Supervisor introduces legislationto encourage energy conservation

Supervisor introduces legislation
to encourage energy conservation

Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin introduced legislation Tuesday
aimed at conserving energy use, requiring downtown office buildings
to turn off lights outside normal business hours.
Photo by Luke Thomas

By Ari Burack

March 26, 2008

San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin yesterday announced legislation to conserve energy by requiring downtown office buildings to turn out the lights when workers hit the doors.

The proposed ordinance would amend the city’s building code to require commercial buildings in the downtown area to turn off lights in unoccupied offices after business hours.

According to Peskin, the legislation would help conserve electricity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and save money by reducing utility bills.

Building owners could be accommodated by available technologies that turn lights off automatically after the last office worker leaves, and by rebates from utility companies for investing in those lighting controls, according to Peskin.

The ordinance would be enforced by warnings and possible fines beginning a year after it takes effect, and also calls for an environmental study on its energy impact.

Filed under: Environment, News

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One Response to “Supervisor introduces legislation
to encourage energy conservation”

el Greco, on March 26th, 2008 at 7:17 am Said:

It’s a nifty idea, Supervisor, but realistically, how are you going to enforce it? Most highrises are locked up at night and you have to have the key or electronic card of whatever security device they use to get in. Let’s say that security guard lets you in and you said I need to go to the 23rd floor and see if there is anyone there cause the lights are on. The security guard will say if you don’t have a key to that office, I can’t let you in.

And who exactly is going to do all this light bulb policing for the City? The police? Give me a break. Department of the Environment employees? I guess they would have to get paid overtime for working at night. Or will the board of supes have snitches around town who phone in to Gavin’s Director of Climate Change Initiatives and then his thugs drive by and shoot out the windows of the offenders just to leave a message. “Don’t mess with SF.”