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Comment 21 for Land Use Comments for the GHG Scoping Plan (sp-landuse-ws) - 1st Workshop.


First Name: Steve
Last Name: Raney
Email Address: cities21@cities21.org
Affiliation: Cities21, Palo Alto

Subject: Commute Reducing Housing
Comment:
(cuts 3.0M tons CO2/yr)

For new apartments and condos, Commute Reducing Housing (CRH)
selects residents with fewer cars who will drive less. Fair
Housing policies do not allow discrimination against minorities,
but it is legal to discriminate in favor of residents who will
produce less CO2. 

Applying CRH to 1,000,000 of the new homes built to accommodate
CA’s population growth in the coming years will save 3.0M tons CO2
per year. This policy is “beyond smart growth best practices,” so
the state should actively nurture and facilitate implementation,
assisting cities in developing policy and undertaking
legal/demographic analysis. The state should facilitate this
policy to where a tipping point is reached and the policy can
spread of its own momentum.  From a state budget perspective,
advocating such innovations represents an approach that is three
orders of magnitude more cost-effective for CO2 reduction than
proposals requiring capital expenditures.

When TOD or "jobs balancing housing" is built, too often drive
alone commuters crowd out lower VMT residents in occupying this
scarce, desirable housing. CRH can be used to reduce drive alone
commuting from TOD. Palo Alto commute transit mode share is about
4%, growing only to 17% in TOD next to commuter rail stations. CRH
can increase this mode share dramatically. 

For more details including case studies (Redwood City, Stanford,
and Santa Barbara), applicable fair housing law and demographic
analysis, FAQ, employee/resident tenure analysis, etc:, please
see: http://www.cities21.org/workerHsng.htm.  

Three pioneering CRH examples: Stanford, Santa Barbara, Redwood
City

1) Stanford West: 628 apartments 

Stanford provides priority to local workers with very short
commutes, saving 2.6 million annual vehicle miles traveled and 2.6
million annual pounds of CO2.  Stanford West residents with green
commutes receive a 10 percent monthly rent discount.  Stanford
provides a top-notch shuttle bus system and an extensive dedicated
bike path network.  Stanford charges $51 per month for employees to
park on campus, and that parking isn't very convenient.   

2) Santa Barbara's Casa de Las Fuentes 

For 42 affordable downtown apartments with excellent access to
jobs, shops, recreation, and transit, Santa Barbara adopted green
commute housing preferences:

First priority: for residents who work downtown who do not own a
vehicle and agree to not own one during their occupancy.  Rent is
$50 per month less for residents who do not park a car.  All
employed household members must work only in the downtown area.  

Second priority: for residents who work downtown 
The 42 unit development has only TWENTY CARS! 

3) Redwood City's Peninsula Park - 800 condos

This project has been approved by the city and further wetlands
approvals are underway. It represents the U.S.'s first proposal to
apply CRH to market rate condos.  Redwood City has a vibrant
mixed-use downtown with a Caltrain commuter rail station. There
are 85,000 jobs within 3 miles of the project site. The Peninsula
Park project will feature a 0.8 mile bike path to downtown and a
1.4 mile shuttle bus route to downtown.  The developer's banker
has already approved CRH - that's an important occurrence that
should be noted.  Innovations such as these are not readily
supported by the real-estate lending community.   

Calculation: 1,000,000 new homes under CRH * 3 tons CO2/yr saved
per eliminated commute = 3.0M tons CO2/yr.  

Attachment:

Original File Name:

Date and Time Comment Was Submitted: 2008-07-27 17:13:24



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