Purchasing Power
Improving San Francisco’s procurement process to deliver more equitable services
Success on the Street
How California’s CEQA exemption can help cities build modern mobility faster
Smoothing the Transition to Heat Pumps, Part 1: Code Changes
News /
As the Bay Area phases out sales of gas furnaces and water heaters, more and more property owners will need to install zero-pollution, high-efficiency electric heat pumps in homes. City planners must quickly make these installations easier and more affordable by amending municipal zoning ordinances and permitting processes. In the first article of a series on accelerating heat pump adoption, ϴrecommends four zoning code strategies.
It’s California’s Duty to Make Streets Safe for All Users
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In 2023, an estimated 4,000 people died on California’s roadways. More than 30% of these traffic deaths happened on state-owned roads. It doesn’t have to be this way. ϴ— together with CalBike, WalkSF, StreetsforAll, KidSafeSF, and AARP California — is sponsoring Senate Bill 960 to make state roads that function as local streets safer by design. In this article, we share testimony from a California mom who lost her husband to a collision that safer street design could have prevented.
ϴSponsors State Bills to Promote Housing Production
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Among the many state housing bills ϴis advocating for this year, we are sponsoring five in particular that would facilitate housing production through transit-oriented, mixed-income, and affordable residential development. The bills tackle issues from lack of transparency about the total costs of a project’s development impact fees to attempts by jurisdictions to thwart the so-called Builder’s Remedy.
Designed to Serve
ϴReport
Over time, San Francisco’s governance structure has evolved to distribute authority and maximize oversight. As a consequence, policies don’t always meet the needs of the people they were intended to serve. The lack of clear, coordinated action to address big challenges has led to a growing perception that city government isn’t working. SPUR’s latest report outlines how San Francisco can choose to design a better system that supports leadership and empowerment with clear lines of accountability.
Senators Put Pause on Bill to Authorize a Regional Measure to Fund Transit
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A bill that would have authorized the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to place a regional transportation revenue measure on the ballot in 2026 has been paused, bringing the prospect of severe transit cuts ever closer. ϴsupports a recently announced effort by MTC to identify a path to a new bill that would be introduced in the 2025 legislative session.