EUGENE, Ore. - The Eugene City Council voted to ban natural gas infrastructure in new, low-rise residential construction during a special meeting on Monday.
Councilors voted 3-5 opposing to send the issue to Eugene residents for a vote. A motion was then made to move forward with the proposed ordinance, and that was approved in a vote of 5-3.
This only applies to new buildings, with low-rise residential buildings being defined as single-family dwellings, duplexes, triplexes, quadraplexes, cottage clusters and any residential structure that is three-stories or less.
The council's vote comes after months of discussion, and although no public comment was heard Monday, many residents have made their voice heard prior to the meeting. According to city councilor Mike Clark, they've received thousands of emails and letters on both sides of the issue.
Clark voted in favor of putting the issue on the ballot due to all the feedback the council's received. He also voiced his concerns about housing, and said some developers may choose not to build in Eugene moving forward.
"I fully expect to see many houses built in Springfield, and Creswell and Harrisburg and Junction City, but none in Eugene. Because the people who build them, and the 80% that councilor Keating referred to, do so build 80% of the homes with gas because it's what the market wants to buy," said Clark. "So if they cant build them here, they'll go and build them somewhere else."
Other councilors disagreed, and believe this ban will help Eugene move towards its climate goals. Councilor Lyndsie Leech and Emily Semple said that this move is more about the good of the community, and not each individual person.
"I think this is important for our health, our climates health," said Semple. "It's not a decision about what's best for each individual desire. But what's best for our community and our children now and in the future."
"We're creating a city that can be following our goals and meeting the decarbonization goals to be less dependent on fossil fuels," said Leech.
A big part of the follow up to this ban will be the discussion of incentives. Many city councilors agreed that since this ban only applies to new buildings, incentives should be offered to those who decide to make the switch from natural gas, since it can be very expensive.
There was no word on what those would look like yet.
