Category: Sustainable Housing

Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power Pursues “Customer First” Agenda: An interview with Commissioner William Funderburk

CHPC’s water affordability initiative works to increase access to water conservation resources for the nonprofit multifamily affordable rental housing sector in California. Below is the third article in a GREEN series focused on leaders, best practices, and emerging trends for water conservation in affordable housing. GREEN members are responding to the drought. These are their stories. Los Angeles Department of Water and Read More

Date: March 01, 2017 Author: Amanda Isbell

Posted in Sustainable Housing

Your (Interim) Guide to Getting Whole Building Energy Data

Consistent access to energy usage data is a transformative tool for reducing energy consumption at multifamily properties. Data enables building owners to target the most cost efficient energy upgrades and ensure the long-term sustainability and affordability of properties. Further, benchmarking is often a prerequisite for participating in federal and state energy efficiency and renewable incentive programs in order to establish Read More

Date: February 08, 2017 Author: Amanda Isbell

Posted in Sustainable Housing, Policy

CA Agency Recommends Low-Income Energy and Water Legislation and Task Force

On December 14, 2016, the California Energy Commission (CEC) approved the SB 350 Barriers Study mandated by Senate Bill 350 to address barriers for low-income households and disadvantaged communities to participate in energy efficiency and renewables opportunities. The purpose of the study is to identify how new legislation and joint agency efforts can establish transformative goals and policies to enable all Read More

Date: December 16, 2016 Author: Amanda Isbell

Posted in Sustainable Housing, Policy

GREEN and EEFA Develop 2017 Priorities for Energy Efficiency, Water, Renewable Energy

Sixty leaders from housing, energy, environmental, and workforce development organizations gathered in Los Angeles and San Francisco this month to help the California Housing Partnership’s Green Rental home Energy Efficiency Network (GREEN), Natural Resources Defense Council, and Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) partners set priorities for our collective energy efficiency, water and renewable energy work in California for 2017. In Read More

Date: November 30, 2016 Author: Amanda Isbell

Posted in Sustainable Housing

California Regulators Dedicate $80 Million to Empower Affordable Housing Owners to Play a Key Role in Meeting the State’s Energy Efficiency Goals

On November 10, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a decision that dedicates $80 million to empower government and non-profit owners of rent-restricted affordable housing to participate in Energy Savings Assistance (ESA) programs for low-income households. The Green Rental home Energy Efficiency Network (GREEN) and Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) Coalition* secured these funds and significant ESA program improvements Read More

Date: November 10, 2016 Author: Amanda Isbell

Posted in Sustainable Housing, Policy

Self-Help Enterprises Responds to Drought in San Joaquin Valley

CHPC’s water affordability initiative works to increase access to water conservation resources for the nonprofit multifamily affordable rental housing sector in California. Below is the second article in a GREEN series focused on leaders, best practices, and emerging trends for water conservation in affordable housing. We will cover graywater reuse, high efficiency fixtures, sewer service fees, sub-metering, and landscape irrigation in urban Read More

Date: November 03, 2016 Author: Amanda Isbell

Posted in Sustainable Housing

Eden Housing “Water Warriors” Cut Water Use by 20 Percent

CHPC’s water affordability initiative works to increase access to water conservation resources for the nonprofit multifamily affordable rental housing sector in California. Below is the first article in a GREEN series focused on leaders, best practices, and emerging trends for water conservation in affordable housing. We will cover graywater reuse, high efficiency fixtures, sewer service fees, sub-metering, and landscape irrigation in Read More

Date: September 19, 2016 Author: Amanda Isbell

Posted in Sustainable Housing

Cap-and-Trade Dollars at Work

FIRST AFFORDABLE HOUSING & SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES FUNDED DEVELOPMENT IN SILICON VALLEY BREAKS GROUND The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara (HACSC) this week celebrated the groundbreaking for its Laurel Grove Family Apartments in San José, a transit-oriented development that will provide 81 units of housing for low-income families earning between 20 percent and 50 percent of Area Median Read More

Date: August 26, 2016 Author: Amanda Isbell

Posted in Sustainable Housing

Financing Affordable Rental Housing: A greener path ahead

Finding the money to develop rental homes affordable for low-income families has never been more difficult. The collapse of the financial markets last fall, generally attributed to systemic failures in the single-family mortgage markets, has made it extremely difficult for most developers to obtain debt and equity financing on reasonable terms. As a result, thousands of affordable apartments slated to begin Read More

Date: August 08, 2009 Author: Amanda Isbell

Posted in Sustainable Housing, Policy

All Utility Allowance Innovations Are Local: A look at Tulare County’s Solar UA

The Housing Authority of the County of Tulare (HACT) has developed a promising model for enabling owners of low-income affordable rental housing to finance the cost of installing solar PV systems on tenant meters. In this blog, I describe how other housing authorities can and should emulate Tulare’s innovative and yet relatively simple approach, which has the power to overcome the Read More

Date: June 30, 2016 Author: Amanda Isbell

Posted in Sustainable Housing