Title
Adoption of Resolution Limiting Natural Gas Infrastructure for New Residential Construction on City Owned Property. (Planning, Building and Transportation 481005)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The proposed resolution represents a first, but important, step toward implementation of the City of Alameda's Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (CARP), adopted by the City Council on September 3, 2019. The CARP identifies the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the use of natural gas in existing and new residential buildings in the City of Alameda (City).
The proposed resolution would establish a City Council policy to limit the use of natural gas in new residential buildings constructed on City property. Ultimately, the resolution might be replaced by citywide ordinances, but in the interim, the policy serves to establish immediate regulations on land owned by the City. Given that the vacant lands owned by the City at Alameda Point represent a major portion of the remaining vacant lands in Alameda that may be developed with residential uses, the resolution serves to immediately implement a major CARP GHG emission reduction strategy.
BACKGROUND
In March 2019, the City Council declared a climate emergency and joined a global effort to get to net zero emissions as soon as possible. In September 2019, the City Council adopted an updated and revised Climate Action and Resiliency Plan for the City with the goal of lowering citywide GHG emissions 50% below 2005 baseline levels by 2030 and achieving the vision of net zero emissions as soon as possible. The CARP recognizes and implements strategies and actions to address:
* A 2018 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finding that human activities are estimated to have caused approximately 1.0?C of global warming above pre-industrial levels, with a likely range of 0.8?C to 1.2?C; and that global warming is likely to reach 1.5...
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