AgdaPkt 2019-09-23 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Staff Report * 19 -187 -CC minimal. Natural gas cooking appliances use electricity for ignition, fans and lights. Electrical outlets will already be present. The cost of pre -wiring is estimated to be $280 as opposed to $930 to retrofit an existing electrical line. Overall, the proposed Reach Code requirements have been shown to be cost effective Community engagement and feedback Five public meetings between February and August 2019 have been held regarding Reach Code options. Multiple news articles have been published about the proposed Reach Codes. Since the August 27 meeting, a San Jose Mercury article was published August 28 regarding the proposed Reach Codes (Attachment J.) A project page (Attachment K) was published on the City's website in July. In addition, the planning division has been providing information to current planning permit applicants about the proposed Reach Codes that could impact their project when applying for building permits after January 1, 2020. Staff spoke with various stakeholders concerned about the proposed Reach Codes multiple times. Exemption for life sciences laboratories Staff received feedback from the development community, residents, energy providers, the CEC, and nonprofit organizations. In July and August, staff addressed some community concerns about the reliability of an all -electric laboratory or life science building. These buildings contain vulnerable lab experiments, which depend on temperature -controlled rooms. Menlo Park has a life science district that houses incubator space for startup companies and medical/biotechnology research and development companies. Staff met with life science stakeholders to understand the concerns and explore options for all -electric life science buildings. While all -electric laboratories and life science buildings are technically feasible as demonstrated by the University of California systems (Attachment D,) staff recommended those buildings to be exempted only for space heating. Life science buildings in Menlo Park have a higher tenant turnover rate than university campuses. The stakeholders need flexibility to change the building structures to attract new tenants. As a result of lacking case studies, life science buildings may use natural gas for space heating, but water heating appliances are required to be electric. However, for every life science and laboratory building permit application, the applicant must submit a third -party verification to analyze why electric heating is not feasible and cost effective. This exception only applies to the 2019 building code cycle (effective January 1, 2020) and would be re-evaluated in 2022. All -electric high-rise residential buildings In August, staff received feedback from some high-rise residential building stakeholders. They had two main concerns. First, the state codes do not provide a pathway for large central electric water heating systems to be used for compliance and secondly, the unknown reliability of these electric water systems to provide domestic hot water. Staff consulted with TRC (cost effectiveness study technical consultants,) the CEC, and the City's building division to consider these concerns. After further analysis, it was found that there are two alternative state code pathways for compliance: 1. Provide individual electric water heating systems to each unit; or 2. Use a smaller scale electric central water heating system that serves up to eight units, which are also known as "mini -plants." In addition, staff found many case studies (Attachment H and 1) of all -electric high-rise residential buildings. City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 w w.menlopark.org