DATE: June 6, 2023
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Director of Public Works
Director of Development Services
SUBJECT
Title
Reach Code Amendments: Introduction of Revised Electrification Reach Code Ordinance with Minor Modifications Required by California Building Standards Commission; and Finding that the Action is Exempt from CEQA
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That Council adopts a resolution (Attachment II), introduces the revised Electrification Reach Code ordinance (Attachment III) to modify the California Green Building Standards Code and finds the action exempt from CEQA. The ordinance includes: 1) electrification requirements for new buildings and 2) amendments to the Off-Street Parking Regulations to add electric vehicle charging requirements.
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SUMMARY
In November 2022, Council adopted a Reach Code ordinance to be effective on January 1, 2023. The purpose of the ordinance is to reduce the use of fossil fuels - both in buildings and in vehicles. The ordinance modifies the State building code to require:
* All new residential buildings, including mixed-use buildings, must be all electric.
* All new non-residential buildings for which natural gas infrastructure is installed, must be "electric ready," meaning they have the wiring, electrical capacity and space needed to be converted to an all-electric building in the future.
* All new buildings, and modifications to existing buildings resulting in new parking spaces, must have electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure above and beyond that required by the California Green Building Standards Code.
After adoption by the City Council, the Reach Code ordinance was submitted to the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) for review and filing. After review, the CBSC has requested that the City provide a revised ordinance that lists the specific sections of the State Code that are modified by Hayward's ordinance...
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