Creating Policy and Building Infrastructure for Local Hire Programs

Wednesday, November 18th, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley, California

Local hire requirements have the potential to be a powerful mechanism by which multiple sectors can work together to advance socioeconomic equity in urban communities. But how can we ensure that local hire programs benefit poor communities and communities of color in the long term, with lasting, quality jobs that lead to a reduction in poverty and that sustain community growth over time?

This event will engage with four local hire experts who will share case studies and demonstrate the importance of making sure that local hire requirements are not only clearly and strongly articulated, but also that local hire programs include key infrastructure features - such as well funded training pipelines, city staff buy-in, monitoring mechanisms, and consequences for lack of compliance - for effective operation that puts local residents to work in good jobs and responds to local socioeconomic needs in poor communities.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Julian Gross, Attorney, Community Benefits Law Center
• Marie McKenzie, Redevelopment Manager, City of East Palo Alto
• Alex Paxton, Special Assistant to Deputy Chief of Operations, Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles
• Bernida Reagan, Director of Community and Client Relations, Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services

RSVP to guarantee your reservation. Seating is limited.

Sebastião Salgado Photography Exhibit

Then and Now
Photographs by Sebastião Salgado
On display through January 31, 2010 in the Hazel Wolf Gallery at the David Brower Center

This exhibition presents a selection of images spanning a career in documentary photography by renowned Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado. His images tell the story of an era, tracing the human and environmental impacts of modern industrial civilization through the lives of workers, the rural poor and the displaced. These powerful photographs have been selected from Salgado’s long term projects: Other Americas, Sahel, the End of the Road, Workers, Migrations and Africa. Also on view are select images from his current "work in progress," Genesis, which began in 2004 and will be completed in 2011. These images reveal nature – landscapes, flora, fauna and human settlements – in its earliest state.

In his native country, Sebastião and his wife Lélia work together on an environmental restoration project in Brazil called Instituto Terra. The project's mission is to restore a portion of Brazil's Atlantic forest, raise environmental awareness, and work on small economic development projects benefiting the communities living in that high biodiversity area.

The Brower Center, including the Hazel Wolf Gallery, is open weekdays from 10 am until 5 pm. The Center is located at 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley, California.

NIMBY or YIMBY?

As both Berkeley and Oakland debate their downtown plans, there is growing recognition that the fight against global warming requires greater urban density.
Robert Gammon, East Bay Express, July 1, 2009

Environmentalists who think globally say suburban sprawl and the destruction of rural farmland must stop. But the lack of urban growth in Berkeley and in parts of Oakland during the past few decades also has contributed to suburban sprawl and long commutes. And all those freeways choked with cars are now the single biggest cause of greenhouse gas emissions in the region. Some activists who have fought developers for years are now embracing them and calling for so-called "smart growth" or "infill development" — dense urban housing near mass transit. They note that downtown Berkeley and Oakland, along with the major transportation corridors between the two cities, are nearly perfect for transit-oriented development.

Greenbelt Alliance, an environmental group that has been fighting suburban sprawl for decades, recently pinpointed the inner East Bay as one of the region's top potential growth areas. The group estimates that the inner East Bay, west of the hills, could accommodate at least 106,000 new housing units by 2035. The group based its estimate on data from the Association of Bay Area Governments and UC Berkeley's Institute of Urban and Regional Development.

But for the inner East Bay to grow the way it should, it will have to overcome the region's well-developed not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) sensibilities. In Berkeley and North Oakland, in particular, residents who view themselves as environmentalists have been blocking dense housing developments for decades. They have complained about traffic, overcrowding, and the potential destruction of neighborhood character.

In Berkeley, where NIMBY sentiment is especially strong, a group of developers and activists who advocate for smart growth sometimes refer to themselves as YIMBYs (Yes, In My Backyard). "Our goal is to shift the idea of what it means to be an environmentalist when living in a city, away from the protection of land to the more efficient use of land," explained Erin Rhoades, the volunteer executive director of Livable Berkeley. For several years, her group has been battling a small but very vocal coalition of city residents who simultaneously view themselves as green while staunchly opposing urban housing development.

There are far fewer NIMBYs in Oakland when it comes to downtown issues. The Oakland City Council is scheduled to debate its new downtown plan on July 7. In downtown Oakland, the biggest impediment to growth over the years hasn't been NIMBYism but crime. The widespread perception that downtown is dangerous has stymied development. But in recent years, Oakland's Uptown area, just north of downtown, has launched a comeback, particularly since the renovation of the historic Fox Theater.

Read the complete article in the East Bay Express.

Berkeley Climate Action Plan Public Meeting

The Berkeley City Council is considering approval of the city's Climate Action Plan for the purpose of environmental review.

A public meeting will be held May 5, 2009 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in the Council Chambers at 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Berkeley.

Read Berkeley's Climate Action Plan here: http://www.berkeleyclimateaction.org/Content/10056/ClimateActionPlan.html

Previously on the Northgate Sustainability Forum: Compendium of California Climate Action Plans.

Oakland's Green Building Requirements

Oakland - Building a Sustainable Future

The City of Oakland is considering mandatory Green Building requirements for private development. Green Building emphasizes maximizing efficiency and reducing consumption, and will mitigate the negative environmental and health impacts on many people living and working in Oakland.

A public hearing has been scheduled:
Thursday, February 19, 2009
5:30 to 7:30 pm
Oakland City Hall
Hearing Room 1

For more information:
Heather Klein, Planning and Zoning Division
510.238.3659, hklein@oaklandnet.com

Other Green Building requirements in the Bay Area:

Oakland already has Green Building requirements for applicable city building and traditional public works projects, setting LEED Silver standards for city buildings, and has adopted Green Building guidelines for private sector building. The city maintains a Green Building Resource Center to provide recycling and green building education and assistance.

Effective November 2008, Chapter 13C of the San Francisco Building Code requires new buildings constructed in the city to meet green building standards, which were developed by the Green Building Task Force.

San Francisco's priority permitting program provides expedited permit review in the Planning Department, Department of Building Inspection, and Department of Public Works for LEED Gold projects.

All San Francisco municipal projects (new construction and major renovations over 5,000 square feet) are required to achieve LEED Silver certification.

The city of San Francisco is banned from purchasing or using tropical hardwoods, virgin redwood, and wood treated with arsenic-based preservatives.

The City of Berkeley does not have green building standards, but requires that projects that require a Use Permit or Administrative Use Permit and involve demolition or construction, to consult with a green building expert provided at no charge by the Berkeley’s Best Builders Program. Applicable projects may also require completion of a Green Building Checklist, an Energy Conservation Analysis, or specific conservation measures.

All Alameda County projects must meet at least LEED Silver rating or equivalent. Traditional Public Works projects (e.g., pump stations, flood control improvements, roads, bridges, sidewalks, etc.) are exempted.

Alameda County projects with a total estimated construction costs exceeding $100,000 must divert at least 50% of debris from landfill via reuse or recycling. Traditional Public Works projects must also divert 75% of asphalt, concrete, and earth debris from landfill via reuse or recycling.

In San Jose, commercial and industrial buildings that are 25,000 square feet or more must meet LEED Silver standards. Residential developments of 10 or more units must meet basic LEED certification standards or achieve 50 points under the GreenPoint rating system. Housing structures that are 75 feet high or taller are required to meet basic LEED standards. In 2012, commercial and industrial buildings of 10,000 square feet or more and residential buildings 75 feet high or taller must meet LEED Silver standards.

Structures 10,000 square feet or more that are built by the city of San Jose or the San Jose Redevelopment Agency are required to meet LEED Silver status.

What Will it Take to Make the Bay Area the Electric Vehicle Capital of the US?

In November 2008, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, and San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed announced a plan to position the region’s economic and environmental future around electric transportation. They hope to make they Bay area the so-called "Electric Vehicle Capital of the US".

City Visions Radio - Mondays from 7:00-8:00 pm on KALW 91.7 San Francisco - discusses the plans to make the Bay Area more friendly to electric cars.

Guests on the February 9, 2009 show included:

• Sherry Boschert, journalist and author of the book “Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars That Will Recharge America”; president, San Francisco Electric Vehicle Association; vice-president, Plug-In America
• Richard Lowenthal, founder & CEO, Coulomb Technologies
• Nick Rothman, lead technician, Green Gears; http://greengearhead.blogspot.com/; http://www.a123systems.com/hymotion/home

Here's a link to the program: http://www.cityvisionsradio.com/

And learn more about electric vehicles here:
http://www.sfeva.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.gogreenmotors.com/
http://www.teslamotors.com/
http://www.lusciousgarage.com/