Plan Bay Area Net Zero

7/28/2019 Plan Bay Area Net Zero

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PLAN BAY AREANET ZEROResponse to Draft Plan Bay Area

16 May 2013


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INTRODUCTION

Plan Bay Area: Does not go far enough!

The Bay Area is made up of 7.2 million residents, 101 cities and nine counties. While San Francisco resembles a

traditional, central downtown core, the Bay Area has morphed over the past 30-plus years into a sprawling, auto-

oriented, mega-region. This urban transformation has had a dramatic effect on our way of life and the negative impact

we have on local and global ecologies. As a result of recent development patterns, private automobile use accounts for

the largest portion of a typical Bay Area residents carbon footprint. This is reflected by an increased per-capita carbon

footprint as well as ever increasing per-capita housing and transportation costs.

Californias landmark 2008 climate law (SB 375, Steinberg) requires communities throughout the state to decrease

greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks, and to accommodate all needed housing growth. Most of thescenarios presented in Plan Bay Area predict reduced per-capita CO2 emissions from cars and light-duty trucks by 15

percent by 2040 and an adequate housing supply to house 100 percent of the regions projected population growth.

However, we are already experiencing the irreversible effects of climate change, and achieving housing affordability

in the Bay Area has long been considered a myth. If we do not act immediately with decisive action, we will let the

process of climate change proceed unabated; at the same time living in the Bay Area will remain affordable for only the

wealthiest among us.

Perkins+Will offers this public response to Plan Bay Area as: a critique of regional growth patterns; a call-to-action

for real change; a guide to a healthy and sustainable lifestyle; and a toolkit of real-world solutions that address thechallenges of the future of our region.

Addressing these critical challenges is essential to the well-being of our children and the communities we love. The

ultimate question is how far is the Bay Area willing to go to address these central challenges?

Peter Busby, C.M., AIA, FRAIC, MAIBC, LEED

AP BD+CPrincipal, Managing Director, Perkins+Will San Francisco


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LIFESTYLE GUIDE PERKINS+WILLSOLUTIONS

REGIONALCHALLENGES


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REGIONAL CHALLENGESTWO MAJOR GOALS

GHG EMISSIONSHOUSINGAFFORDABILITY


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1979 2013IMPROVEMENT

1979 2013

In Projections79 (the predecessor document of Plan Bay Area) San Francisco, Oakland

and other inner Bay Area communities were projected to resist almost all new

housing developments between 1980 and 2000. At the same time, communities at theedge of the region began to embrace to automobile-oriented, suburban style housing

developments. Planners and policy analysts who authored Projections79 accurately

predicted the subsequent damage resulting from this growth trend.

By contrast, Plan Bay Area 2013 projects that in almost all scenarios, virtually all new

development will take place within the existing urbanized boundary of the Bay Area.

Almost all new housing developments over the next quarter century will occur in existingurban communities. This current forecast marks a significant improvement over the bleak

projections of Projections79. However, as a region we still fall woefully short, by global

standards, on metrics such as reduced ecological impact and housing affordability.

VS.

The trend to lower residential

density ranges from the

consumption of vacant land as

valued open space to the costs

of providing urban servicesto such extensive areas The

additional 840,000 units

projected would occupy over 1

1/2 times as much land as was

occupied by the same number

of units in 1975

Projections79

Two-thirds of the regions

overall housing production is

directed to these 15 cities,

leaving the more than 90

remaining jurisdictions in the

region to absorb only limitedgrowth. This development

pattern preserves the character

of more than 95 percent of

the region by focusing growth

on less than 5 percent of the

land.

Plan Bay Area 2013


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The regional trend towards sprawl has depleted our natural and agricultural lands,

extended our commutes, and increased resource consumption. Our region cannot

afford another generation of this unsustainable behavior.

Urban infill development offers an opportunity to preserve natural and agricultural

lands, encourage transit, bicycles, and walking as viable, attractive transportation

options, and reduce resource consumption. This is the future for Bay Area citizens.

URBAN CORESPRAWL

Michael Soron (Flickr) Bret Janak (Perkins+Will)


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HIGHWAY

With almost forty percent of Californias total GHG emissions coming from transportation,

highway dependent land use patterns are one of the single largest contributors to the

regions annual CO2 emissions (California EPA: California Greenhouse Gas Emissionsfor 200 0 to 2010).

We must reduce auto trips by promoting viable alternative means of transportation.

In addition to lowering our regional dependence on fossil fuels and reducing carbon

emissions, embracing this goal will create a more vital, connected sense of communitywithin the region.

PUBLIC TRANSIT

La Citta Vita (Flickr)fakoman (Flickr)


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SINGLE FAMILYHOUSING

Suburban-style living led to the creation of auto-oriented neighborhoods with large-

scale blocks, cul-de-sacs, and long distances to services and amenities. These

neighborhoods lock future generations of residents into daily life patterns that arealmost wholly dependent upon the car. Since 1984, more than 200,000 acres of

agricultural land in the Bay Area have been lost to development (American Farmland

Trust; Greenbelt Alliance, SAGE: Sustaining Our Agricultural Bounty).

Many of the regions farms utilize irrigated cropland, the most productive and versatile

land for food production. By focusing all new development within the existing inner

core, we can maintain our local food production infrastructure, which is critical to ahealthy community.

FARMLANDS

Jen Doyle (Flickr) Wonderlane (Flickr)


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VACANT LAND

Many of the regions major urban centers are characterized by vacant lots and open

surface parking. Without a critical mass of residents living in these areas, public

transit, neighborhood services and amenities are not viable financially and make lifewithout a car inconvenient.

Vibrant urban infill neighborhoods include a variety of services and amenities located

within comfortable walking distance; parents can walk their children to school on their

way to the train in the mornings or stop at the market to pick up groceries on their wayhome in the evenings.

MULTI-FAMILYHOUSING

Noah Friedman (Pyatok Architects) David Baker + Partners Architects


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AFFORDABLEHOUSING1.One of the most critical challenges facing the BayArea today and into the foreseeable future is the

extreme lack of affordable housing. The federal

government defines affordable housing as a 30

percent maximum of annual household income spent

on housing. Bay Area households spend an average

of forty percent of their annual income on housing.

Low-income qualifying households must spend over

sixty percent of their total income on housing related

needs. Combined housing and transportation costs for

a Bay Area household are nearly sixty percent of total

income and even higher for low-income households.

A major contributing factor to the lack of affordablehousing in the region is the imbalance of job growth

vs. development of new housing. Over the last quarter

century the Bay Area produced over two times as

many jobs as housing units (ABAG: Regional Housing

Needs Assessment). This has created a major impact

on the quality of life of Bay Area households. Workers

are traveling increasing distances to find affordable

housing. Lack of affordable housing near viable

public transit has forced workers into cars and onto

highways, increasing our regional GHG emissions.

INCREASE AFFORDABLE HOUSING SUPPLY IN

TRANSIT ACCESSIBLE AREASAccording to the Urban Land Institutes analysis in their report Bay Area

Burden:Despite having higher housing costscombined costs for housing

and transportation are lowest in absolute dollar terms in Alameda and

San Francisco counties, which can be attributed in par t to their location

efficiency (i.e., their proximity to job clusters and public transit) and

consequently low transportation costs.Focusing development within a

convenient walking distance (5 minute walk) of transit or rail station and

at a minimum FAR of 3.0 would provide the region with capacity to grow

through 2040 and beyond. This will cause medium density and medium risestructures to occur around regional transit stations, greatly increasing the

supply of transit-accessible housing in the region.

CREATE A REGIONAL HOUSING SUBSIDYProjections provided in Plan Bay area indicate that over the next 30 years

two-thirds of the regions overall housing production will be focused in the

15 largest Bay Area cities. This means that a vast majority of the region will

not experience any change to the character of quality of their communities.

However, this obstinate resistance to shared sacrifice comes at the expense

of our children, grandparents, teachers, police and other members of our

communities that can no longer afford to live in the Bay Area. By introducing

a regional housing subsidy we can both: provide an adequate supply ofaffordable housing and preserve the existing character of smaller, more

suburban communities.


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NET ZEROREGION2.

REPLACE LOW-OCCUPANCY, PRIVATEAUTOMOBILE TRAVEL LANES WITH HIGH-OCCUPANCY, PUBLIC TRANSIT LANES, BICYCLEAND PEDESTRIAN PATHSWhile the outlook for growth over the next 30 years is much brighter than the

last 30 year s, our continue dependence on private automobiles is appalling.

With over ninety percent of Bay Area residents within a 5 minute walking

distance of a major transit line, clearly our current policies favoring private

automobiles over transit need to change. Removing travel lanes regionally

and replacing them with high-occupancy, public transit lanes, bicycle and

pedestrian paths will work to truly discourage driving and greatly reduce GHG

emissions related to transportation.

ELIMINATE PARKING NEAR TRANSITThe typical Bay Area parking space generates an average of over 10,000vehicle miles traveled annually resulting in a carbon footprint per-space of

roughly 4 tons per year. Prohibiting new parking spaces and eliminating

existing parking spaces within a five-minute walk of regional transit would be

the most effective and dramatic strategy to reduce our per-capita and regional

carbon footprint.

PRIVATE AUTOMOBILES TO PAY AT POINT OFSERVICE FOR HIGHWAY ACCESS AND PUBLICTRANSIT TO BE FREE AT POINT OF SERVICERequiring private, low-occupancy vehicles to pay at point-of-service, while

making regional transit free for riders at point-of-services would reverse the

current trend of favoring drivers over riders. This would greatly encourage Bay

Area residents to re-think their extreme reliance on cars.

Unfortunately, the Bay Area communities have notgone far enough in committing to maximize hard

won transit regional infrastructure to reasonable

accommodate current and future growth. As a result,

private automobiles are still the preferred mode of

transportation for most Bay Area residents and our

per-capita carbon footprint is still among the highest

in the world. Future residents of the Bay Area will

eschew automobiles for an urban lifestyle. Areas

underserved by transit or rail should have growth

targets reduced and limited. All currently undeveloped

land outside communities should be preserved as

critical farmland and habitat. It is imperative that we

work as a region to accommodate future growth whileeliminating our carbon.

Using greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to me asure

our impact on climate, San Francisco is near the top

of the class in the United States. However, when

compared to livable, dense, and leading-edge cities

like Vancouver or Toronto we can do much better.

Cities throughout the European Union are working

towards reducing their GHG emissions to average 2.5

tons per person per year - a reduction scientists agree

could shift the tide of climate change. With almost

forty percent of all GHGs in the Bay Area coming from

transportation, how and where we live has a dramaticimpact on our individual GHG emissions. Generally,

efficiency increases with proximity to the downtown

core and with denser buildings that share resources.

However, automobile ownership is the number one

contributor to our unacceptably high per-capita

carbon footprint.


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LIFESTYLE GUIDEFOR A CREATIVE CITY

TOLERANCE + DIVERSITY

CULTURAL AMENITIES KNOWLEDGE + INNOVATION

TRANSIT + CONVENIENCE


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KNOWLEDGE + INNOVATION

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to many colleges and universities, most

notably the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, San

Francisco, and Stanford University. These three universities are among the

worlds most prestigious institutions and attract the worlds most talented

students. This highly educated and diverse population has helped the Bay

Area become the nations largest concentration of national laboratories,

corporate and independent research laboratories, and the highest density of

venture capital firms in the world.

CTSIatUCSF (Flickr) Curtis Fry (Flickr) John Morgan (Flickr)


14/26La Citta Vita (Flickr) Pizzaiolo Envios (Flickr)

CULTURAL AMENITIES

Over the last few decades, the Bay Area has been a global epicenter of food,

arts and culture. Vibrant urban cores such as San Francisco and Oakland

are at the forefront of providing their residents these cultural amenities.

As noted by the New York Times Oakland is experiencing a wonderful

artistic renaissance. The Bay Area cultural scene is a thriving collection

of restaurants , art and cultural venues. Similarly, the unique relationship

between nature, open space and urban living provides Bay Areas residents aworld class setting to recreate and enjoy the outdoors.


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TOLERANCE + DIVERSITY

One of the most culturally, ethnically and socially diverse regions in the world,

the Bay Area is a model for tolerance and diversity. In a post-industrial

economy, one of the key ingredients to regional success is the ability to

welcome and incorporate a wide variety of ideas and view points. As a leader

in social justice and equality the Bay Area is a leader in the creative economy,

as defined by urban theorist Richard Florida.

OregonDOT (Flickr) ACPL (Flickr) bildungsr0man(Flickr)


16/26Michael Pieracci (Flickr) David Baker + Partners Architects Richard Masoner (Flickr)

Healthy neighborhoods promote ecological living and reduce natural

resource consumption while at the same time increasing social livability and

encouraging an economically vibrancy. With a shift towards a renewable

energy-based, pedestrian-focused neighborhoods, linked to the rest of the

region through a diverse public realm network and a system of alternative

transit, Bay Area residents will enjoy a high quality lifestyle while being morein balance with the natural ecology of the region.

TRANSIT + CONVENIENCE


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PERKINS+WILLSOLUTIONS + STRATEGIES


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PERKINS+WILLWHO WE ARE

RANKED #5 OF THE WORLDS MOST

INNOVATIVE COMPANIES IN ARCHITECTURE FastCompany, 2013

Global interdisciplinary design firm with 22 locations worldwide

163 Projects LEED Certified, including 20 Platinum and 45 Gold

215+ Projects Registered for LEED Certification

2 Projects tracking to meet the Living Building Challenge

1,000+ LEED Accredited Professionals

3 projects honored by the Clinton Climate Initiative as Climate-Positive

Committed to the 2030 Challenge in 2007

1% of total office billable hours donated to pro bono projects

(1,400 in SF in 2012)


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FREMONT WARM SPRINGS

PERKINS+WILL SOLUTIONS

MISSION ROCKTREASURE ISLAND

ECODENSITYEDMONTONDOCKSIDE GREEN


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DOCKSIDE GREENVICTORIA, BC

Named a Climate Positive Development by the Clinton Climate Initiative,

Dockside Green involves the reclamation and redevelopment of 15 acresof formerly industrial waterfront property into 1.3 million square feet of

commercial, residential, live/work, and light-industrial uses. The project

is a global showcase for large-scale integrated sustainable development.

In addition to the master plan, we have completed LEED Platinum Phase1: Synergy, Phase 2: Balance, and Phase C1: Inspiration, all LEED

Platinum certified.

PLAN AERIAL VIEW


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EDMONTON CITY CENTRE AIRPORT LANDSEDMONTON, AB

Envisioned to be a world leading sustainable community, Edmonton

takes an innovative approach to infrastructure, delivering resilient carbonneutral energy as well as promoting water and waste reduction. Carbon

emissions from the community will reduce by 3.2 million tons over 20

years while energy produced through biomass and deep geothermal

sources will create enough electricity to fully meet the needs of thedevelopment. Edmonton will provide housing for approximately 30,000

residents and create an estimated 10,000 new jobs.


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ECODENSITYVANCOUVER, BC

We conducted a critical analysis of the City of Vancouvers proposed

EcoDensity Charter and Initial Actions. The results of the exercise havebecome part of the planning departments vision for EcoDensity moving

forward and have garnered attention from municipalities across the

Lower Mainland. Data gathered for the purposes of the presentation and

brochure have been valuable in understanding how a citys land usestrategy can foster deep green development, district infrastructure and

community amenities.


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FREMONT WARM SPRINGSCOMMUNITY PLAN

FREMONT, CA

The 850-acre Warm Springs Community Plan Area is one of the largest

contiguous industrial areas left within Silicon Valley. While industrialin use, the future Warm Springs BART station, provides a unique

opportunity for a jobs-focused transit oriented development.

Working closely with the City, key stakeholders, economists and other

consultants, we are developing a forward-looking Community Plan,setting the stage for the next generation of commercial and industrial

enterprises and mixed-use residential neighborhoods.


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TREASURE ISLANDSAN FRANCISCO

Also named a Climate Positive Development, the Treasure Island

Development Concept Plan is the transformation of a former military siteinto a unique and highly sustainable neighborhood. Plans call for 8 ,000

residential units and a compact mixed-use district on one quarter of the

island with a regional multi-use park on the remaining 300 acres at the

center of the Bay. The sustainability of the development is enhancedthrough climate-based design, stormwater management, wind and solar

power generation, and buildings that feature green design strategies.


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MISSION ROCK SEAWALL LOT 337SAN FRANCISCO

Our proposal for the Mission Rock site creates a dense, lively, mixed-

use development that includes 875 residential units; one million squarefeet of office, retail and entertainment; open space and parking. The

proposed Mission Rock District contains local and national retail,

dining and entertainment venues with a special emphasis on local food

retailers and restaurants. The district is adjacent to a new light rail lineand is surrounded by new and emerging transit-oriented neighborhoods

including the UCSF Mission Bay campus.


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There are no technological barriers to sustainabledevelopment. As a wealthy region, with the resources and

knowledge to make a difference, the Bay Area has an

obligation to go beyond our commitment to SB375. We have

the opportunity, responsibility, and insight to become global

leaders with our sustainable design solutions.Peter Busby, C.M., AIA, FRAIC,

MAIBC, LEED AP BD+C

Principal, Managing Director

Perkins+Will

415.856.3002

[email protected]

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