Make Your Voice Heard: Tell Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties to Phase Out Natural Gas and Go Electric

Sep 29

California can and must achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible. Two counties—Santa Barbara and Ventura—can make progress toward that goal over the next two weeks when the Ventura County Board of Supervisors considers a draft ordinance and Santa Barbara County receives a presentation on options to establish all-electric building codes.

If you live and/or work in Santa Barbara County, you have two ways to make your voice heard at their meeting on Tuesday, October 4, 2022:

1. For the biggest impact, tell your story or provide public comment at the hearing on Agenda Item #2. Please support the staff recommendation for Option 4, a natural gas prohibition.

2. Send in a short email here by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, October 3, 2022, describing in your own words why it is important to move away from natural gas, and supporting Option 4. It might be a personal story about a dangerous incident with natural gas or your thoughts on why we must reduce climate change pollution. Indicate Agenda Item #2 in the subject line.

If you live and/or work in Ventura County, please write in your comments or story by 8:30 a.m. on Monday, October 10, 2022, or attend the hearing on Tuesday, October 11, 2022. The agenda and details will be posted here by Friday, October 7.

These building codes ensure that all new all-electric buildings are more affordable to build and operate, safer for occupants, and more sustainable as they use highly efficient heat pumps and can be powered by 100% renewable electricity. To date, 60 California jurisdictions have passed new building electrification codes or ordinances. Connecting new buildings to natural gas infrastructure is incompatible with goals for carbon neutrality.

The Community Environmental Council (CEC) has played a key role in advancing the adoption of these ordinances throughout the region. This progress only happens when concerned citizens like you take direct and immediate action to support policies that protect the Central Coast from the harmful and real effects of climate change and fossil fuel pollution.

Here are some key facts and messages that you can use to draft your email/comment:

Allowing new developments to continue to be built with natural gas hook-ups is inconsistent with California’s goal of Carbon Neutrality by 2045 and is contrary to the direction that California's building industry is moving toward.
Sixty California jurisdictions, including the City of Ojai and the City of Santa Barbara, have adopted such an ordinance. I encourage the Counties to consider a health and safety ordinance that bans natural gas in new construction like the City of Santa Barbara has done.
There are four benefits to moving away from natural gas in new construction:
- Cost: Forgoing gas hookups can save thousands of dollars in construction costs, and reports from the California Energy Commission show that all-electric buildings across nearly all types of construction cost slightly less than mixed-fuel counterparts, which is of vital importance with California’s housing affordability crisis.
- Health and Safety: A 2013 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study found that 60% of homes in the state that cook at least once a week with a gas stove produce toxic levels of nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, and carbon monoxide exceeding federal standards for outdoor air quality. New all-electric development will be healthier and safer for residents, as there is no gas combustion inside the home, which can lead to asthma and other health issues.
- Sustainability: Fossil fuels, like natural gas found in commercial and residential buildings, are incompatible with the State's goal of carbon neutrality. Buildings contribute to 24% of California's greenhouse gas emissions, and much of that comes from burning natural gas.
- Equity: Renters may not have control of the appliances in their home and therefore do not have agency over experiencing the health impacts mentioned above. There is also momentum in multi-family projects moving to all-electric.