Resolution Number 2021-003
Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority
Santa Rosa, California
September 13, 2021
RESOLUTION OF THE SONOMA COUNTY REGIONAL CLIMATE PROTECTION
AUTHORITY RECOMMEND ING CEASING ALL CONSTRUCTION OF NEW GAS
STATION INFRASTRUCTURE IN SONOMA COUNTY TO REDUCE FOSSIL FUEL
EMISSIONS AND PREPARE FOR THE TRANSITION TO ZERO -EMISSION VEHICLES.
WHEREAS, human activities have warmed the Earth to a point that threatens climate stability, and climate change has already set in motion catastrophic changes; and WHEREAS, critical tipping points must be avoided, as they will have cascading feedback effects that are predicted to cause an increasingly uncontrollable climate emergency; and WHEREAS, abrupt anthropogenic climate change is a real and increasingly urgent threat to public health and safety that demands action at every level of government; and WHEREAS, the current scale and speed of local government action has not resulted in the necessary reductions in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to limit global temperature increases; and
WHEREAS, on January 26, 2018, Governor Brown issued Executive Order B-48-181 calling for five million zero-emission vehicles by 2030 and the installation of 250,000 electric vehicle charging stations in the State; and
WHEREAS, on September 12, 2018, Governor Brown issued, and Governor Newsom has since affirmed, Executive Order B-55-182, calling for the State to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045; and
WHEREAS, on September 9, 2019, the Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority adopted a Climate Emergency Resolution3, and new gasoline stations are not consistent with this policy; and
WHEREAS, between May 2019 and March 2021, the County of Sonoma and each of the incorporated jurisdictions adopted Climate Emergency Resolutions and committed to working on activities to address this state of climate emergency; and 1 https://www.ca.gov/archive/gov39/2018/01/26/governor-brown-takes-action-to-increase-zero-emission- vehicles-fund-new-climate-investments/index.html
2 https://www.ca.gov/archive/gov39/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/9.10.18-Executive-Order.pdf 3 https://scta.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/4.1.1-Climate-Emergency-Resolution.pdf Attachment - 4
Resolution Number 2021-003
Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority
Santa Rosa, California
September 13, 2021
WHEREAS, on September 23, 2020, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-79-204 setting 2035 as the year by which all new vehicles sold in California must be zero-emission; and
WHEREAS, on March 1, 2021, the City of Petaluma became the first local government in the nation to adopt a prohibition on new gas station land uses within their boundaries; and
WHEREAS, on March 8, 2021, the Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority adopted a Sonoma Climate Mobilization Strategy5 which sets a goal of reaching countywide carbon neutrality by 2030; and
WHEREAS, transportation accounts for 60%6 of GHG emissions in Sonoma County with the burning of gasoline and diesel fuel for transportation as the leading cause of GHG emissions in this sector; and
WHEREAS, gasoline stations pose significant local impacts on public health and the environment, including toxic/carcinogenic air contamination, surface water runoff, leaking underground storage tanks, and more7; and
WHEREAS, a just transition away from fossil fuels requires that local government actions are ecologically sustainable, equitable, and just for all its members; and
WHEREAS, marginalized communities worldwide—including people of color, immigrants, indigenous communities, low-income people, those with disabilities, and the unhoused—are already disproportionately affected by climate change and must benefit from a just transition to a sustainable and equitable economy; and
WHEREAS, currently there are over 635,000 electric vehicles (EVs) in California and almost 10,000 EVs in Sonoma County, with the need for charging infrastructure inevitably growing as the need for gasoline stations correspondingly diminishes; and
4 https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/9.23.20-EO-N-79-20-Climate.pdf 5 https://rcpa.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sonoma-Climate-Mobilization-Strategy-Adopted-2021-03-
08.pdf
6 https://scta.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2018-GHG-Report-FINAL-9-25.pdf 7 https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/hidden-costs-fossil-fuels Resolution Number 2021-003
Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority
Santa Rosa, California
September 13, 2021
WHEREAS, in adopting the Sonoma Climate Mobilization Strategy, this Board prioritized Strategy 4—EV Access for All Partnership, calling for development of over 10,000 public and workplace charging stations in Sonoma County, addressing barriers for installing this charging equipment, and limiting fossil fuel infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, there are over 135 gasoline stations in Sonoma County8 and new gasoline stations have been and are continuing to be proposed throughout Sonoma County despite the associated negative environmental and climate impacts; and
WHEREAS, local government resources should be used to develop clean-emission, affordable, accessible, convenient public transportation networks; safe, connected pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure; and clean vehicle charging/fueling infrastructure;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Regional Climate Protection Authority (RCPA), recommends ceasing acceptance of all applications for new gas stations or expansion of existing gas station infrastructure throughout Sonoma County; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the RCPA recommends that the County of Sonoma and the incorporated jurisdictions of Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma, and Windsor cease acceptance of all applications for new gas stations or expansion of existing gas station infrastructure in their local jurisdiction; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, as identified and adopted in the Sonoma Climate Mobilization Strategy, that the RCPA commits to working with its local government members to assist with policy development and implementation for those areas that provide the greatest impact to reducing emissions; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, as identified and adopted in the Sonoma Climate Mobilization Strategy, that the RCPA encourages the County of Sonoma and Sonoma County incorporated jurisdictions to continue developing clean-emission, affordable, accessible, convenient public transportation networks; installing safe, connected pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure; and expanding efforts to serve zero-emission vehicles through the installation of battery charging infrastructure and other necessary improvements for the essential transition to zero-emission vehicles.
8 https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=654c10243ed244aba13ec8bf9fe7b777&extent=- 123.0739,38.1948,-122.25,38.5898
Resolution Number 2021-003
Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority
Santa Rosa, California
September 13, 2021
THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION was moved by Director Fischer, seconded by Director Giudice, and approved by the following vote:
Director Agrimonti Absent Director Gurney Aye
Director Alvarez Aye Director Hopkins Aye
Director Bagby Aye Director Kelley Aye
Director Fischer Aye Director Landman Aye
Director Gorin Aye Director Rabbitt Aye
Director Giudice Aye Director Salmon Aye
Ayes: 11 Noes: 0 Absent: 1 Abstain: 0
SO ORDERED
I, the undersigned, certify that the foregoing resolution was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority held on September 13, 2021.
__________________________________
Suzanne Smith, Executive Director
Clerk, Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority