Urban Sustainability Bulletin

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October 2019

 GHG Reduction

Burlington VT Plans for Net Zero Energy: Burlington released the Net Zero Energy Roadmap identifying key pathways to achieve its net zero energy goal and announced several new related programs and incentives.

Chicago IL Implements Large Building Energy Efficiency Rating System: Chicago will issue its own public energy efficiency rating system (zero to four-star scale) for large buildings that will be required to display on-site and report at the time of sale or lease.

San Francisco CA Approves Transition of Large Buildings to 100% Renewable Electricity: San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors will require all large private commercial buildings to transition to 100% renewable electricity by 2030.

San Jose CA Adopts Reach Codes to Electrify Buildings and Transportation: San Jose’s City Council adopted new Reach Codes requiring all new buildings to be all electric by 2020 and new multi-family buildings to have at least 70% of parking spots to be EV ready and 20% with EV charging stations.

Seattle WA Approves Fuel Oil Policies to Transition Households to Clean Electricity: Seattle’s City Council approved a new tax on fuel oil to fund a rebate and grant program for households to transition to heat pumps and to require heating oil tank owners to decommission or upgrade tanks by 2028.

Climate Resilience

Boston MA Publishes Coastal Flood Resilience Design Guidelines: Boston released the Coastal Flood Resilience Design Guidelines for residents, business owners, and developers to translate flood resilience strategies into best practices.

St. Louis MO to Pilot New Technology in Response to Emergencies: St. Louis announced a pilot program to test the integration of web-based sensors across city services to improve its responses and risks to flooding, fire events, and other emergencies.

Social Equity

Sacramento CA Regional Transit to Offer Free Transit Passes to Students: Sacramento and three other cities will be contributing funds towards a Sacramento Regional Transit program offering free public bus and light rail transit passes to students, which will help alleviate transportation inequities.

Urban Sustainability

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Fraser Basin Council

Abbotsford BC Approves Solid Waste Operations Master Plan Implementation and Hosts Waste Sorting Workshops: Abbotsford’s BC Council approved the implementation of a new Solid Waste Operations Master Plan including a curbside collection program. In addition, the city is hosting waste sorting workshops for multi-family residents as part of their composting requirements program implementation process.