Publication Type
Topic
Geography
Date Range
Erie Street, Oakland

An Affordable Transition to Zero-Pollution, Climate-Friendly Homes in the Bay Area

News /
A first-in-the-nation air quality standard for home heating equipment will dramatically improve the Bay Area's air quality, save lives, and help the state meet its climate goals. What will ensure that everyone can afford healthy, efficient, and carbon-free heat pumps? 黑料传送门lays out how to use funding, financing, and market development to ensure heat pumps are affordable through 2027 and beyond.
Voter guide

March 2024 Voter Guide

Voter Guide /
For the March 2024 election, 黑料传送门analyzed local and state measures related to our policy areas on the California and San Francisco ballots. Our analysis includes the background behind the measures, equity impacts, pros and cons, and a recommendation on how to vote. (Note: There were no regional or San Jos茅 measures related to 黑料传送门policy areas on this ballot. 黑料传送门did not analyze Oakland Measure D because it qualified for the ballot after 黑料传送门completed its analysis process.)
Voter guide

San Francisco Prop A - Affordable Housing Bonds

Ballot Measure /
Authorizes the city to issue $300 million in general obligation bonds to fund the construction, development, acquisition, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable housing for extremely-low-, low-, and middle-income households.
Voter guide

San Francisco Prop C - Transfer Tax Waiver

Ballot Measure /
Exempts office-to-residential conversion projects from the city鈥檚 real estate transfer tax for one transaction after the conversion is completed and allows the square footage of office space that was converted to be returned to the Office Allocation Program, which sets an annual limit for new office development.
Voter guide

San Francisco Prop D - Prohibitions on Gifts and Bribery

Ballot Measure /
Expands rules prohibiting gifts and bribery, imposes personal liability on city officials who fail to disclose certain relationships, brings greater consistency to local ethics laws, and expands ethics training requirements for city officials.
Voter guide

California Prop 1 - Treatment Not Tents

Ballot Measure /
Authorizes the state to issue $6.38 billion in general obligation bonds to build behavioral-health housing and treatment facilities for homeless people and veterans. Expands the Mental Health Services Act and requires counties to spend part of the state鈥檚 existing 鈥渕illionaire鈥檚 tax鈥 on housing and services for people suffering from severe mental illnesses and substance use disorders as well as early-intervention services for children and youth.

Joint Letter to the CPUC on Supporting Flexibility in Energization Timelines

Advocacy Letter
黑料传送门and its partners submitted a joint letter to the CPUC in Rulemaking R2401018 on Energization Timelines urging energy division staff to address service upgrades in their rulemaking (in addition to new construction and EV charging). The letter also encourages the CPUC to adopt timelines that reflect the outcomes of best practices.
Report cover with illustration of houses plugging into electric energy

Closing the Electrification Affordability Gap

黑料传送门Report
New Bay Area regulations are ushering in a transition from gas furnaces and water heaters to electric-powered heat pumps, which heat air and water without emitting harmful pollutants, use far less energy, and would greatly reduce the region鈥檚 carbon emissions. A major challenge in adopting heat pumps is that, for now, they cost more to install. SPUR鈥檚 detailed action plan shows how incentives and electrical code changes can help the Bay Area make this transition affordable for low-income households.
4th Street, San Francisco

A Regional Ballot Measure Could Sustain and Transform Bay Area Transit 鈥 But There Are Many Details to Get Right

News /
The California State Legislature will soon consider legislation that would enable the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to put a regional transportation measure on a future ballot, potentially authorizing significant new funding for transit and other mobility investments. 黑料传送门has not yet taken a formal position on a prospective measure, but we are weighing in now to ensure that any legislation that moves forward is grounded in good policy and positions the region for success at the ballot.

Public Comment Letter on Tri-City Local Hazard Mitigation Plan

Advocacy Letter
SPUR, Save the Bay, and Greenbelt Alliance jointly submitted public comment on the Draft 2024 Tri-City Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) update covering City of Newark, City of Fremont, City of Union City, Alameda County Water District and Union Sanitary District. We are pleased to see that the draft addressed climate impacts like sea level rise, urban heat, flooding, wildfires, and earthquakes. Our letter to the Tri-City LHMP planning committee asks for more specificity in the sea level rise, flood, earthquake, and multi-hazard resilience policies and a greater emphasis on nature-based solutions and preserving natural resources.
Tomiquia Moss headshot

Q&A With Incoming State Housing Secretary Tomiquia Moss

News /
This week, former 黑料传送门board chair Tomiquia Moss began her new job as secretary of California鈥檚 Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency (BCSH). 黑料传送门is thrilled to support Tomiquia in her new role. We recently spoke with her about what she鈥檚 looking forward to working on as BCSH secretary.
report cover with an illustration of a neighborhood with a playground, murals, cafe tables, pedestrians and cyclists

Building Blocks Toward 20-Minute Neighborhoods

Policy Brief
As a companion to our brief The 15-Minute Neighborhood, 黑料传送门collaborated with SOM to develop a case study of San Jos茅鈥檚 Alum Rock neighborhood, exploring its potential to become a 鈥20-minute neighborhood,鈥 where residents can access many essential services and amenities just a short walk or bike ride from home. The case study draws upon work by San Jos茅 State University鈥檚 urban planning studio and was supported by recommendations from local leaders and community-based organizations.
Sarah Karlinsky headshot

Solutions to California鈥檚 Housing Crisis Start With the State: Q&A With Sarah Karlinsky

News /
In a new report, 黑料传送门Research Director Sarah Karlinsky describes the alphabet soup of state agencies that influence housing development 鈥 with little to no coordination of efforts to address the state鈥檚 housing crisis. We spoke with Sarah about the report鈥檚 central insight: although zoning and planning are local actions, the only way to build the millions of housing units California desperately needs is through state-level reform.

黑料传送门provides initial input on SB 926 regarding the consolidation of Bay Area transit agencies

Advocacy Letter
黑料传送门provided initial input to state Senator Aisha Wahab regarding SB 926, a bill to consider consolidation of the Bay Area's transit agencies. 黑料传送门provided a number of ways the initial bill language could be made more effective by defining a study that addresses the key structural issues that have prevented past consolidation efforts from advancing.

Coalition Signals Opposition to Highway Widening in Regional Transportation Measure

Advocacy Letter
黑料传送门and a large coalition of environmental, environmental justice, transit, and housing advocates have signaled their view that a new Bay Area's regional transportation measure should not include highway widening. Highway widening - expanding the physical footprint or geometry of highways and roadways exclusively for vehicular throughput - promotes driving and consequently increases climate pollution and safety hazards, while drawing riders away from public transit alternatives.
report cover with illustration of residential buildings arranged in the shape of the State of California

Structured for Success

黑料传送门Report
A key cause of California鈥檚 high housing costs is its decentralized and fragmented housing governance system. Multiple state and regional agencies, offices, departments, and systems are responsible for planning and funding housing. Add hundreds of cities, each with its own authority to zone for housing, and the complexity becomes dizzying. A new 黑料传送门report makes 11 recommendations to set California and the Bay Area on the path to produce the housing we need.

Affordable Housing Advocates' Budget Response

Advocacy Letter
黑料传送门joins a coalition of affordable housing advocates responding to the Governor鈥檚 budget proposal that includes deep cuts to housing funding programs that will negatively impact tens of thousands of families and make it impossible for our region to meet its housing goals.
Image: 黑料传送门Sponsors Nine Successful California State Bills in 2023

黑料传送门Sponsors Successful California State Bills

Urbanist Article
Since launching work at the state level three years ago, 黑料传送门has found that passing California-wide legislation can be the key to breaking gridlock on some of the Bay Area鈥檚 toughest issues.