Josh Muir strikes a blow for alternative transportation and World Car-Free Day. Muir decided to jackhammer his driveway this summer, and is inviting over a few friends next Thursday to help him rip it out. The Santa Cruz celebration starts with Critical Mass at 5pm, when local cyclists will meet at the clock tower to ride through town and reclaim the streets. Micah Posner , a Critical Mass cyclist and rider for the Ped-Ex delivery service, hopes to revive a proposal, introduced at the City Council last February, that would allow homeowners to add rental space to their homes without having to provide extra parking, as long as the tenant agreed not to own a car.
Current law requiring residential off-street parking is based on how many bedrooms a home has.
Muir points out that while some residents of his house own cars, all are bike commuters. A shed at the back of Muir's property holds about a dozen bikes. With other sea-sucking power plants slotted for expansion statewide, decisions reached by the Regional Water Quality Control Board and the California Energy Commission will set important precedents. The payment would be in lieu of a Coastal Commission proposal for stricter government oversight of individual mitigation projects. The board supports the Energy Commission plan, while the California Coastal Commission argues that specific planning and mitigation objectives are needed.