year before the state’s new energy codes go into effect. But, according to the report, the reach codes will help San Mateo prepare for the new mandates, both statewide and regionally. The 2025 California code will require new single-family homes to have electric water heaters, as well as individual units in multiresidential buildings, which are more stringent standards compared to the 2022 cycle. 

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has also adopted measures that will prohibit the sale and installation of new, natural gas-fired furnaces or water heaters starting between 2027 and 2029.