Notice: Sustainable San Rafael is currently re-evaluating how we organize to address policy issues. While this is going on, the "News" and "Resources" areas of our website are not being updated. We hope to re-launch the site with exciting new content by summer of '09. Until then, please check our Home and Events pages for our current activities. (January 2009)
 

July 2, 2007 - The San Rafael City council unanimously passed the Green Building Ordinance we've been working on with the city for almost 2 years. In a nutshell, the new regulations will require that virtually all new residential construction (single family and multi-family) will have to be green-point rated at least 60 points; all new midium-size commmercial buildings (5,000 - 29,999 square feet) will have ot be LEED "Certified"; and all new large commercial structures (30,000 square feet and up) will have ot be LEED "Silver." At the meeting, several SSR members spoke eloquently about the importance of these regulations to the city, the planet and the people who will be using new buildings. Click here to read the official minutes of the meeting.

June 12, 2007 - Bob Brown presented revisions to the proposed Green Building Ordinances to the Planning Commmision. These addressed issues raised at the May 29 meeting (below.) The two major changes were: a) To defer writing rules for residential remodels (large additions would still be covered.) Build it Green is in the process of re-working its remodel guidelines to deal with exactly the kinds of problems raised by the Commissioners, so staff recommends that we wait until these guidelines are published later this year. b) To add smaller commercial buildings (5,000 - 30,000 Sq Ft) to the rules, requiring a LEED "Certified" points level, but allowing a simpler approval process using local LEED-trained raters. With these changes, the Board approved the ordinances unanimously and recommended them to the City Council.

May 29, 2007 - Bob Brown presented his draft Green Building Ordinances to the city's Planning Commission. The response was very positive, but the Commissioners asked for additional work in two areas: a) It's not clear how the rules would apply to smaller residential remodels, where the owner is only working on a few items, or remodels that happen incrementally over time. b) The Commission asked if the rules could be extended to cover commercial buildings under 30,000 sq. ft., possibly with a less demanding standard than LEED Silver. Bob's department will address these two areas and present revised proposals to the Commission on June 12, when we're confident the ordinances will be approved and recommended to the City Council.

Step it Up '07 - On April 14 Sustainable San Rafael joined with over a thousand other groups nationwide to send Congress the message that we need to step up the rate of carbon reduction and aim for a target of 80% reduced emissions by 2050. We gathered our rally on the corner of 2nd Street and Lindaro in downtown San Rafael - an area that will be under water if sea levels rise by only one meter. Around 50 people joined us, both SSR members and visitors from as far away as Novato and the East Bay. They arrived carrying all sorts of home-made signs with messages like "Cut Carbon or Swim Here" and "Stop Dithering on Global Warming" as well as props like beach umbrellas, snorkels, life preservers and other on-message items. San Rafael City Councilman Cyr Miller was with us carrying his own sign, and County Supervisor Charles McGlashan stopped by to lend his voice. The press was there, too. Edna Lingenfelter from Novato, in her snorkel and mask, was the lead picture the next morning in both the S.F. Chronicle and The Marin IJ! Our own Caroline Webb and Bob Spofford were busy with their cameras, and you can click here to see a collection of their best shots.

March 27, 2007 - The San Rafael Planning Commission held a study session at which Bob Brown (Community Development Director) presented his proposed Green Building program for the city. A number of SSR members spoke in suppport and answered questions from the commissioners. The response was 100% positive, and it looks like Bob will have a specific ordinance ready for approval by the Commission (and, ultimately, by the City Council) in mid May.

November 14, 2006 - Six of us met Bob Brown and his department heads for a work session on his draft Green Building regulations. These are moving along nicely, and it looks like they could be approved by next spring or summer.

November 6, 2006 - Sue Spofford and Kiki LaPorta addressed the City Council during "open time" to urge moving ahead on the ICLEI Climate Protection program. That said that signing the Mayors' Agreement (below) was great, but it has to be turned into action, starting with an inventory of the city's greenhous gas emissions. Sue and Kiki pointed out several outside resources that could enable the city to do the inventory at little or no cost. The Council's response was positive. Councilmembers Paul Cohen and Cyr Miller volunteered to help arrange a meeting with City Manager Ken Nordoff to work out the best way to move forward on this. It looks like this meeting will take place in early December.

October 23, 2006 - With summer vacation chaos finally behind us, we held another well-attended SSR meeting to catch up on all our issues. Click here to read the minutes

July 26, 2006 - The City Council held a study session on possible Green Building regulations for San Rafael. It was attended by a large contingent of SSR members, and the response from Mayor Boro and the other Councilmembers was great! There's no doubt they want to move rapidly to implement strong Green Buildiing rules for both residential and commercial construction.

July 4, 2006 - A large contingent of SSR members and friends marched in the Twin Cities July 4 Parade. We had lots of signs highlighting key sustainability issues, two Priuses quietly rolling along on electricity and an outragious "float" illustrating what could happen if Waste Management Inc. is allowed to proceed with their plan to expand the County landfill. Click here to see pictures of ths fun event.

June 26, 2006 - We held a very well-attended mid-summer meeting to update people on our ongoing issues and introduce several new ones. Click here to read the complete minutes of that meeting.

June 5, 2006 - A Breakthrough on Climate Protection! At the June 5 City Council meeting, San Rafael voted to sign the US Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement. The Agreement is a program started by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels a year ago to unite cities in leadership on battling global warming. To date, 238 mayors across the country, representing over 45 million Americans, have signed the agreement. By signing, they have committed their cities to try to meet or exceed the Kyoto Protocol standards for greenhouse gas reduction by pursuing policies in a number of areas, including energy efficiency, transportation planning, green building, vehicle purchases, recycling, urban forestry and public education. Click Here to see the complete agreement (87kb PDF.)

March 1, 2006 - We had another very encouraging meeting with City Staff to discuss a possible Green Building ordinance. This was our first chance to put Green Building Experts together with staff to start exploring issues in depth and answering questions. The "Experts" at this meeting were Brian Gitt of Build it Green and Alec Hoffman of the County's Green Building program. We left convinced that this is now a "live" project with the city, and that Staff will be following-up with the local experts and other municipalities as they sort through the technical, legal and policy questions. Our very own GB expert, Denise Bellas of Green Fusion, will be part of this process. The goal is for Staff to be in a position to hold a "Study Session"for the City Council members by May or June, moving toward a formal recommendation to the Council around the end of the summer.

The primary role for SSR going forward will be to continue to educate the public on the benefits of a Green Building program and to demonstrate to the City that there is widespread support for it.

January 26, 2006 - We had a very positive first meeting with city staff to discuss moving toward a Green Building ordinance for San Rafael. A follow-up education meeting to dig into the details of GB programs is scheduled for late February. Come to our February 13 meeting for a more detailed report.