GREEN BUILDINGS COMMITTEE

Glendale Suspends All-Electric New Buildings Policy

Glendale staff already working on possible replacement for its all-electric reach code, which was imperiled by the Ninth Circuit CRA v. Berkeley decision.

June 8, 2024

The Glendale City Council voted on Tuesday to suspend enforcement of the City’s all-electric appliance requirement for new buildings, which had gone into force on January 1, 2023. In a quick 3-1 vote, the City Council ended the policy, referencing a letter to the City from the California Restaurant Association (CRA) dated May 10, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in the CRA v. Berkeley lawsuit, which determined that Berkeley’s ban on gas hookups for new buildings was preempted by federal law. The topic had apparently been discussed by the Council in closed session earlier in the day.

Glendale’s reach code required all newly constructed buildings to use only electric appliances, with the option for builders to request a waiver only when electric appliances are not feasible, which would be incredibly rare since electric appliances exist for nearly all use cases. Modern electric heat pumps and induction stoves are more efficient than gas-fueled appliances and produce no direct air pollution or greenhouse gas emissions. Fossil gas, commonly called natural gas, is a fossil fuel that produces CO2, NOx, and other pollutants when burned, contributing to indoor and outdoor air pollution and the climate crisis. The reach code also includes increased solar photovoltaic and EV parking requirements, which are not impacted by Tuesday’s vote.

In April, 2023, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit overturned a lower court judgement that had been in favor of Berkeley, ruling that the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), which gives the federal government sole power to set efficiency requirements for appliances, preempts local prohibitions of gas appliances, because a prohibition is a defacto efficiency requirement. This logic was widely criticized, but in January of this year the Ninth Circuit denied Berkeley’s petition for rehearing en banc, and Berkeley repealed its gas ban in March.

Many other cities also suspended enforcement of similar policies in light of the Ninth Circuit decision, but Glendale was continuing to enforce it reach code until this week, while reportedly making waivers more easily attainable.

LA Climate Reality’s Green Buildings Committee, along with our partners in the coalition that campaigned for passage of the reach code in 2022, has already been working to encourage the City to replace the endangered policy with one that would withstand scrutiny after the Ninth Circuit decision. Options for this replacement policy are set to be presented to the Glendale Sustainability Commission on June 17.

- Michael Rochmes
Chair, Green Buildings Committee

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