CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
9/27/2022
1 SUBJECT:
Study session to discuss potential future adoption of local amendments to the 2022 California Building Code to require specified buildings in Pacifica to exceed state minimum energy efficiency and electric vehicle charging requirements (i.e., Reach Codes).
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Receive a presentation and provide direction regarding further analysis of Reach Code options.
STAFF CONTACT:
Christian Murdock, AICP, Planning Director
(650) 738-7341
[email protected]
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
The standards for construction of buildings are contained in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, more commonly known as the “California Building Code” (CBC). The CBC includes 12 parts addressing a range of regulations that comprehensively address building safety, energy efficiency, and other factors.1 State law requires local agencies including the City of Pacifica to adopt updated versions of the CBC every three years. The City of Pacifica must adopt the next triennial CBC update (2022 CBC) so that it can be effective as of January 1, 2023. State law also allows local agencies to amend the CBC, which is standardized across the state of California, to make changes that are reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geological, or topographical conditions.
2 This study session is structured to enable City Council consideration of potential local amendments to the Energy Code (Part 6) and/or Green Building Standards Code (Part 11) of the CBC for the purpose of requiring increased energy efficiency standards and supportive infrastructure such as electrical vehicle chargers. These types of local amendments are commonly known as “Reach Codes” because they exceed CBC requirements.
Reach Codes Adopted During 2019 California Building Code Update The City Council first adopted Reach Codes during the 2019 CBC update process. Pacifica’s Reach Codes included the following Energy Code amendments that applied to new buildings only:
• A definition of “all electric building” as “a building that has no natural gas or propane plumbing installed within the building, and that uses electricity as the source of energy for its space heating, water heating, cooking appliances, and clothes drying appliances. 1 These 12 parts include the Administrative Code, Building Code, Residential Code, Electrical Code, Mechanical Code, Plumbing Code, Energy Code, Historical Building Code, Fire Code, Existing Building Code, Green Building Standards Code, and Referenced Standards Code. 2 State law also allows for local amendments to the California Historical Building Code due to local seismic conditions. Health & Safety Code § 18959(f).
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All Electric Buildings may include solar thermal pool heating.” • A requirement for all new buildings to be “all electric,” as defined above, with four exceptions:
o Residential buildings may include non-electric cooking appliances and fireplaces. o Non-residential buildings containing a for-profit restaurant open to the public may, for specified business-related reasons, include gas-fueled cooking appliances.
o Accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
o Public agency-owned and operated emergency centers.
• Except for the restaurant exception, a requirement that all other exceptions be pre-wired for future electric appliance installation in the area where natural gas appliances are installed, including but not limited to a dedicated circuit wired to an outlet in the appliance area.
• A requirement for photovoltaic panel installation for new nonresidential buildings with three habitable stories or fewer, other than health care facilities; hotel/motel occupancies; and, high-rise multi-family buildings with 10 habitable stories or fewer.
Pacifica’s Reach Code adoption process was supported with technical assistance from Peninsula Clean Energy3(PCE) and its consultant, TRC. Pacifica again has the support of PCE and TRC during its consideration of Reach Codes as part of the 2022 CBC update.
Reach Code Options for 2022 California Building Code Update The City Council’s adoption of Reach Codes during the 2019 CBC update made an important statement about the City’s priority to require energy-efficient development in order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as a strategy to address climate change. Pacifica is directly affected by climate change in terms of the impacts of sea level rise, drought, increasing temperatures, and other impacts. Therefore, the City Council may want to consider adopting Reach Codes as part of the 2022 CBC update to further reduce GHG emissions from new buildings to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change.
The 2022 CBC includes many provisions that enhance the energy efficiency of new buildings as compared to the 2019 CBC including, but not limited to, the following examples:
• Establishes heat pumps as the prescriptive baseline for residential space heating in Climate Zones 3 and 4.4
• Establishes battery storage readiness requirements for residential buildings and battery storage installation requirements for nonresidential buildings. • Establishes a Level 2 electric vehicle (EV) charger capable space for one parking space per dwelling unit for single-family and two-family homes. 5 6 • Establishes a requirement for 40% of multi-family residential off-street parking spaces to have some form of EV charging infrastructure (5% EVCS, 25% Level 2 EV ready (low power), and 10% Level 2 EV capable).
3 PCE is a community choice aggregation energy provider formed as a joint powers authority (JPA) under the laws of the state of California, of which the City of Pacifica is a member. Currently, the City of Pacifica is represented on the PCE Board of Directors by Mayor pro Tem Bigstyck (primary) and Mayor Bier (alternative).
4 Pacifica is located in Climate Zone 3.
5 Level 2 charging refers to a 240-volt circuit and results in faster charging as compared to Level 1 charging which uses a 120-volt circuit.
6 EV charger capable means available capacity for a dedicated EV charger circuit in an electrical panel and a conduit from panel to future EV parking spot. EV charger ready means a complete dedicated EV charger circuit is installed (breaker in panel with wiring and outlet at parking space). A third nomenclature is EVCS, which includes the elements of an EV ready configuration plus an EV charging station.
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While the 2022 CBC makes many advancements in energy efficiency requirements, there are additional options the City Council may consider for new buildings to exceed the 2022 CBC requirements that include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Requiring all new buildings to be “all electric” with no exceptions or fewer exceptions than adopted in the 2019 Reach Codes.
• Requiring new single-family and two-family homes to have (1) Level 2 EV charger ready space and (1) Level 1 EV ready space.
• Requiring multi-family residential uses to have a greater share of off-street parking spaces at EVCS, ready, or capable status, and/or changing application of the EV parking space requirements to a dwelling unit basis (as compared to a share of overall off-street parking spaces).
Additional options and other relevant considerations such as construction cost impacts and available financial assistance for improvements will be discussed in further detail in the staff presentation at the study session.
Existing Buildings
The previous adoption of Reach Codes by City Council was limited to new buildings only. While it is important to ensure that new construction is accomplished in an energy efficient manner, limiting the application of Reach Codes to new buildings acts only to limit the rate of increase of GHG emissions from new development and does not achieve actual GHG reductions from existing buildings. As a result, the application of Reach Codes only to new buildings will address only a small share of GHG emissions from buildings in Pacifica. For instance, between 2015 and 2021, an average of 23 new residential units were approved for construction in Pacifica.
7 By comparison, Pacifica has more than 14,600 existing residential units for which the City has issued hundreds of permits for residential remodels, water heater replacements, and other improvements to these existing residential units over the same period.8 Therefore, the City Council may want to consider application of Reach Codes to existing buildings under certain conditions as an opportunity to support broader GHG reductions.
A common approach to applying Reach Codes to existing buildings is to determine an appropriate threshold for improvements to be completed as part of a remodel project. These can range from specific functional standards, such as requiring the installation of a heat pump water heater at the time of replacement of a natural gas water heater, to more far reaching requirements to fully electrify of an existing dwelling unit when a certain cost threshold is met or certain proportion of an existing building is replaced (e.g., structural framing, perimeter walls, foundation, etc.). When considering thresholds, it is important to avoid making the requirements so burdensome that they disincentivize property owners from obtaining building permits which can create safety concerns from unpermitted construction and increase the City’s code enforcement caseload.
Consideration of applying Reach Codes to existing buildings will require significant staff analysis of Pacifica’s existing building stock and common remodel scenarios, identification of appropriate thresholds for various electrification improvements, and stakeholder outreach and engagement, among other activities. Therefore, staff recommends that the City Council consider the application of Reach Codes to existing buildings as a distinct work plan item that is discussed as part of the City Council’s annual goal setting and budget adoption process if a majority of the Council desires to further study this option.
7 2021 Housing Element Annual Progress Report.
8 U.S. Census Bureau (2020; City of Pacifica Building Division.
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Council Direction Requested
As noted above, preparation of Reach Codes as a local amendment to the 2022 CBC will entail staff analysis to justify the amendments consistent with the requirements of state law and other relevant considerations including appropriate thresholds for application to existing buildings. To guide staff’s work on potential Reach Code development, the City Manager is seeking City Council feedback and direction on the questions below:
1. Should staff prepare the existing Reach Codes for readoption where they have not been superseded by 2022 CBC?
2. Should staff modify any of the 2019 Reach Codes?
3. Should staff prepare any additional Reach Codes applicable to new buildings for consideration as part of the 2022 CBC adoption process?
4. Should staff prepare an item for consideration during the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 goal setting and work plan development process to study potential adoption of Reach Codes that are applicable to existing buildings?
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
This is a study session and staff is only requesting direction by City Council. Any decision to adoption Reach Codes would be considered by the City Council at a future public hearing.
RELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND WORK PLAN:
Adoption of Reach Codes is not related to a City Council priority work plan item. However, adoption of Reach Codes would support the following Council-adopted goals:
Goals
● “Stewardship of City Infrastructure” includes repairing/replacing outdated city facilities, improving streets, stormwater and wastewater infrastructure and responding to impacts of sea level rise and other effects of climate change.
● “Environmental Sustainability” includes stewardship of parks, urban forests and open space, preserving hillsides and beaches, and adaptation to climate change.
In addition, the City of Pacifica’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) Goal 4.1.1 states that the City should “Require Green Building Practices in Both the New Construction and Remodel Market.” FISCAL IMPACT:
The Fiscal Year 2022-2023 adopted budget included $25,000 for costs associated with the 2022 California Building Code update. Staff estimates the budgeted amount should be sufficient for analysis and adoption of Reach Codes for new buildings. Council direction to analyze Reach Codes for existing buildings has the potential to incur additional costs that were not anticipated in the adopted budget. Accordingly, staff will need to prepare an updated fiscal impact analysis once it has received City Council direction on the extent of Reach Code analysis for existing buildings that is desired, if any.
ORIGINATED BY:
Planning Department
ATTACHMENT LIST: