Publication Type
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November 2024 Voter Guide

California Prop 33 - Rent Control Rules

Ballot Measure /
Repeals the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act of 1995 and prohibits the state from limiting the right of cities and counties to maintain, enact, or expand local residential rent control ordinances.
Riders boarding a Muni train on Van Ness Avenue

Take It From a Critic — Muni Is Actually Doing Great

News /
As an advocate for high-quality transit, ϴhas at times been one of Muni’s critics. In a 2005 report, we argued that the agency was in a downward spiral, but now Muni appears to be enjoying a virtuous cycle. That cycle can only continue with voter support of Propositions L and M on the November ballot.
Photo of the California State Capitol in Sacramento

Six SPUR-Sponsored Bills Will Become California Law

News /
The 2024 state legislative year ended with a number of big wins for ϴand our partners in affordable housing and transportation advocacy. Governor Newsom signed hundreds of bills into law, including six pieces of SPUR-sponsored legislation that will make housing faster and easier to build, support development of interim housing for unhoused people, and make dangerous roads safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Construction worker, Doug Berger, helps install energy efficient heat pumps outside resident homes.

Smoothing the Transition to Heat Pumps, Part 2: Permitting and Inspections

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. But the current process is complicated and expensive. City planners must quickly make that installation easier and more affordable. In a previous article, ϴrecommended zoning code strategies. In this installment, we explore permitting and inspection improvements.

ϴPublic Comment on BCDC's Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan

Advocacy Letter
In 2023, California adopted SB 272 which requires Bay Area jurisdictions on the shoreline to develop sea level rise adaptation plans as part of a regionally coordinated approach managed by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC). To launch this effort, BCDC spent the passed year working with regional stakeholders to develop the Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP). This framework seeks to guide local planning while establishing regional priorities to ensure collaborative shoreline resilience planning. ϴhas long advocated for regional planning in the face of sea level rise, and has worked in partnership with regional agencies like BCDC to advance regional priorities. As an RSAP advisory group member, ϴcontributed to the development of the RSAP by advocating for things like clearer metrics on outcomes, improved data on groundwater rise and combined flood risks, and the inclusion of impacts of flooding on shoreline contaminated sites in environmental justice communities. SPUR's public comment letter, submitted on October 18, 2024, outlines recommendations for improving both the RSAP document and the technical assistance program that BCDC is developing to support jurisdictions with planning, funding access, project prioritization, etc.

The Loma Prieta Earthquake Inspired Major Resilience Efforts. Today, the Need to Invest Continues.

News /
35 years ago this week, the Loma Prieta earthquake was a wakeup call the Bay Area heeded. In the years since the magnitude 6.9 quake hit, state, regional, and municipal action has improved the seismic safety of the region’s buildings and other infrastructure. However, gaps remain in the region’s preparedness for the estimated 51% chance of a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in the next 30 years.
San Francisco residential buildings with office towers in the background

California Delivers Wins for Building Decarbonization

News /
Moving California’s homes and other buildings off of health- and climate-harming gas heating will require a transition to electric heat pumps. This year, the state pressed some legislative and regulatory levers to speed that process. ϴrecommendations and advocacy helped shape these building decarbonization wins.
Casa Suenos housing development in Oakland, CA

Prop. 5: Giving Communities Better Tools to Invest in Housing, Parks, and More

News /
Local bond measures to fund essential services often garner the support of a majority at the ballot box yet fail to pass because they don’t meet California’s requirement that bonds be approved by a two-thirds supermajority. Proposition 5 would amend the state constitution to lower the voter approval threshold for bonds to fund housing, infrastructure, wildfire prevention, and parks.
AC Transit Tempo line, Oakland

Funding Regional Transit — and Managing Risk in Uncertain Times

News /
ϴis serving on an MTC-appointed select committee to explore legislation that would put a regional transit revenue measure on the ballot in a future election. Two other regional funding measure efforts — SB 1031 for transit, and the BAHFA bond for housing — were both paused earlier this year, casting a cautionary light on regional funding measures. Our recent comments to the committee focus on how to set up the current transit proposal for success.
Dublin Hills Regional Park

Prop 4: Investing Now to Cut Future Climate Costs

News /
California is already paying the cost of climate change impacts from devastating wildfires, droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events. By investing in climate action now, voters can reduce future costs both economic and social. California Prop. 4 would put $10 billion toward safe drinking water, drought resilience, ecosystem restoration, resilience to natural hazards, and more.

ϴrequests Governor Newsom's signature on SB960 (Wiener), the Complete Streets bill.

Advocacy Letter
ϴis proud to co-sponsor Senate Bill 960 (Wiener) and respectfully requests Governor Newsom's signature on the bill. Signing the bill into law will signal California’s leading commitment to safety and sustainability, and willingness to tackle stubborn trends in traffic deaths and emissions in the transportation sector.

ϴrequests Governor Newsom's signature on AB 2503

Advocacy Letter
ϴrequests Governor Newsom's signature on AB 2503 (Lee). AB 2503 will streamline the planning and delivery of zero emission rail projects in California to help reduce vehicles mile traveled, greenhouse gas emissions and local particulate matter.

ϴprovides comments on development of potential regional transportation measure

Advocacy Letter
ϴCEO Alicia John-Baptiste provided extensive written comments to MTC"s Transportation Revenue Measure Select Committee regarding the ongoing development of a potential future ballot measure to fund Bay Area transit. Given uncertainties about the 2024 national election and the future mood of the Bay Area electorate, ϴis strongly advocating for an approach that keeps multiple revenue measure options on the table.

Letter Opposing CalSHAPE Elimination

Advocacy Letter
ϴsigned on to a coalition letter opposing the elimination of the CalSHAPE, or the California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing, and Efficiency Program, which funds HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) improvements in schools. These investments will be necessary to support new indoor heat standard and the ever-worsening hazard of wildfire-affected air.

ϴcomments on the development of first Caltrans transit plan

Advocacy Letter
Caltrans District 4 - the district that covers the nine county Bay Area - is in the process of developing its inaugural transit plan for the state highway network. ϴserves on the technical working group and provided comments on how Caltrans can measure success and prioritize investments.
Smoothing the Transition to Heat Pumps

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.
4th and San Fernando Street, San Jose

It’s California’s Duty to Make Streets Safe for All Users

News /
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.