ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING THE RIVERSIDE MUNICIPAL CODE BY ADDING CHAPTER 16.26 REGARDING ELECTRIFICATION OF NEW BUILDINGS.
WHEREAS, according to the California Air Resources Board inventory of greenhouse gases as of 2021, almost twenty five percent (25%) of the State’s greenhouse gas emissions derive from natural-gas use in buildings of residential and commercial occupancies; and WHEREAS, human activities, such as burning natural gas to heat buildings, heat water or cook food, releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and contributes to an overall increase in global average temperature, and increases in global average temperatures cause more extreme and frequent weather events; and WHEREAS, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by limiting natural gas combustion and the use of gas appliances, both of which emit a wide range of air pollutants including carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter; and WHEREAS, such pollutants have been linked to various acute and chronic health effects, exceed levels set by national and California-based ambient air quality standards, and contribute to the global average temperature increase resulting in more extreme and frequent weather events; and WHEREAS, building electrification would reduce or remove fossil-fuel sources in certain buildings, thereby improving indoor air quality, providing greater healthful conditions, and allowing building occupants a more enjoyable experience while occupying electrified buildings; and WHEREAS, the most cost-effective time to integrate electrical infrastructure is in the design phase of a building project because building systems and spaces can be designed to optimize the performance of electrical systems inasmuch as projects can take full advantage of avoided costs and space requirements; and WHEREAS, incorporating Building Electrification into design and construction of certain newly constructed buildings would support the City Council’s Envision Riverside 2025 Strategic Plan Environmental Stewardship goal to achieve community-wide carbon neutrality by 2040; and WHEREAS, by reducing or removing sources of combustion in a building, a higher order of safety is achieved with no burning flames, no piping containing fossil fuels, and zero leakage of gaseous fuels released into the building or supply lines; and WHEREAS, The City of Riverside Public Utilities Department has sufficient capacity from electrical grid sources to support Building Electrification and other goals incorporating electrical energy, power from the Department is available, reliable, and increasingly cleaner.
The City Council of the City of Riverside does ordain as follows:
Section 1: Chapter 16.26 of the Riverside Municipal Code, entitled “Electrification of New Buildings” is hereby added as shown in Exhibit “A” attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
Section 2: The City hereby finds that this ordinance is not subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines sections 15060, subdivision (c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15061, subdivision (b)(3) (there is no possibility the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment). In addition to the foregoing general exemptions, the City Council further finds that this ordinance is categorically exempt from review under CEQA under the Class 8 Categorical Exemption (regulatory activity to assure the protection of the environment), CEQA Guidelines section 15308.
Section 3: The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this ordinance and cause publication once in a newspaper of general circulation in accordance with Section 414 of the Charter of the City of Riverside. This ordinance shall become effective on the 30th day after the date of its adoption. / /
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ADOPTED by the City Council this _________ day of _____________, 2022. ___________________________
PATRICIA LOCK DAWSON
Mayor of the City of Riverside
Attest:
_____________________________
DONESIA GAUSE
City Clerk of the City of Riverside
I, Donesia Gause, City Clerk of the City of Riverside, California, hereby certify that the foregoing ordinance was duly and regularly introduced at a meeting of the City Council on the _______ day of _______________, 2022, and that thereafter the said ordinance was duly and regularly adopted at a meeting of the City Council on the _________day of _____________, 2022, by the following vote, to wit:
Ayes:
Noes:
Absent:
Abstain:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of Riverside, California, this ________ day of ______________, 2022. _________________________________
Donesia Gause
City Clerk of the City of Riverside
FILENAME \* Caps \p \* MERGEFORMAT \\Rc-Citylaw\Cycom\WPDOCS\D012\P033\00676476.DOC CA: 22-0350.4 RMS 09/23/22
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MACROBUTTON None FirmName1_1 , MACROBUTTON None FirmLegalStatus1_1 CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
3900 MAIN STREET
RIVERSIDE, CA 92522
(951) 826-5567