San Mateo: No gas for new builds

The council could decide to adopt an all-electric reach code that applies to all types of new construction in the city or just multifamily residential buildings.

Aside from Councilwoman Diane Papan, who endorsed the all-electric mandate for low-rise and mid-rise multifamily buildings specifically, councilmembers did not specify which types of construction they want to be subject to the new rule during the meeting. 

While councilmembers seemed to agree that all-electric construction is largely cheaper than natural gas based on various cost effectiveness studies, several speakers during the public comment portion of the meeting said that’s not always the case —particularly with respect to construction of affordable housing.

“Financing for affordable housing is limited. In the near term all electric construction might pose a challenge for affordable housing construction,” said resident Alan Mattlage.

Persuaded by the argument, Councilwoman Amourence Lee said she’d like the reach code to be flexible enough to avoid that potential problem.

“I think there’s an important point in terms of creating some flexibility in the case that it could be somewhat of a deterrent for our affordable housing projects,” she said. “Maybe there’s a nuance we can find in the crafting of the policy that would allow for a preferred electric option for a 100% affordable housing project. I think that could be a good middle ground.”

Councilmembers also expressed interest in revisiting and potentially strengthening the reach code they adopted last year, which recommends but doesn’t mandate all-electric new construction. A reach code stays in effect for three years at a time.  

During the meeting, Sustainability Analyst Andrea Chow noted buildings account for 40% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions and natural gas generates 80 times more pollution than electric energy.

She also said one of the main reasons why moving toward electricity is important in San Mateo is because “we have very clean electricity provided by Peninsula Clean Energy so we’re really able to minimize emissions from electricity and almost make it greenhouse gas free.”

As with the previous set of reach codes, building electrification reach codes need to be filed with the California Energy Commission (CEC), which also requires a 60-day comment period, according to a staff report. The ordinance would go into effect after council adoption and CEC approval.

All of the city’s adopted reach codes expire at the end of the 2019 code cycle on Dec. 31, 2022, and would need to be reviewed and readopted for the next code cycle that begins Jan. 1, 2023, according to the report.

In other business, the council also directed staff to draft an ordinance requiring safe gun storage in the city. The new rule will require guns being stored at home to be in a locked container or affixed with a locking device. A violation of the rule could cost $1,000.

The council also unanimously agreed to extend a moratorium on evictions of small businesses impacted by COVID-19 to Sept. 30.

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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