Maybe by the time you read this, the incessant rain has stopped. I know we need the rain but not this much. It’s another example of climate change. Earth is nearing the tipping point for a hot future (New York Times, 3/21/23). Yet we still read letters from climate deniers in this newspaper. I asked a climate scientist if this rush to build more housing was good for the environment and he said yes if it was dense. An apartment dweller usually uses up less energy than a home dweller.
A housing official told me the following: Since 2017, the state Legislature and governor have enacted more than 100 bills dealing with the shortage of affordable housing in California. The great majority of these bills have dealt with local planning, with the intent to “curb the capacity of local government to deny or reduce the density” of housing developments. While some bills have provided funding for affordable housing, the Legislature has never restored the $1 billion available for affordable housing that was lost in 2012 when the Legislature eliminated redevelopment. Some of the key changes made by the Legislature are these:
• Housing projects can only be denied if they violate “objective” standards like height limits and setbacks.
• Even standards like height limits and setbacks can be waived if the project has as little as 5% affordable housing.
• The Legislature has established statewide planning standards — for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), four units on single-family lots, and housing development in commercial zones — and required that these projects be approved regardless of any local concerns.
What are the results? According to a background paper presented to a Joint Oversight Committee hearing in February, total units constructed in California have decreased since 2017.
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Why is that? Developers surveyed by the Urban Land Institute stated that the main obstacles they face are access to capital and the shortage of construction labor. Construction costs have dramatically increased. Many worker incomes are too low to afford the cost of new housing construction. Despite all of the attention paid in the press to local approvals as the source of the housing problem, all of this demonstrates that, at best, the Legislature’s current focus will have only a minor impact on the state’s housing problems.
***
While the weather may be in the taming stages — April comes in like a lamb — some political battles are just beginning to heat up. The race for Dave Pine’s seat (District 1) in November 2024 has already begun.
The two most powerful contenders are Burlingame Councilmember Emily Beach versus Millbrae Councilmember Gina Papan. Beach has already received the prized endorsement of Congressman Kevin Mullin, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, and former supervisors Carole Groom and Don Horsley while Papan is supported by Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, and of course by sister Assemblymember Diane Papan, and friends of the Papan family including labor leader and San Mateo Councilmember Rich Hedges and San Mateo Councilmember Lisa Diaz Nash. To date, former state Sen. Jerry Hill and current state Sen. Josh Becker have not taken a position. District 1 includes Burlingame, Hillsborough, Millbrae, and portions of San Bruno and South San Francisco; the unincorporated communities of San Mateo Highlands, Baywood Park and Burlingame Hills.
***
I tried without success to listen to the City Council study session before its regular meeting last Monday. I was very interested in the subject of leaf blowers and whether or not the council was going to require all leaf blowers used in the city to change to electric because the gas fumes emitted were contributing to climate change. But the only message on my screen was council meeting in closed session. Very frustrating. The matter is on the agenda for April 3.
Sue Lempert is the former mayor of San Mateo. Her column runs every Monday. She can be reached at sue@smdailyjournal.com.
Dear Sue - I may be one to those whom you call climate deniers. The current wet season is not due to climate change but it is due to a natural cycle. You should be old enough to recall that houses were sliding down the hills in Mills Estates and here in San Mateo after major storms. That was in the 1980s. The Chronicle has reported on several even wetter seasons in the past centuries before the all-inclusive term 'climate change' was foisted upon us. Please Lady, be original and do not quote anything written in the NYT.
Dirk: Haven’t you grasped yet that what we are doing to the atmosphere, adds to the natural cycles, including adding to the peaks? And where is all the additional rainfall, and snowfall in colder areas, coming from? No, no, has nothing to do with God opening his water gates to punish us for our sins. It comes from evaporated water! The warmer it gets, the more water will evaporate, and eventually it comes down again, rain in warmer climates, snow in colder, and not necessarily where it evaporated from.
That’s what scientists, you know, those who know what they are talking about, call “Climate change”. Got it now?
No Jorg - I don't get it. And I also don't need a lecture from someone who just copies from a certain segment of the so-called scientific community. There are plenty of scientist, and real ones, who have an entirely different view. That is what science is all about, an objective, dynamic process that projects pros and cons.
Dirk: Yes, unfortunately, there are some "scientists" paid off by the petro industry to deny what's obvious and proven by the vast majority, but which the gullible so easily fall for. And if you know something about science, or have done some real science work, you would also realize how much you simply do not know! It is that D-K effect again.
Speaking of climate deniers, Ms. Lempert, perhaps you could convince developing, and even developed countries to curtail their use of fossil fuels. For instance, the UK fired up coal generators because their “green” energy couldn’t keep up. Germany, last year, purchased over 44 million tonnes of coal, mostly from Russia. China purchased $114 billion worth of oil from Russia (while increasing coal mining operations in China) and is planning to build almost 200 coal power plants this year. India is planning on importing 33 times more oil from Russia than last year and their current energy usage is provided mostly by coal (75% or so). Overall global use of coal has climbed to a record high of over 8 billion tonnes.
You may also want to talk to Newsom. As CA attempts to outwit Mother Nature, over 50% of California’s electricity has been supplied by natural gas power plants for at least the past twenty years. CA wildfires in 2020 created enough carbon emissions to offset 16 years of reductions, twice over. Perhaps ask why he’s not serious about climate change and emissions. Instead of taking money from the poor and giving to the rich, California should put that money towards forest management and wildfire prevention, to the benefit of everyone.
Using the analogy of raising chickens and housing, would you rather be a free-range chicken who can spread its wings, walk and eat naturally or be a chicken raised in cramped quarters with no sunlight, too weak to walk, and fed steroids? Quality of life matters.
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(6) comments
Dear Sue - I may be one to those whom you call climate deniers. The current wet season is not due to climate change but it is due to a natural cycle. You should be old enough to recall that houses were sliding down the hills in Mills Estates and here in San Mateo after major storms. That was in the 1980s. The Chronicle has reported on several even wetter seasons in the past centuries before the all-inclusive term 'climate change' was foisted upon us. Please Lady, be original and do not quote anything written in the NYT.
Dirk: Haven’t you grasped yet that what we are doing to the atmosphere, adds to the natural cycles, including adding to the peaks? And where is all the additional rainfall, and snowfall in colder areas, coming from? No, no, has nothing to do with God opening his water gates to punish us for our sins. It comes from evaporated water! The warmer it gets, the more water will evaporate, and eventually it comes down again, rain in warmer climates, snow in colder, and not necessarily where it evaporated from.
That’s what scientists, you know, those who know what they are talking about, call “Climate change”. Got it now?
No Jorg - I don't get it. And I also don't need a lecture from someone who just copies from a certain segment of the so-called scientific community. There are plenty of scientist, and real ones, who have an entirely different view. That is what science is all about, an objective, dynamic process that projects pros and cons.
Dirk: Yes, unfortunately, there are some "scientists" paid off by the petro industry to deny what's obvious and proven by the vast majority, but which the gullible so easily fall for. And if you know something about science, or have done some real science work, you would also realize how much you simply do not know! It is that D-K effect again.
Speaking of climate deniers, Ms. Lempert, perhaps you could convince developing, and even developed countries to curtail their use of fossil fuels. For instance, the UK fired up coal generators because their “green” energy couldn’t keep up. Germany, last year, purchased over 44 million tonnes of coal, mostly from Russia. China purchased $114 billion worth of oil from Russia (while increasing coal mining operations in China) and is planning to build almost 200 coal power plants this year. India is planning on importing 33 times more oil from Russia than last year and their current energy usage is provided mostly by coal (75% or so). Overall global use of coal has climbed to a record high of over 8 billion tonnes.
You may also want to talk to Newsom. As CA attempts to outwit Mother Nature, over 50% of California’s electricity has been supplied by natural gas power plants for at least the past twenty years. CA wildfires in 2020 created enough carbon emissions to offset 16 years of reductions, twice over. Perhaps ask why he’s not serious about climate change and emissions. Instead of taking money from the poor and giving to the rich, California should put that money towards forest management and wildfire prevention, to the benefit of everyone.
Using the analogy of raising chickens and housing, would you rather be a free-range chicken who can spread its wings, walk and eat naturally or be a chicken raised in cramped quarters with no sunlight, too weak to walk, and fed steroids? Quality of life matters.
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