Community Environmental Advisory Commission (CEAC) Mitigating Impacts of Outdoor Air Quality on Indoor Air Quality in Berkeley

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1 Page 1 of 6 [Commission Name] To: From: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council Community Environmental Advisory Commission (CEAC) Submitted by: Michael Goldhaber, Chairperson Subject: RECOMMENDATION Direct the City Manager to request the Planning Commission use the analyses presented here, and the draft provided in Appendix II, to create new Standard Conditions of Approval (SCA) for new building construction near major sources of air pollution, to achieve an acceptable level of indoor air quality (IAQ) for sensitive receptors. Total spending for required IAQ mitigations shall be at 1-2% of estimated total project costs. SUMMARY Air pollution has long been a problem in Berkeley, particularly West Berkeley. With significant new construction occurring and expected in areas of poor air quality, it is important to ensure the health of future residents, especially those vulnerable to poor air quality (such as children and seniors). Addressing causes of poor outdoor air quality is difficult, as many emission sources (e.g. industrial facilities and traffic) are regulated at the regional, state, or federal level. However, the City can still address health impacts by ensuring new construction minimizes the impact of poor outdoor air quality on indoor air quality. Since it is estimated that people spend as much as 90% of their time indoors, much of the potential impacts of poor outdoor air quality can be mitigated by managing indoor air quality. The proposed new Standard Condition of Approval (SCA) would apply to new construction projects which both: 1. Are located near major sources of air pollution emissions, including but not limited to: a. West of San Pablo Ave., 2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA Tel: (510) TDD: (510) Fax: (510) manager@cityofberkeley.info Website:

2 Page 2 of 6 b. Within 500 feet of a road or thoroughfare carrying an annual average total daily traffic (AADT) volume of 10,000 vehicles per day or more, or c. Within 1,000 feet of a road or thoroughfare with AADT of 50,000 vehicles per day or more; and 2. Are residential construction of eight or more units, or a facility which could house occupants highly susceptible to poor air quality, including seniors and children (also known as sensitive receptors ), including but not limited to schools, daycare centers, and hospitals. FISCAL IMPACTS OF RECOMMENDATION Staff time to develop the new standard conditions of approval for IAQ. CURRENT SITUATION AND ITS EFFECTS West Berkeley (between San Pablo and I-580) is commonly known to have the worst air quality in Berkeley, due to a conjunction of industrial land uses, rail, the freeway, and heavy truck traffic in the area. Furthermore, as Berkeley s population grows, so does its vehicle traffic, worsening the air quality in other busy parts of Berkeley. Rail transport is also expected to significantly increase for over the next decade and with it, the heavy diesel emissions. Residents on major thoroughfares frequently express concern about the air quality and its impact on their health. This has brought pressure to build high density mixed-use developments along the railroad, and major west Berkeley thoroughfares, exacerbating an already difficult situation. With the rising cost of housing, developers are looking to build new residential units across the city, especially in West Berkeley. In July 2015, the City Council asked staff to seek funding begin developing a new San Pablo Area Plan to guide new developments in the area. BACKGROUND According to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), particulate matter (referred to as PM) consists of very small liquid and solid particles suspended in the air, and includes particles smaller than 10 microns in diameter (PM 10) as well as finer particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM 2.5). Particulate matter pollution come from a variety of sources such as cars, trucks, buses, industrial facilities, power plants, construction sites, tilled fields, unpaved roads, stone crushing, and burning of wood (BAAQMD, 2016). Particulate matter from diesel powered vehicles (diesel PM) is of particular concern because of the large number of people who are exposed to motor vehicle emissions in urban areas. In addition, diesel PM has been classified by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) as a toxic air contaminant. ARB estimates that diesel PM emissions are responsible for about 70 percent of the total risk from ambient air toxics. Increased incidence of lung cancer is among the risks associated with long-term exposure to diesel PM (BAAQMD, 2012).

3 Page 3 of 6 Studies have found that most people experience a major portion of their total PM exposure when they are indoors. In general, people spend the majority of their time indoors; according to one study, adults typically spent 87% of their time indoors, 7% in vehicles, and just 6% outside. The PM found indoors is a combination of ambient (outdoor) PM that penetrates to the indoor environment, as well as PM emissions produced by indoor sources such as stoves and fireplaces. Factors that determine indoor air exposure include: 1) the outdoor PM concentration in the vicinity of the building; 2) the air infiltration rate, or how much air penetrates indoors; and 3) the air exchange rate, or how quickly indoor air is replaced by outdoor air. The infiltration rate of outdoor PM to the indoor environment depends upon building materials, characteristics, and design, such as the type of ventilation system, the location of air intake units, whether windows are open or closed, and whether a building has air conditioning or an air filtration system (BAAQMD, 2012). In 2011, BAAQMD sought to develop Community Risk Reduction Plans (CRRPs) in collaboration with cities. One element of the CRRP would include certain requirements for new development projects that housed occupants highly susceptible to poor air quality, such as seniors and children. These sensitive receptor developments (including schools, daycare centers, hospitals, and senior housing) would be required to include appropriate control technologies to ensure improvements to the indoor air quality (IAQ). The cities of San Francisco and San Jose were unable to move their CRRP programs forward. Oakland chose to move forward by adopting IAQ standard conditions regardless of the CRRP process. Since then, Oakland has incorporated indoor air quality mitigation requirements for all new residential developments and sensitive receptors placed near major sources of pollution, such as freeways, high traffic roads, rail yards, and some industrial facilities. CEAC first evaluated a Community Risk Reduction Plan in 2011, but its process was interrupted by the challenge in court. In 2012, CEAC met with senior staff in the Planning and Development Department. At the time, staff indicated their opposition to CRRP due to the impact on staffing, but would be open to adopting standard conditions for IAQ similar to those adopted by the City of Oakland. The CEAC requested input from Planning Department staff, and that was reviewed and incorporated in the motion adopted on May 12, 2016: Motion/Seconded/Carried. Kaufman/Amezcua. Carried: Gould, Goldhaber, Varnhagen, Kaufman, Lim, Amezcua. Absent: Camacho, Lynch. Abstain: None. The CEAC amended the recommendation to add the mitigation costs of 1-2% of project value on May 11, Motion/Seconded/Carried. Miller/Delfin-Polk. Carried: Goldhaber, Delfin-Polk, Varnhagen, Lim, Ticconi, and Miller. ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY The proposed recommendation imposes mitigations on some new developments in poor air quality areas which will make said developments more sustainable.

4 Page 4 of 6 RATIONALE FOR RECOMMENDATION Public health is an important part of the City of Berkeley s mission (the Public Health Division works to ensure the health and wellbeing of all Berkeley residents and believes that every person in Berkeley has the right to good health. ). Air pollution is a significant driver of poor public health, leading to respiratory and cardiovascular disease. While the City faces challenges regulating outdoor air quality and emission sources, building design standards to achieve acceptable levels of indoor air quality are well within its purview. Because people are estimated to spend up to 90% of their time indoors, indoor air quality mitigations are an effective way to reduce health risks from outdoor air pollution. While there will be some cost increase to these mitigations, those cost increases are minimized by requiring them at the design stage. Additionally, by only requiring indoor air quality mitigations in areas of Berkeley with (reasonable expectations of) poor outdoor air quality, it ensures any additional cost increase is only for projects in areas where it can be expected to have a noticeable benefit to building occupants. The proposed standard conditions of approval are adapted from the City of Oakland s requirements. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS CONSIDERED On May 17, 2011, the CEAC sent Council a recommendation to implement a Community Risk Reduction Plan (CRRP) which would require mitigations in developments located in areas in Berkeley considered to have poor air quality. The CRRP (a Bay Area Air Quality Management District proposal) was challenged in court and consideration of the CRRP in Berkeley was delayed. In 2014, Planning staff and CEAC considered adopting a set of mitigations similar to City of Oakland Planning Department but the mitigations were dated and the Berkeley areas with poor air quality would need to be identified. CITY MANAGER The City Manager takes no position on the content of this report. CONTACT PERSON Nabil Al-Hadithy, Secretary, Community Environmental Advisory Commission, (510) Attachment 1: Draft Standard Condition of Approval References: BAAQMD, Particulate Matter webpage. Available: accessed April 2016 BAAQMD, August Understanding Particulate Matter: Protecting Public Health in the Bay Area. Available:

5 Page 5 of 6 Attachment I: Draft Standard Condition of Approval The new Standard Condition of Approval should be based on the following example: SCA AIR-X: Exposure to Air Pollution Prior to issuance of a demolition, grading, or building permit. A. Indoor Air Quality: In accordance with the recommendations of the California Air Resources Board (ARB) and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), appropriate measures shall be incorporated into the project design in order to reduce the potential health risk due to exposure to air pollution, including diesel particulate matter and other toxic air contaminants, to achieve an acceptable risk level for sensitive receptors from outdoor air pollutants while indoors. The appropriate measures shall include one of the following methods: 1. Prior to issuance of a demolition, grading, or building permit, the project applicant shall retain a qualified air quality consultant to prepare a health risk assessment (HRA), in accordance with the ARB, BAAQMD, and the Office of Environmental Health and Hazard Assessment requirements, to determine the exposure of residents/occupants/users within the project to air pollution. The HRA shall be submitted to the Planning and Development Department for review and approval. The applicant shall implement the approved HRA recommendations for indoor air quality improvements to an acceptable risk level. If the HRA concludes that the air quality risks from nearby sources are at or below acceptable levels, then additional measures are not required. 2. The applicant shall implement all of the following features that have been found to reduce the air quality risk to sensitive receptors, and shall be included in the project construction plans and maintained on an ongoing basis during operation of the project. Prior to the issuance of a demolition, grading, or building permit, these features shall be submitted to the Planning and Development Department for review. The Planning and Development Department shall either approve these features, require alterations, or require the applicant to retain a qualified aivr quality consultant to prepare and follow recommendations from a HRA, as elaborated above in option 1. a. Redesign the site layout to locate sensitive receptors as far as possible from any freeways, major roadways, or other sources of air pollution (e.g., loading docks, parking lots). b. Do not locate sensitive receptors near distribution center s entry and exit points.

6 Page 6 of 6 c. Incorporate tiered plantings of trees (redwood, deodar cedar, live oak, and/or oleander) to the maximum extent feasible between the sources of pollution and the sensitive receptors. d. Install, operate and maintain in good working order a central heating and ventilation (HV) system or other air take system in the building, or in each individual residential unit, that meets or exceeds an efficiency standard of MERV 13. The HV system shall include the following features: Installation of a high efficiency filter and/or carbon filter to filter particulates and other chemical matter from entering the building. Either HEPA filters or ASHRAE 85% supply filters shall be used. e. Retain a qualified HV consultant or HERS rater during the design phase of the project to locate the HV system based on exposure modeling from the pollutant sources. f. Project applicant or owner shall maintain, repair and/or replace HV system on an ongoing and as needed basis, or shall prepare an operation and maintenance manual for the HV system and the filter. The manual shall include the operating instructions and the maintenance and replacement schedule. This manual shall be included in the CC&Rs for residential projects and distributed to the building maintenance staff. In addition, the applicant shall prepare a separate homeowners manual. The manual shall contain the operating instructions and the maintenance and replacement schedule for the HV system and the filters.