Santa Rosa Watches AB 811 promise to finance a greener future

North Bay BUSINESS JOURNAL EDITORIAL
Monday, September 1, 2008
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In 2006, the California Legislature mandated substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions for the entire state.

By 2020, cities and counties through California must do their part to cut emissions to the level of 1990, a 25 percent decrease. By 2050, the law mandates an 80 percent cut. Most immediately, a goal of reducing emissions by 11 percent from current levels is fast approaching in 2010.

Now, a newly enacted state law gives counties and municipalities a financing tool to help meet that goal.

Assembly Bill 811, pushed primarily by Palm Desert, Berkeley and San Francisco, allows California counties and cities to sell bonds to fund “permanently fixed improvements” to private property the way they can for public works. The government would be allowed to pay off the bonds via special districts in which residents or businesses can opt for loans paid back over a period of time or via property taxes.

Beginning with an ambitious plan for green energy and water systems for the 450-acre Airport Business Center north of Santa Rosa, “the county is in full gear to figure out how financing is going to occur,” said a spokeswoman for the Sonoma County Water Agency, which is a key force in pushing emissions-reducing efforts.

The water agency itself has set a goal to have a net-zero carbon footprint in the coming years.

The Airport Green Business Group was organized earlier this summer by the agency and businesses in the park such as Jackson Family Wines, which has its headquarters and production facilities there.

The group is exploring how to reduce water and energy costs through facility upgrades as well as by pumping treated wastewater from nearby county treatment facilities throughout the park to heat and cool buildings via a geo-exchange system. Recycled water could also be used for irrigation.

At the same time, the county’s auditor’s office is carefully watching developments in Palm Desert financing plans. The California Public Utilities Commission sees Palm Desert’s evolving plan as a potential statewide model.

All these efforts are worthy of support because, instead of just being handed a goal, communities now have a tool to reach it.