San Francisco to align green building rules with state updates; EV and electrification measures expand

Barry Hooper of the San Francisco Department of Environment briefed the Building Inspection Commission on the city's green building code and forthcoming amendments that largely harmonize local requirements with state 2022 changes.

Hooper said the city’s Green Building Code combines state Title 24 Part 11 (CalGreen) and San Francisco’s local amendments and that recent local measures already required many practices now strengthened at the state level. "The state is beginning to require PV on all new residential and most new non residential construction," he said, and noted the code will preserve living roofs as a compliance option when consistent with state energy intent.

Hooper summarized key themes of the 2022 updates: stronger EV infrastructure requirements (EV-capable/EV-ready definitions and limited required charger installation in some multifamily cases), prescriptive support for electrification (at least one heat-pump system for new buildings), and improved performance metrics for energy standards that avoid disincentivizing electrification. He described incentive channels for existing-building electrification, including BayREN and Clean Power SF incentives for heat pump water heaters.

Commissioners questioned the relative contribution of DBI-enforced efficiency measures to citywide carbon reductions and asked about strategies to encourage electrification in existing buildings and support for off-site or retail EV charging. Deputy City Attorney Rob Capela and Hooper noted related ordinances and regional incentive programs addressing non-residential retail charging and the administrative path for adding chargers to buildings.

Hooper concluded that the state's changes advance San Francisco's existing policy goals and that the department will provide more detailed materials to commissioners ahead of the DBI code package scheduled for formal consideration next month.