On December 20, 2022, the Environmental Council of Sacramento, the Environmental Justice Coalition, 350 Sacramento and Citizens’ Climate Lobby Sacramento submitted a joint letter of support for the County of Sacramento’s early action for new construction electrification ordinances.
You can read our letter below.
Dear County Supervisors,
In advance of the final release of the County’s Climate Action Plan (CAP), we recommend the Board of Supervisors implement the draft CAP’s excellent measures for all-electric new buildings.
County Climate Action Plan measures GHG-05 (commercial) and GHG-07 (residential) call for ordinances to require all-electric construction by 2023 for new low-rise buildings and 2026 for new larger buildings. The measures are included below for your reference.
The City of Sacramento approved a nearly identical ordinance last month, for implementation during the same timeframes as the County CAP measures. The City ordinance is consistent with the California Green Building Standards Code, and was preceded by public workshops, stakeholder meetings and technical reviews – all of which will help to provide guidance for such ancillary issues as technical exemptions and appeal processes.
We note that County staff is already primed for this task. The County has signed onto an MOU on collaborative electrification efforts with both the City and SMUD, and has also created a task force to advise on this subject and other climate actions.
Although a January 2023 start for the measures may no longer be viable, we request you direct staff to prepare the necessary ordinance language and rationale for public review and Board approval shortly thereafter. Taking this decisive action now – without waiting for the CAP – will signal that the County, like the City of Sacramento and many other State municipalities, is ready to move forward with meaningful climate action.
