With state law freezing green building codes, Larkspur looks to rebates and fee breaks instead

Larkspur's Climate Action Forum spent much of its August 18 meeting confronting an unwelcome fact: the city's years of work toward stricter "reach codes" requiring all-electric construction is now moot. Community Development Director Andrew Fogson told the panel that AB130, in effect since September 2025, imposes a six-year moratorium on local residential building code changes, freezing every Marin jurisdiction's electrification push except one. "No California jurisdiction has yet been approved or been able to circumvent the state moratorium, even for alignment with established general plan policies," Fogson said. "The only agency in Marin County that has a valid reach code in place is Mill Valley, because they got approval before AB130 took effect."

“No California jurisdiction has yet been approved or been able to circumvent the state moratorium, even for alignment with established general plan policies. The only agency in Marin County that has a valid reach code in place is Mill Valley, because they got approval before AB130 took effect.”— Andrew Fogson, Community Development Director

The timing stings locally: a Forum member noted the Larkspur City Council had voted 5-0 for all-electric new construction and 5-1 for all-electric remodels, only to see that policy overridden by the state. Fogson argued the loss may be less painful than it sounds, since the existing CalGreen energy budget already makes gas hookups cost-prohibitive for most new building — he pointed to the roughly 350 homes proposed at the Ross Valley Sanitary District site, which aren't planning to install gas at all because it simply doesn't pencil out.

With reach codes off the table until 2031, the Forum turned to what it can control: its $50,000 annual budget and the city's permit-fee structure. Ideas floated included rebates of $2,500-$3,500 for households swapping gas water heaters and HVAC for electric, two-tier permit pricing that fast-tracks electric projects while requiring fuller inspection for gas, and loaner water heaters to bridge installation gaps. Forum member Tom urged the group not to forget renters: "Let's think about the 50% of residents living in rental housing, especially lower-income rental housing — the poorest quality housing in the community is probably rental housing in terms of leaky insulation and lacking upgrades." Staff cautioned against duplicating existing utility rebate programs and said fee restructuring needs more study before any two-tier pricing could launch.

No vote was taken. The Forum agreed to ask city staff to return with concrete incentive-program options and better tracking metrics — including a push, led by member JJ, for annual public reporting on gas-versus-electric installations — before bringing recommendations to the City Council.