Massive new housing community will have no carbon footprint, developer says

A new housing model is rising from the dirt in Valencia, California, and potentially raising the bar for real estate developers hoping to reduce their carbon footprints.

More than 21,000 homes are going up in a brand-new community that, its developer says, will be the largest net-zero community in the nation, and potentially the world. In other words, it will leave no carbon footprint.

FivePoint Valencia went into planning 20 years ago, but legal battles ensued, pitting environmentalists against real estate planners. Finally, the project is now getting off the ground.

“It was really an attempt to change the paradigm and turn the debate with the environmental community from across the table…