Bellingham approved its first measure to require ‘electrification.’ Here’s what it does
Bellingham enacted its first ordinance for “electrification” of buildings, joining other U.S. cities in moving to reverse the effects of global climate change through local measures.
On a unanimous vote with no discussion at the end of its meeting Monday night, Feb. 7, the City Council approved an ordinance to require new commercial buildings and new apartment buildings more than three stories high to use electricity for heating and water heating, meet certain energy-reduction standards and use solar energy or provide rooftop space for eventual solar energy installation.
“So much work has gone into getting to this point and it seems like it is going to go off without much fanfare. But it’s moving forward, so that’s good,” said Council President Hannah Stone.
Monday’s vote was its final reading, after a Dec. 13 public hearing and a preliminary vote at the council’s Jan. 24 session.
But it follows several years of work by Bellingham’s elected leaders, city employees and volunteer task force members to develop a Climate Action Plan for the city to be 100% carbon-neutral by 2050.
RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, an environmental advocacy group based in Bellingham, praised the council’s action in an emailed statement.
“This makes Bellingham the third city in Washington (with more on the way) to set stronger standards for low-carbon energy in large new buildings,” RE Sources said. “RE Sources and hundreds of local advocates have been working in support of this ordinance for more than a year.”
About two dozen Bellingham residents spoke at a 90-minute public hearing on the electrification measure held Dec. 13, many of them representatives of environmental-advocacy groups or the energy and construction industries.
Environmental activists warned of further summer heatwaves, skies filled with wildfire smoke and more frequent flooding on the Nooksack River as global warming affects seasonal weather systems.
Construction workers and energy officials warned of job losses and steep increases in building costs by banning natural gas for heating and water heating.
After that hearing, Councilmembers Lisa Anderson and Michael Lilliquist urged their colleagues to consider the effects that excluding new natural gas hookups would have on the workforce, and councilmembers unanimously committed to a continuing dialogue with labor representatives as the city considers future measures to address the effects of climate change.
Council members started the first of those talks toward a “just transition” to carbon-neutral energy sources without losing family-wage jobs in a Monday meeting with local labor leaders.
This story was originally published February 9, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: The number of stories in a building to be impacted by this ordinance was corrected April 12, 2022.
