Recently, County Supervisors Laura Capps, Joan Hartmann and lame duck Das Williams approved the 2030 Climate Action Plan. This plan is predicated on the idea that if certain actions are taken, we can somehow change the climate.

The Board of Supervisors (BOS) majority then directed staff to develop an ordinance to prohibit natural gas infrastructure in new construction, and once again failed to ask what cost this would add for new homes.

Usually when plans like this are adopted it can take many months and sometimes years before any tangible action is taken. There are an infinite number of studies; and “experts” on the subject are hired to aid the full-time staff develop the enabling ordinances, regulations or proclamations necessary to implement the plan.
 
But it didn’t take long for the county community services director to place an item titled “Developing an energy reach code encouraging all-electric buildings” on the Sept. 17 Board of Supervisors agenda.

In government talk “encouraging” usually means “do it or else.”
 
When voting to enact this plan, the BOS did not take a hard look at the cost citizens will bear if all elements of this plan are acted upon. This is common, especially if the item being discussed is among the preferred actions of the politicians in power.

There is a lot of angst concerning affordable housing among the political class. However, several elements of the Climate Action Plan, including future Air Pollution Control District (APCD) polices, and project evaluation checklists that are currently in development will certainly drive the cost of new projects well beyond the point of affordability for all potential buyers.

This isn’t conjecture, it’s a fact associated with the regulatory action at all levels of government that’s been proven in the last decade.
 
If the plan is enacted, the Santa Barbara County Taxpayer Advocacy Center said in a letter to the BOS: “The problem, is it really isn’t a voluntary ‘encouragement’ as builders who choose to use natural gas equipment will be required to spend up to $100,000 additionally per home in installing the highest grades of energy-efficient doors, windows, walls, etc.” 

How could this change make homes more affordable? Ask Supervisors Capps, Hartmann and Williams.
 
The staff also claims that this new ordinance would “provide regional consistency along the Central Coast, thus reducing confusion for the local building industry.” But they only consulted South Coast cities, and once again ignored the North County.

In the city of Lompoc there are no such requirements, so I don’t know how this action would reduce confusion.

But, on Sept. 18 Noozhawk reported that the staff informed the BOS that there was a kink in their plan.

“County staff were preparing an ordinance to ban natural gas infrastructure in new construction, additions and major additions for health and safety reasons, but in April, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Berkeley’s city ordinance.

That ordinance would have encouraged all-electric construction by requiring “dual-fuel” buildings with electric and gas infrastructure to meet higher energy standards such as increased energy efficiency or more solar capacity.”
 
So, it appears it’s back to the drawing board.
 
All-electric homes are not new. Back in the late 1950s several communities and housing developments were constructed as all-electric.  But this technology lost its luster when homeowners discovered that controlling heat for cooking and taking the chill out of the air didn’t work as advertised.

Some condo projects in Vandenberg Village, which were built in the 1970s, are all electric, and the same issues exist today. The electric utility bills in these homes are substantially higher than the same size house that uses natural gas as a heating and cooking source.

Banning natural gas in new construction may sound appealing to climate activists, but there was no thought given to where all that extra electric power is going to come from or how much extra will be added to the cost of buying and operating these new buildings.

We won’t know what impact any ordinance like this would have on providing affordable housing until it is implemented; and then it’s too late.

Reference:
County of Santa Barbara – File #: 24-00938 (legistar.com)
County Supervisors Seek Ordinance Encouraging All-Electric Construction | Local News | Noozhawk