Some California cities have already retracted gas appliance bans after a judge ruled against Berkeley’s ordinance limiting gas-powered appliances in new buildings.
The Trump administration is suing to stop two California cities from enforcing bans on gas-powered appliances in new buildings, reports Robert Freedman in Smart Cities Dive.
The city of Berkeley lost a legal challenge over a similar ban in 2023, prompting it and several other California cities to rescind their bans on gas appliances.
The government argues that appliances approved under the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) should remain available to consumers. “EPCA preempts not only state and local regulations that are stricter than (and therefore would effectively supersede) a federal standard, but more broadly any regulation ‘concerning the energy efficiency, energy use, or water use of’ products subject to a federal standard,” the lawsuit states.
Appliances approved under ECPA include “as-fired commercial warm air furnaces, commercial packaged boilers, commercial storage water heaters, instantaneous water heaters and hot water supply boilers, among others.”
A New York City policy takes a different approach by restricting how much carbon dioxide a building can emit rather than targeting gas appliances directly.
A bill making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives would end gas appliance bans by making it illegal for states and cities to ban an energy service connection based on the type of energy to be delivered.
Read the full story: Trump administration sues cities to stop gas appliance bans
Berkeley’s First-in-Nation Natural Gas Ban Overthrown by Court Ruling
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Berkeley does not have the power to mandate electric hookups in new development because a federal rule preempts the local regulation.
Fighting Climate Change in the Kitchen
With more cities banning the use of natural gas in new buildings, cooks are discovering the benefits of electric appliances.
Comment: EPA Cuts will Send Atlanta Back to Eye-burning Ozone, Lung-damaging Smog, and Raw Sewage in the Chattahoochee River
A veteran political journalist takes stock of the hard-earned ground Georgia stands to lose with slashed environmental protection.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
Satanic place names
From streams and lakes to valleys and canyons, I mapped more than 1,000 places named after the Devil.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority