Agenda Item # 11.4 - Dashiell Leeds | Received 08/01/2022CAUTION: This email originated from an External Source. Please use proper judgment and caution when opening
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From:
To:Mayor Marie Blankley; Council Member Peter Leroe-Munoz; Council Member Rebeca Armendariz; Council Member
Dion Bracco; Council Member Zachary Hilton; Council Member Carol Marques; Council Member Fred Tovar; City
Clerk; Christina Ruiz; Jimmy Forbis
Cc:James Eggers; Mike Ferreira; Barbara Kelsey; Gladwyn D"Souza
Subject:EXTERNAL - SCLP letter to Gilroy regarding 8.1.2022 City Council meeting, Reach Codes
Date:Monday, August 1, 2022 3:41:18 PM
Attachments:SCLP Letter to Gilroy Reach Codes Aug 1 2022.pdf
Dear Mayor Blankley and Gilroy City Councilmembers,
The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter is in support of the strongest possible all-electric
building code in Gilroy. Unfortunately, Gilroy is falling behind other Bay Area cities in
climate policy. The currently proposed mixed-fuel codes could burden residents with new
gas pipelines that threaten public health, our climate, and increase building costs.
1) We ask that the City Council pass a motion directing staff to pursue the Natural
Gas Ban, listed as Option 3 in the staff report. Staff should be directed to use the “Bay
Area Reach Codes Model All-Electric Municipal Code” as a model for Gilroy’s reach code.
The natural gas ban is the ideal policy vehicle for all-electric requirements, as these
requirements will not need to be revisited every 3 years during each building code cycle.
2) We also ask that the City Council pass a motion directing staff to contact Valley
Water to seek the technical assistance they offer for implementing measures within
the Model Water Efficiency New Development Ordinance. Valley Water has already
analyzed Gilroy’s water policies and can identify gaps where new measures can be
implemented.
Please see the attached letter for our full comments which explain the numerous benefits of
all-electric buildings and the costly downsides of gas pipelines.
Sincerely,
Dashiell Leeds
Conservation Organizer
Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter
Gladwyn d'Souza
Chair, Conservation Committee
Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter
San Mateo, Santa Clara & San Benito Counties
August 1, 2022
Gilroy City Council
7351 Rosanna Street
Gilroy, CA 95020
RE: Agenda Item 11.4: Please Pass a Motion for an All-Electric Municipal Code and
MWENDO Analysis
Dear Mayor Blankley and Gilroy City Councilmembers,
The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter is in support of the strongest possible all-electric building
code in Gilroy. Unfortunately, Gilroy is falling behind other Bay Area cities in climate policy. The
currently proposed mixed-fuel codes could burden residents with new gas pipelines that
threaten public health, our climate, and increase building costs.
1) We ask that the City Council pass a motion directing staff to pursue the Natural Gas
Ban, listed as Option 3 in the staff report. Staff should be directed to use the “Bay Area
Reach Codes Model All-Electric Municipal Code” as a model for Gilroy’s reach code. The
natural gas ban is the ideal policy vehicle for all-electric requirements, as these requirements
will not need to be revisited every 3 years during each building code cycle.
2) We also ask that the City Council pass a motion directing staff to contact Valley
Water to seek the technical assistance they offer for implementing measures within the
Model Water Efficiency New Development Ordinance. Valley Water has already analyzed
Gilroy’s water policies and can identify gaps where new measures can be implemented.
All-Electric buildings are cheaper to build, have healthier indoor air quality, and are supplied with
clean electricity from Silicon Valley Clean Energy
Indoor air pollution from gas stoves is a significant health hazard and equity issue. “UCLA
researchers found that after cooking for one hour with a gas stove and oven, peak levels of
nitrogen dioxide (NO2) inside the kitchen are so high they exceed both state and national
outdoor acute air-quality standards in more than 90 percent of the homes modeled.”1 The report
1https://www.sierraclub.org/articles/2020/04/pollution-gas-appliances-endangers-our-health-
going-electric-can-