SANTA CRUZ >> At its meeting Thursday evening, the city of Santa Cruz’s Planning Commission will consider amendments to the city code that would require residents to apply energy efficiency measures when making substantial home renovations.

The proposed code changes were discussed by the Santa Cruz City Council at a study session in early August and will be considered by the governing body for a first reading, tentatively scheduled for November, following the review by the Planning Commission Thursday.

According to the meeting’s staff report, the policy would apply to major residential additions and alteration projects made by city residents. The policy defines a major addition as any change to an existing building that increases floor area by 350 square feet or more, while a major alteration refers to any construction or renovation to an existing structure — other than repairs — whose work area covers 350 square feet or more of the total floor area of the existing building. In those cases, the homeowner would be required to include energy efficiency measures from a menu of options, such as duct sealing or induction cooktops, among others, that would add up to a certain number of points.

The report states that the code changes would increase home renovation project costs on average by an estimated 5% and the proposed policy would likely impact about 300 permits each year, with a median project valuation at $130,000.

The proposed policy would not apply to projects that do not require a permit, appliance replacements, windows, roof projects, cosmetic changes or gas stoves. The policy names exemptions for homes that are already in compliance, incompatibility with historical building status, seismic retrofits, temporary structures and when upgrades present a significant cost burden to the homeowner.

The proposed ordinance is intended to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing residential buildings to help meet the city’s Climate Action Plan 2030 goals. These goals include electrifying 31% of existing residential buildings in the city by 2030 and 53% by 2035, with an aspirational target of becoming a carbon neutral city by 2035.

The report states that, “Considering that 96% of the city’s building stock is residential, 87% of residential buildings are single family homes and 84% of those single-family homes were constructed prior to 1991, staff determined that large renovations are one of the best opportunities to make improvements to single-family homes resulting in reduced energy use and emissions and improved comfort and satisfaction.”

To read the meeting agenda, visit cityofsantacruz.com.