San Francisco’s small businesses face multiple challenges: a notoriously complex regulatory environment, rising costs, and a slow economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenges are even more acute for small businesses in the downtown area, which has still not recovered its office and visitor customer base. SPUR identifies seven interventions to support the small business sector in San Francisco.

SPUR joined a comment letter with other advocacy partners advising the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on the adoption of zero-emission space and water heater standards for the state. The letter encourages CARB to align standards with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's new rules on zero-emission space and water heating, and provides additional recommendations for analysis and implementation.

The Draft Plan was released in late January by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), in collaboration with the City of San Francisco, to build coastal flood defenses along the Port's 7.5-mile jurisdiction between Aquatic Park and Heron's Head Park. The Draft Flood Study's proposed adaptation strategies will lead the way for regional and statewide efforts on sea level rise adaptation over the next 50 to 100 years. SPUR, Save the Bay, and Greenbelt Alliance submitted a public comment letter with five recommendations regarding proposed actions around elevating the shoreline, mitigating contamination, addressing inland flooding from stormwater and groundwater, the use of bay fill, and nature-based solutions. Read the letter to learn more.

SPUR has created the most up-to-date database of local land use ballot measures that impact housing production in California. Many of the 208 measures we identified curb urban sprawl and protect open space. But others undermine infill housing production in urbanized areas. Over the long term, measures that restrict infill housing can undermine housing affordability and have the potential to exacerbate racial segregation.

SPUR and our partners support SB 1095 (Becker, 2024) which updates code ambiguities to ensure individuals can switch from gas to electric appliances, allowing Californians to opt for cozier and healthier zero-emission homes.

SPUR 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.

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’s carbon emissions. A major challenge in adopting heat pumps is that, for now, they cost more to install. SPUR’s detailed action plan shows how incentives and electrical code changes can help the Bay Area make this transition affordable for low-income households.

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.