Reaching Beyond New Construction: A Webinar Discussion with Local Jurisdiction Staff on Existing Building Policy
The Statewide Reach Codes Program collaborated with several regional and national organizations to host a recent webinar focused on existing building reach code development efforts. The collaborators included BayREN, Building Decarbonization Coalition, 3C-REN, and the California Climate and Energy Collaborative.
The webinar, held Tuesday February 7, 2023, featured Andrea Chow, Sustainability Analyst for the City of San Mateo, Brian Reyes, Sustainability Planner for the Marin County Community Development Agency, and Christine Tam, Senior Resource Planner for the City of Palo Alto Utilities Department. Gray Gautereaux, Energy Program Manager for Tri-County Regional Energy Network (3C-REN) moderated.
After a brief overview of state level policy efforts, the webinar turned to the local experiences of these three jurisdictions in crafting and implementing reach code measures for existing buildings.
Chow described San Mateo’s ordinance, which includes:
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Panel replacement and panel upgrade projects to include panel capacity/breaker space for future electrification
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Residential kitchen and laundry renovations to include installation of an outlet to allow for the use of electric appliances in the future
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Ban on extending fuel gas infrastructure for uses such as new fireplaces, fire pits, grills, and pools
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Installation of heat pump air conditioning when new air conditioning is installed or replaced
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Installation of heat pump water heater during addition and alteration projects that include water heater replacement
Tam summarized the City of Palo Alto’s ordinance, which includes:
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New outdoor equipment (e.g., grill, stove, BBQ, fireplace, pool/spa heater) must be electric
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Heat pump water heater when replacing or adding a water heater as part of a residential addition or alteration project
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“Substantial Remodel” of an existing home triggers whole-home all-electric requirements
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Low Carbon Concrete requirements for all Tier 1 & Tier 2 projects (as defined in the ordinance)
Reyes outlined the County of Marin’s efforts summarized here:
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All-electric code for new construction
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EV infrastructure reach code for new construction and renovations
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Energy reach code for single-family renovations >750 sq.ft.
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Low carbon concrete code updated
The session concluded with a moderated discussion amongst the panelists, addressing questions submitted by attendees.
On the topic of exemptions, Chow shared that while the jurisdiction focused on “intervention points” where electrification would be most relevant, because cost was such an important concern of stakeholders, the city ultimately drafted an economic hardship exemption. Reyes noted that the County conducted extensive outreach specifically to renters to determine its approach to exemptions. Tam observed that in Palo Alto, zoning requirements impacted some of the existing building provisions and the planning department was addressing those issues.
All three panelists shared their thoughts on the importance of outreach. Reyes described the stakeholder mapping that staff conducted at the County as well as the efforts to fully engage both internal and external populations. Chow noted that outreach must be broad-based to capture the attention of as many stakeholders as possible. Tam shared that one of Palo Alto’s tools is an advisory group whose members represent a range of stakeholders and can act as a ‘braintrust’ for local staff.
Each of the panelists also emphasized the importance of using existing resources to supplement the local staff work. These included partnering with different departments internally as well as external partners such as CCAs and RENs, other jurisdictions, and the statewide program for model language, outreach programs, and technical resources.
Copies of the presentation materials are available here. A recording of the webinar is available here.
