S.F. MAYOR TOUTS 'GREEN' GOAL IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE. AUG 3, 2005. By Ilene Lelchuk

Standing next to some solar panels on the roof of the unfinished Plaza Apartments, where 106 new studios for poor individuals are under construction, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that the city was the first in the nation applying high environmental standards to all its new affordable housing developments.

That means solar panels, recycled building materials, energy efficient appliances, bamboo floors, paneling made with recycled paper and wood products, more natural light and better insulation.

The nine-story Plaza Hotel, expected to open in November on the corner of Howard and Sixth streets, is Newsom's model. The builders say 94 percent of the building materials so far have been recycled from landfill and from the old two-story residential hotel that previously stood there.

"Cities are consuming 75 percent of the Earth's national resources and in turn contributing to 75 percent of everything that's wrong with the global environment," Newsom said. "That being said, it seems incumbent on us as mayors at the local level to recognize our responsibility to address the issues of global warming, environmental justice and stewardship."

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