SANTA MONICA—Santa Monica's City Council has voted to approve an ordinance that requires net-zero energy on all single-family home construction. Zero-net energy refers to construction projects that generate an equal amount of energy from renewable sources as the energy used from the power utility over the course of a year. This is the first ordinance of its kind in the world. The ordinance goes into effect on all construction starting in 2017 and beyond.
“Santa Monica has historically taken policy action on environmental issues as a way to drive change in other cities,” Joel Cesare, sustainable building advisor in the office of sustainability and the environment at the City of Santa Monica, tells GlobeSt.com. “We adopted one of the nation's first comprehensive sustainability plans in 1994, became the first city in the US to buy 100% renewable power, banned plastic bags with an ordinance that became a model for a state-wide bag ban, and many more. Many practitioners and cities in California aren't even aware this is coming in 2020 and some that are don't believe the State will be ready. Taking this action now helps raise the awareness about the State code requirement and the importance of the issue. It's consistent with the urgency we feel is needed to address the threats of climate change.”
Before officially going into effect, the ordinance will go to the California Energy Commission for approval, which could take several months. The ordinance illustrates the city's commitment to reduce consumption, and is one of many conservation ordinances that the city has passed. “The ZNE ordinance demonstrates Santa Monica's continued commitment to sustainable city planning,” says Cesare. “The City recently committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, which is an ambitious target. Ensuring all new construction is as efficient as possible is one of the tools the City will use to meeting this goal.”
While the ordinance has time before it is officially approved, the city will start educating the city on the new requirement immediately. “During [the interim] the city will collaborate with the CEC, IOUs and local organizations to ensure the community is prepared for compliance,” explains Cesare. “The ZNE ordinance will affect all new single-family homes and low-rise multifamily construction upon implementation.” While the ordinance is the first of its kind, California Public Utilities Commission adopted California's first Long Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan in 2008, which requires all new residential construction in California to achieve ZNE by 2020 and all new commercial construction achieve ZNE by 2030.
SANTA MONICA—Santa Monica's City Council has voted to approve an ordinance that requires net-zero energy on all single-family home construction. Zero-net energy refers to construction projects that generate an equal amount of energy from renewable sources as the energy used from the power utility over the course of a year. This is the first ordinance of its kind in the world. The ordinance goes into effect on all construction starting in 2017 and beyond.
“Santa Monica has historically taken policy action on environmental issues as a way to drive change in other cities,” Joel Cesare, sustainable building advisor in the office of sustainability and the environment at the City of Santa Monica, tells GlobeSt.com. “We adopted one of the nation's first comprehensive sustainability plans in 1994, became the first city in the US to buy 100% renewable power, banned plastic bags with an ordinance that became a model for a state-wide bag ban, and many more. Many practitioners and cities in California aren't even aware this is coming in 2020 and some that are don't believe the State will be ready. Taking this action now helps raise the awareness about the State code requirement and the importance of the issue. It's consistent with the urgency we feel is needed to address the threats of climate change.”
Before officially going into effect, the ordinance will go to the California Energy Commission for approval, which could take several months. The ordinance illustrates the city's commitment to reduce consumption, and is one of many conservation ordinances that the city has passed. “The ZNE ordinance demonstrates Santa Monica's continued commitment to sustainable city planning,” says Cesare. “The City recently committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, which is an ambitious target. Ensuring all new construction is as efficient as possible is one of the tools the City will use to meeting this goal.”
While the ordinance has time before it is officially approved, the city will start educating the city on the new requirement immediately. “During [the interim] the city will collaborate with the CEC, IOUs and local organizations to ensure the community is prepared for compliance,” explains Cesare. “The ZNE ordinance will affect all new single-family homes and low-rise multifamily construction upon implementation.” While the ordinance is the first of its kind, California Public Utilities Commission adopted California's first Long Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan in 2008, which requires all new residential construction in California to achieve ZNE by 2020 and all new commercial construction achieve ZNE by 2030.
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