News
Oakland considers putting an end to single-family housing zones
 East Bay Times – March 5
Oakland could join a rising wave of California cities that aim to wipe out single-family residential zoning. On March 16, the City Council will consider asking staff planners to explore the possibility of allowing fourplexes to be built in single-family neighborhoods.
Santa Monica aims to create delivery zones that prioritize zero-emission vehicles
Smart Cities Dive – March 3
Santa Monica and the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) have rolled out their one-mile, zero-emissions delivery zone, which will support LACI's Transportation Electrification Partnership goal to reduce GHG and air pollution by an additional 25% by 2028. The delivery zone will provide priority access to zero-emissions delivery vehicles, including electric vans, e-cargo scooters, and remote-controlled small delivery bots, within certain loading zones.
Commercial real estate can reduce emissions by using "digital-twin" technology
Bisnow – March 9
Energy agencies agree that residential and commercial real estate account for about 40% of global energy consumption and emissions. Advocates of digital-twin technology say that emissions can be reduced by increasing the efficiency of the built environment through real-time, comprehensive monitoring using virtual, "twin" modeling of a building. New flagship office towers and corporate HQs are more likely to take advantage of the efficiencies that can be achieved using a digital twin. But the greater challenge is posed by the sheer volume of aging building stock, which requires significant and costly repositioning to achieve efficiencies.
County’s updated conservation plan aims to save more San Diego farmland
Ramona Sentinel – March 10
More San Diego farmland will be eligible for an agricultural conservation program under new rules the County Board of Supervisors has approved. San Diego has lost much of its farmland over the past decade. Since 2009, about 60,000 acres — 20% of San Diego County’s agricultural land — has been converted to other uses.
Google invests in three Bay Area affordable housing projects
The Mercury News – March 4
Google and the nonprofit Housing Trust Silicon Valley on Thursday announced nearly $30 million in loans for three new, subsidized housing developments in the Bay Area. The funds will go toward the construction of a 100-unit apartment complex in Mountain View, a 150-unit building in Santa Clara, and 880 affordable homes in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighborhood.
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