Friday, April 19, 2013

Recycle Your Tires Day And Other Recylcing Programs that LA County Sponsors

Saturday April 20th 9am to 3pm Open to L.A. County residents. No tires from businesses, no oversized or tractor tires. Rims accepted. If you transport more than 9 tires per trip you will neec to call ahead. This is sponsored by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich and cleanLA.com There are other similar programs as part of the recycling programs for the county which can be found via www.cleanla.com There are Plastic Bag Programs now for Stores in unincorporated LA County are no longer allowed to provide single-use plastic carryout bags. To find out more about the County's Carryout Bag Ordinance go to cleanla.com Residential Recycling Program Find out about the County's Residential Recycling programs via this link here: http://dpw.lacounty.gov/epd/rethinkla/ . Los Angeles County Materials Exchange (LACoMAX.com ) The Los Angeles County Materials Exchange, is a free Countywide materials reuse service that can help you find markets for your surplus materials and other usable discards. Also, Construction and Demolition Debris Projects requiring a construction, demolition, and/or grading permit must recycle at least 50% of the debris generated. Illegal Dumping is a big problem for many land owners in the valley and there is a means to report it via You can report large piles of illegally dumped trash, visit our this site: http://dpw.lacounty.gov/epd/illdump/ There are three reasons: money, health, and the environment. It decreases property values, and costs millions in clean up cost. It further pollutes land and water ways, and ruins wildlife habitats. It is a major problem and it ends up being the responsibility of the property owner to remove the debris. If the property owners doesn’t remove the debris then the county will and they will place a lien on the property for the cost to clear up the debris.

Friday, April 5, 2013

BYD to Build Electric Bus Assembly Plant in Lancaster

Long Beach Transit recently awarded a $12.1 million contract to BYD America to build all electric buses, the Shenzhen China based company has agreed to based its California assembly plant in Lancaster. According to news reports, On May 1, BYD will break ground in Lancaster, and they will target this plant for the U.S. and Latin American markets. Further Michael Austin, vice president of BYD America, Lancaster’s use of solar energy was a factor in the decision. “They’ve been very green,” he said. “They’ve been the solar capital of the United States for a while because they have such great solar resources.” The plant is reported to be located at an old RV manufacturing plant. The 13 acres is located in heavy industrial zoned area around Ave H in the northern part of Lancaster near Sierra Hwy. Austin further said via news reports that all the required permits were already in place. “Literally, we have a factory that is built to suit,” he said. “It is perfect because it launches us very quickly into manufacturing, even manufacturing starting this year.” BYD is expected to deliver the buses to Long Beach Transit in 2014. There is no indication as to how many jobs will be created. Austin indicated that jobs will depend on market factors, but estimated that one job would be created for each bus sold per year. The company expects to produce 50 100 buses in the first year. Long Beach Transit’s contract with BYD had been under pressure to take another contract instead of BYD. It looks like Long Beach Transit decision played a role in BYD's decision. Austin defended the decision, saying BYD was a Chinese company but BYD Motors was an American entity. “Half our investors are US,” he said. “Our largest shareholder is Warren Buffett. Those buses will be built using California labor, creating California jobs to create California buses.” The Long Beach contract is partly funded by the Federal Transit Administration, and BYD is backed by Warren Buffett. They are scheduled to deliver the buses in 2014. BYD also has a headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, so they have established roots here for about 18 months. Among Electric Buses, cars, backup batteries and photo voltaic solar panels among other products.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Lancaster California Proposing Mandatory Solar for New Homes

Reprint of Lancaster News Press Release- At its upcoming March 26, 2013 meeting, the Lancaster City Council will consider adopting a new ordinance which will require residential units built within Lancaster on or after January 1, 2014 to provide an average of 1 kilowatt (kW) of solar-generated electricity per housing unit. “Lancaster is already strongly committed to furthering green energy and reducing our carbon footprint. In fact, we’ve been nationally and internationally recognized for our solar achievements. However, to truly establish ourselves as the Alternative Energy Capital of the World, we must continue to take a progressive approach. I would like to commend our Planning Commission for this innovative revision of the Residential Zones, which will rapidly advance us towards becoming a net-zero City in record time,” remarked Mayor R. Rex Parris. The proposed new ordinance is a comprehensive revision of the City’s current Residential Zoning. The specific section addressing solar energy systems requires new single family residential units to provide solar-generated power at a minimum average of 1 kW per unit (depending on the type of lot). Installation of solar energy systems is not required for all homes within a production subdivision; however, the builder will still be required to meet the aggregate energy generation requirement within the subdivision. In addition, the proposed ordinance includes revised development standards, additional design and performance measures, infill development incentives, accessory dwelling unit requirements, provisions allowing corner duplexes, and live-work provisions. The ordinance also contains regulations to implement provisions of the City’s adopted Housing Element and current State housing law, which are necessary to comply with State law. “City Planning staff and Planning Commissioners did a great job in collaborating with the residential building industry as well as organized real estate and building trade associations to receive input and feedback during the development of this proposed ordinance,” said Planning Commission Chair, James Vose. Shortly after the adoption of the General Plan Update in 2009, City staff began initial research on the Residential Zones update. An administrative draft was released in June 2011, followed by a public draft in January 2012. Following several outreach efforts and a series of public hearings, the Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. 13-01 on January 28, 2013, recommending to the City Council approval of the City’s Residential Zoning Ordinance. Other zoning code amendments for implementation of specific actions from the City’s Housing Element are also included in the same resolution. “The layout and design of buildings and streets comprise a crucial component of any thriving cutting-edge city. As such, to ensure that the City of Lancaster remains at the forefront of innovative and progressive design and technology, the Architectural and Design Commission conducted a comprehensive revision of the City’s previous design guidelines, creating new principles which better reflect the current design approach and philosophy,” said Mayor Parris. “This proposed ordinance also reflects Lancaster’s commitment to become a net-zero city.” The Revised Residential Zoning Ordinance will be considered by the City Council at the March 26 Council Meeting held at 5 p.m. in the Lancaster City Council Chambers (44933 N. Fern Ave).