City of SLO pauses all-electric rule for new builds
If court decision is overruled, the City of SLO will immediately resume enforcing all-electric new building ordinance
– As an ongoing court case leaves the future of natural gas bans for new construction in question, the City of San Luis Obispo has paused enforcement of its all-electric new buildings ordinance and until further notice will not deny building permit applications on the basis that the project includes natural gas.
Property owners and developers may submit building permit applications for new mixed-fuel buildings, meaning some new future buildings could potentially install and use natural gas infrastructure. Mixed-fuel applicants may have to modify their building plans to be all-electric during construction if the court’s ruling is overturned, even if the project has an approved permit to include natural gas, according to the city of SLO.
The city said in a press release that it remains committed to its climate action plan for community recovery and becoming a carbon-neutral community by 2035. City officials encourage developers to consider all-electric new builds because they are cost-effective, use highly efficient appliances, are connected to an increasingly green electricity system, and include state-mandated solar energy systems.
In April 2023, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals court overturned Berkeley, California’s first-in-the-nation ban on natural gas in new construction, agreeing with restaurant owners who argued the city bypassed the federal energy policy and Conservation Act when it approved the ordinance. Following the decision, the San Luis Obispo City Council authorized staff to order a temporary suspension of its similar ordinance. By administrative order issued in June 2023, the City of San Luis Obispo has now suspended enforcement of its all-electric ordinance for new buildings.
However, the Berkeley case is not yet finally resolved. The City of Berkeley has appealed the panel ruling, asking the full Ninth Circuit to overrule the panel’s decision. If the full Ninth Circuit Court overrules the decision, and no Supreme Court review is sought or granted, the SLO will immediately resume enforcing its all-electric new building ordinance. Depending on the timing of any court decisions resolving this case in Berkeley’s favor, a developer might not be able to construct a mixed-fuel building, even if they have received a building permit for one.
For more information on actions the city will take from 2023 to 2027 to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions and reach its climate action goals, visit www.slocity.org/ClimateAction.
