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CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Housing advocates cheer repeal of Denver parking minimum requirements
At nearly midnight on Monday evening, cheers broke out in Denver's City Council meeting. A bill amendment was passed that repeals the city's parking minimums for housing and development projects, making Denver the second city behind Longmont to do so. "Individuals, community members and city leaders are starting to realize the benefits of these reforms," said Caroline Leland, who works for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project. Leland stood outside of New Charity's House on Welton Street in Denver. The apartment complex, which services people and families making 30% of the average median income, was in jeopardy of being created because of the city's parking minimum requirements. Since the building was proposed to be built near an existing RTD line, they were able to find an exemption and now the completed project has 36 affordable units. The need for parking in projects, Leland said, can be a financial barrier for some developers. "Requiring parking can be a nonstarter if it doesn't fit into the budget of the building," she said. With the cost of living still high in Denver relative to other cities, there are signs of easing on the horizon. A push to build more apartments over the last three years has led to average rents either stagnating or lowering in the last year. Leland, who is a renter in Denver herself, says they're signs of policies that are working. "As a renter coming into the city. I was able to see apartments that had been on the market for a couple months and landlords dropping the price a little bit," she explained. "Because of other initiatives that the city of Denver has done to encourage building housing and reducing costs. The elimination of parking minimums was also widely praised in council on Monday, with District 10 councilmember Chris Hinds saying it could even help kickstart other projects that are in the city's queue. "Getting the city out of the business of parking minimums will save 650 hours of staff time each year allowing staff to use that extra time for permitting and getting more projects through the pipeline," said Hines. "You're seeing parking being built where it's needed and not where it's not needed and that just feels like a very common sense way to handle our parking," Leland added.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tesla attempts to backtrack with new incentives and discounts as sales plummet: 'Truly pulling all demand levers'
When many people think of electric vehicles, they think of Tesla. However, Tesla's brand image has taken some hits recently as CEO Elon Musk has been active in American and global politics, polarizing consumers, who have more options than ever to choose from on a robust EV market. According to Yahoo Finance, the first three months of 2025 were Tesla's worst quarter since the second quarter of 2022. With dropping sales, Tesla has worked on incentivizing consumers to buy its cars. The perks, detailed by Electrek, include discounts for a variety of customers, credit opportunities for Lyft drivers, and subsidized interest rates. One commenter noted that the company is "truly pulling all demand levers." "I am being contacted by Tesla representatives asking if I would like to come in and take a test drive so it appears Tesla Advisors are being asked/told to reach out to anyone who showed interest in Tesla in the past," they added. "I will say Tesla has improved the quality of the Model 3/Y greatly and the service is very good in my area so it saddens me when I think the CEO has done so much hurt the hard working Tesla employees globally by his actions (with zero accountability)." This all comes in the wake of Tesla benefiting as the sole exemption from a large automotive tariff, since it is the only automaker at this time that meets the required criteria. Ultimately, EVs (regardless of brand) remain a great choice for someone interested in cutting down on fuel consumption. EVs are great choices for environmental purposes. The cars do not emit any pollutants while running and account for less overall pollution when considering other factors. While some EV opponents note that mining the materials to create the batteries is bad for the environment, the mining processes are getting more efficient, and battery technology is advancing to last longer. It is also less polluting than harvesting dirty fuels. There are also financial benefits to driving an EV. For one, you can save a lot of money charging your car compared to filling it with fuel at the pump. According to the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, this could be around $1,000 per year. If you were going to purchase an EV, which of these factors would be most important to you? Cost Battery range Power and speed The way it looks Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. You can further those savings (and slash potential charging pollution) by using solar to power your vehicle, and EnergySage's free tools can help you save up to $10,000 on installation. They allow you to compare quotes from vetted local installers to save the most money possible. You can also still get tax credits from purchasing an EV through the Inflation Reduction Act. However, the Trump administration is considering eliminating these benefits. If you want to take advantage of the tax breaks, you may have to act soon. While Tesla's sales are down in the United States, overall EV sales have been increasing. All in all, Electrek suggests the influx of incentives from the automaker has ominous undertones. "This is not a great sign for Tesla," Electrek wrote. "These are end-of-quarter level incentives when we are just about halfway through the quarter." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Boston Globe
22-03-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
States team up to defend green transportation projects targeted by Trump
'These are changes we need to make anyway, but they're more urgent than ever,' said Justin Balik, senior state program director for the environmental advocacy group Evergreen Action and one of the organizers of the Clean Rides Network. 'I've been calling the state departments of transportation the next frontier of climate advocacy.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Trading highway expansion for buses Advertisement Although Colorado wasn't among the seven charter members of the Clean Rides Network, a policy enacted there set the framework for one of its most ambitious goals. In 2021, Gov. Jared Polis committed to a dramatic reduction in Colorado's greenhouse gas emissions and employed a novel approach to accelerate the timeline. Whenever the state's transportation department commits money to a large-scale project that increases vehicle traffic such as a new highway, it must also pursue a corresponding project to offset the environmental harms. Two major highway expansion projects were canceled because of the policy, said Matt Frommer of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project. The group advocated for the change. Colorado used the savings to expand an intercity bus service that has soared in popularity for urban residents and tourists traveling to ski resorts. Polis' vision lined up with the multimodal transportation aims under the $1.1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law Biden signed that year. In the final months of Biden's administration, the city of Denver won a $150 million federal grant to build a rapid transit bus line along one of its busiest corridors. Frommer, a transportation and land use policy manager, said there are fears that states will now have to pursue projects like that on their own. Advertisement 'If your state cares about climate change, you need to take the reins and step up and direct your transportation funds to projects that are going to reduce emissions,' Frommer said. 'We may not be able to rely on the federal government to put that policy in place or to really help you in many ways.' Colorado's approach moves east Minnesota followed Colorado's lead and adopted a similar rule to offset greenhouse emissions. Other states that are part of the network are pushing proposals this session. The Maryland House recently passed its version of the Colorado law, and Senate sponsor Shelly Hettleman said she's cautiously optimistic it will win final passage before lawmakers adjourn. In trying to persuade her colleagues, Hettleman has focused less on the environmental benefits than what she sees as economic ones. A study commissioned by the Colorado transportation department projected up to $40 billion in savings through improved air quality, road safety and reduced traffic congestion, among other things. Lawmakers in the Clean Rides states of Illinois and Massachusetts have advanced similar proposals, but they've encountered resistance from some business leaders and advocates for road construction. 'This is another ill-advised piece of legislation, not based upon science, that will defer needed improvements to our crumbling transportation infrastructure in Illinois,' said Mike Sturino, president and CEO of the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association. 'Commuters will have to wait for improvements to our existing interstate system, as this bill would delay addressing unsafe conditions on our roads and bridges.' Is there any interest from red states? Although most of the state leaders who have pushed alternative transportation options have been Democrats, the Clean Rides Network said more conservative states have shown interest in some of the topics, too. Advertisement Just as Colorado's anticipated cost savings helped spur legislation in Maryland, economic concerns continue to be foremost in the minds of residents, with some studies showing that transportation ranks second to housing in consumer costs. 'Forget about the cost of eggs. It's never been more expensive to drive a car,' said Miguel Moravec with the nonprofit climate think tank RMI, which created a calculator to help states project the money they could save through policies that reduce emissions. Virginia employs a scale that scores potential transportation projects based on factors such as safety, congestion relief, and environmental impacts. Utah launched an ambitious transit plan for the rapidly growing state, while Montana implemented land use and zoning reforms that made cities more walkable. Muhammed Patel, senior transportation advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council in Chicago, said states are at least rethinking some of their policy priorities. 'We do live luckily in a country where states have authority over their own transportation systems,' Patel said. 'There's flexibility innately built in.'
