Santa Monica Pushes Ahead To Meet Aggressive Infrastructure Sustainability Goals
Santa Monica currently requires all new residential and commercial construction to include rooftop solar systems. The Southern California coastal city of more than 92,000 people was the first city to require all new residential construction to be “zero-net” energy. Santa Monica has a water neutrality ordinance that caps water use for developments to the historical five-year average for the site. And the city is the first municipality to construct a super-sustainable Living Building.
The laws and programs, all since 2016, are part of the city’s ambitious three-part goal to achieve water self-sufficiency by 2020, zero waste production by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.