The Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday voted 7-0 to ban natural gas construction for projects with building permits issued after Jan. 1, 2022.
The new rules would not apply to complete building permit applications submitted on or before Dec. 31, 2021. The rule does not apply to accessory dwelling units or junior accessory dwelling units.
Public interest projects, restaurant and commercial kitchens, and laboratories also would be exempt.
The issue is part of the city’s overall effort to become more environmentally sustainable. Santa Barbara and other local communities are joining Community Choice Energy programs, which offer more renewable and carbon-free electricity to customers through existing providers (PG&E and Southern California Edison in Santa Barbara County).
Energy use in buildings is the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in California, accounting for about 25% of statewide emissions and about 37% of emissions in Santa Barbara.
The emissions from buildings come from two sources: purchased electricity and direct combustion of natural gas for heating and cooking.
“This is a really exciting game-changer,” said Katie Davis, chair of the Sierra Club, Los Padres Chapter. “The combination of the carbon-free electricity from Community Choice Energy and this move to electrification since 40% of Santa Barbara emissions are from buildings, those two things are really game-changers.
“We’re all going to benefit because it is a better experience to live in an electric home.”
Roy Reed, president of the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association, objected to the city’s decision.
“We’re a bit disappointed in the proposed ordinance, which would be an outright ban on natural gas infrastructure in new properties,” Reed said. “We would greatly prefer an education and incentive program for developers and builders and designers of those new properties.”
Councilman Mike Jordan said it is time to make the transition because it will benefit his children and grandchildren.
“Gas, just like anything you burn, is not clean-burning,” Jordan said. “We just need to stop burning stuff and look for other ways to do it. This is probably as good and effective of a method that we are going to see.”
Sneddon Votes Against Project Labor Agreement
In a bit of a surprise, Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon voted against the city’s project labor agreement, in an item that was expected to get routine approval because it was on the consent calendar.
“I have been supportive of this always with the caveat that there wasn’t a double payment in benefits, health care and pension,” Sneddon said. “My support of this has been predicated on that.”
Known as project labor agreement, or community workforce agreement, the plan is a collective bargaining agreement with labor organizations. It will require the city to use unionized labor on construction projects valued at $5 million or more.
She said she is supportive of the unions, but “cannot support a double payment for benefits, and it is too hard for local businesses to have to do both.”
Employers who accept the construction jobs would have to pay into a separate community workforce agreement for health care and pension for the duration of the project.
Project labor agreements are pre-hire collective-bargaining documents that establish standard terms and conditions for construction projects.
They are typically negotiated between the project owner and the local building trade unions council and individual construction trade unions. The agreements are negotiated before any advertisement for bids. The contractor and all subcontractors of any tier must sign onto the agreement before performing any covered work.
The proposal has sparked a philosophical debate over where the City of Santa Barbara should turn for its large construction projects.
Supporters of a PLA say that companies that want to do business with the city should use local, union-trained workers. Critics say that the effort to shift toward a PLA is a union money grab, pushed by the Democratic Party and its endorsed candidates. They also say that non-union workers perform jobs at a high level, and it’s incorrect to assume that union laborers are more qualified.
The vote to approve a PLA for large city construction projects was 5-2, with Sneddon and Jordan in objection. Sneddon previously supported it at a January meeting.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.