12-story low-income apartment building in Downtown

Measure

BE-1.2. Decarbonize New Building Development

2030 Target

All-electric reach code starting 2023 at new residential and commercial development

2035 Target

Ongoing implementation of all-electric new residential and commercial development

2030 GHG Reduction

(MT CO2e) 65,329

2035 GHG Reduction

(MT CO2e) 108,559

Community benefits & burdens

Medium

Community empowerment

High

Addresses historical disparity

Low

Stakeholder acceptability

Medium

Technical feasibility

High

Ease of implementation

High

Financial viability

High

Mainstreaming potential

High

Image: San Diego Daily Transcript

Core Benefits

Core benefits of this measure are Jobs & Economy, Resiliency, Air Quality, and Public Health

Introduction

In 2018, the State of California adopted an ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality throughout the whole economy by 2045. To support this transition, in August 2021, the California Energy Commission unanimously passed amendments to the state building code which take a significant step toward removing natural gas in new construction. As of 2022, more than 65 cities in California have adopted either all-electric or energy efficiency local reach codes. A reach code is a city-level building energy code that details requirements for new buildings being constructed. Reach codes allow cities to exceed the state-level minimum requirements for building energy use and design, providing the opportunity for cities to boldly move ahead of the state in the transition away from fossil fuels.

The City is engaging with stakeholders to develop a Building Code Amendment that will take a step beyond the new 2023 State building codes and ensure that most new building types do not have natural gas heaters and appliances. The City has committed to engaging residents and community stakeholders, labor and trades groups and affordable and middle income housing developers in this process to develop code amendments and complementary policies that will ensure equitable outcomes, particularly for our Communities of Concern and our impacted workforce. By working together toward a clean energy future, all San Diegans can enjoy lower energy costs, improved indoor and outdoor air quality and good-paying green jobs in their neighborhoods.

How to explore the Actions section

Some actions are part of a sequence: completing one action may be necessary for the success of another, or may make another action easier to complete. The >> symbol on an action card indicates that it is part of a sequence. Hover over the >> symbol to see the full sequence of actions.

The color bar at the top of each action provides information about the implementation timeline.

Gray = either the implementation timeline is not yet available, or the action is continuous (there is no completion date)
Green = the action is proceeding on time; the color gets darker as the action nears completion
Yellow = the action is delayed or late

Click on an action to learn more about it.

Indicators

The City will measure the success of this measure by tracking all-electric new building construction. These indicators will be added as soon as data is available.