City Council — 2020-11-10

I'm calling the regular City Council meeting to order. Will the clerk please call the roll?

Second.

OK. Moved and seconded. Is there any objection? Hearing none, so ordered. Okay that takes us to, I've got to turn the page here, item two, the public hearing. James would you like to introduce the topic before we?

Sure, and we'll keep it very brief. It's just a high-level overview of the Reach Code Ordinance. Let me see. I'm pulling it up. And we tried to keep it very simple. And I think we've talked about this the last couple of council meetings, but just for as a reminder and for the public reach code is an ordinance that requires that newly constructed residential or non-residential buildings and or related outbuilding structures and equipment be built all electric otherwise without gas is what they mean by all electric We've discussed this the last couple meetings City Council on the 13th directed staff to draft an ordinance based on the discussion.

We did so, and then on October 27 that ordinance was introduced. The ordinance includes exemptions and exceptions that were discussed at those two meetings. And again trying to keep it very simple this is the list of exemptions and exceptions Temporary buildings such as construction trailers, attached ADUs, freestanding ADUs if an upgraded panel is necessary. An emergency generator powered by natural gas. An affordable housing project and that's as defined by the state a 55-year covenant restricted affordable housing project. PACE projects which is a property assessed clean energy project. Remodels or modifications to properties that received Certificate of Occupancy prior And that's because that's what we estimate that the ordinance would go into effect and be approved.

And then, that next bullet should have been removed and replaced with the two below it which is new restaurants and pool heaters. And then finally there's a hardship or infeasibility exception as well for that you know could be applied if needed And then I think one of the critical points to discuss today is at the last meeting we talked about the appeals process and council discussed several options.

So, we've left that blank it can be filled in and adopted but what we recommended in the staff report what we're proposing is identifying the community development manager as the person responsible they would approve or deny exemptions through the zone clearance process so that the applicant Harmon Zuckerman, PB – He, Him, His): Gets an answer early on and knows what what their options are or if they'll be able to have gas or electric or you know they'll always have electric but there'll be able to have gaps.

And then staff proposes that appeals will then proceed directly to the City Council. The biggest negative with that is that the appeals do take, you know would take meeting time. However we don't anticipate very many appeals so it'd likely be one to two a year and I think relatively quick at those times. So with that council can choose to accept that recommendation, fill in the blanks and then you know adopt that ordinance or they can determine an alternative and fill in the blanks accordingly there as well.

I think the exemptions in the appeals process are probably the two things we would discuss at this point but with that the ordinance is in your packet before you and I know we had a public comment as well so That's the general overview.

Okay, for the benefit of the audience and the council, the procedure will be the council now has an opportunity to ask any questions they may have of staff. And when those questions are, that's without getting into the deliberation then we will open the hearing and take testimony from the public. And when that concludes, we will close the public hearing and bring it back to Proceed to whatever discussion that they feel is appropriate and then we'll approve or disapprove.

So let's start with the questions I see one hand, Susan do you have a question?

I just want to be clear whatever we decide tonight is with the understanding that this comes back in six months.

I think that was whatever, that's what Ryan requested. I don't know that it needs to necessarily be or will be part of the certainly out of the ordinance but frankly you can bring it back every six months forever if you wish just you know we know if they're on a city matter pardon me the city attorney has got his hand up quick Matt you answer

it yes thank you Mr Mayor what's in the draft ordinance based on the motion that was approved last time is in the final section section eight a six-month review It does not render it ineffective. It means that council gets a chance to talk about the ordinance And make any changes so desired. But it's not an expiration date, it's a discussion.

Okay, so it makes

a commitment

to the public. That's

what you were looking for, wasn't it Ryan? A commitment to be sure we come back and we don't want any unintended consequences.

Bill's hands up, Bill. And just to be precise about that Mr. Summers, six months from effective date. So that's six months which would be 30 days after the vote to approve the second reading.

Correct, so to put it in concrete terms if the council is so active tonight to adopt the ordinance then it would be 30 days from now December 10th when it takes effect then six months hence. So that'd be about June 10th and then whatever the next council meeting is after that. Okay thank

you. Okay Randy you had your hand up.

Matt answered my questions I was just ensuring that if it passes tonight it's considered the second reading And then 30 days hence it becomes policy.

So- Right, okay and then in six months council would be committing to review and take further testimony on how well it's working. Okay with that I guess we're ready to open up the public hearing is that right Mr. City Attorney?

Yes,

that would be normal. Okay well the drop of the gavel uh the public hearing is now open if the clerk will start introducing people from the waiting room and allow them to tell the council what they think

okay and also um we have all of the members of the climate committee available if you have any questions for any of them

okay Mayor, do we have a question of the committee before we start? Not not a question for the committee but a question for you. How many people do we have calling

in?

15. Did we want to limit their comments to two minutes or did we want to reduce it based on I think there's going to be just if there's going to be more on ATP and there might be more.

Gail how many comments do we have on ATP?

Seven We

have eight now. I would support staying with three, if that's okay.

Yeah we can get through both of them in about an hour and 15 minutes. It was a good point though Randy thank you. Susan did you have?

Oh I just want to...I agree that we should give three minutes because we're in the midst of a great teachable moment and I think we need to hear the public and people that are watching I think want to hear what the public has to say

If you want to weigh in on that, if not we'll stay with the three minutes. Thank you Randy for bringing that up because that is something that we need with the Zoom. We can't look out at the audience and look at a stack of cards and know what our time management is but we can get through 25 I'm sure. Okay with that Gail would you kick things off for us?

Okay the first person is Doreen Farr.

Okay Doreen are you out there?

Green Farm might be on ATP.

I apologize, I guess I put the wrong number down but I want to speak to ATP instead please.

Okay we'll shift you over to that Gail what else do you have? Thank

you okay um the next one let me mute her first The next one is Kit Stoltz.

Kit, are you there? Kit, are you out there?

There we go. Kit, you should be able to go.

Yeah. Kit you're ready? You on?

Let me try again. It's the software is misbehaving. I'm clicking the allow to talk button and it's not working, let me talk to James Hahn one moment.

Like being at the board of supervisors sharing room this morning.

Maybe we could ask Gail to do the next two or three so people could be ready?

What is she saying that the problem is, is the waiting room. She has to be able to get the mute turned

off? Yeah, yeah, but I mean after we resolve that-

Okay. We figured it out. It's the... I'm going to promote this speaker to panelists. It' because Kit is using an old version of Zoom so...

Okay.

Go ahead you should be able to speak now.

Are you there? Thank you. I will be as quick as possible. Well, as you know, I'm

speaking for the Ojai

Valley Green Coalition we were founded

basically

back After an inconvenient truth to combat climate change. I'll note just briefly about that same time back in 2006 under Governor Schwarzenegger, the state passed AB 32 which was a pretty dramatic attempt to reduce emissions to 1990 levels at that time business interests said that it would be disastrous in various ways. It would lead to rolling blackouts, soaring costs and would be a so-called job killer.

In fact it has not been any of those none of those problems that come along are this state set a remarkable standard reducing reaching those 1990 levels by 2016 four years ahead of schedule We are nearly at 50% renewable energy. And this idea, modest in comparison is an attempt to extend that basic principle of electrification and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to the home.

And I just think it's we think it's a very good idea. There's a great deal of research backing it up both from the state of California from Information Agency, which points out that California per capita is the fourth lowest consumer despite the fact that we are an enormous state and use more energy total than anybody else. I also think it's important to mention that according to the Rocky Mountain Institute and the State of California and numerous others All electric homes are actually cheaper to install.

According to a 2018 white paper from the Rocky Mountain Institute, quote, let's see if I can find it. The mixed fuel home i.e., with gas furnace water heater air conditioning new gas connection costs has a higher upfront whole cost than the all-electric home. Why is that? Basically, it's not very complicated. An all-electric home means using a whole house

heat

pump which eliminates the separate cost of a gas furnace. There is also a lot of interest and research around induction stoves replacement, the common replacement these days for gas stoves and the City of San Jose has this interesting program to encourage use by allowing residents to rent a portable induction unit to try it out. And they report, quote, they heat twice as fast than gas have a better temperature control and improve air quality in the home.

There's really a lot of evidence for this program. And finally, am I done? Your time is

up. Quick comment.

Okay. Last point, we are trying as a state, as a nation, as a species to avoid what scientists call the higher warming scenario which would be truly disastrous and this effort, the all electric home is a small but vital step towards a safer world.

Okay thank you appreciate it. Gail next speaker is?

May I just add that I sent the council the report from the Rocky Mountain Institute. You

should have

seen it yeah.

That was very interesting Gail, do you have somebody else for us?

Christopher Young. But there he goes. He's Christopher. You should be able to speak now.

Chris, are you there?

I am OK. Welcome. Thank you very much. Truly a pleasure to have the opportunity to speak to you. I think I just have two quick thoughts to share. The first one is If we as a community at this point can't make this relatively minor move towards using less petroleum, the question that comes to me is How in the world are we going to protect our children from climate change?

I would be really surprised if any of you on the council have the sense that our community, our state, our nation are moving at anything other than a snail's pace as it relates to dealing with this existential crisis. So that's point one. Point two, and I'm not. is important regarding the future potential of using biogas and piping it, I guess through obviously through those same pipes.

Again given this snail's pace that appears we are moving at towards doing Much of anything about controlling out-of-control climate change. It's just it's at least difficult and I admit, I'm not knowledgeable in this area but it is at least difficult for me to imagine that in the next 10 or 20 years we are actually going to somehow be having biogas pumped into our homes I think in some ways that would be very delightful, but I wonder about that. And I think Kit Stoltz and the Green Coalition are on this. And so I support this ordinance. Thank you very much.

Okay, thank you. Gail, the next speaker? Gail?

It's Scott Shell. Scott, can you unmute yourself?

Yes. Can you hear me? We can

hear you, Scott. Welcome.

Yes. Thank you so much for having this hearing and for all the work you've all done. I think it's really important. I'm an architect, and we've been designing all electric buildings for our clients for a good while now and have found it very successful. I did look up the statistics today, and in the last 10 years Almost 70% of homes that have been built, have been built with electric heat.

So I think the technology is there it's mature we're doing it. We've also been reading more and more recently about all the health impacts of gas combustion in the home and you know your hot water heater if it's gas it has to have a flu going out of your house Your gas fireplace has to have a flue going out of the house to remove the unsafe gases. A gas furnace has to have a flue going out of your house, but your gas stove doesn't.

It does have a vent hood, but only about 25% of people use their vent hood because they're noisy and people just don't like them. And so it's really putting these unsafe polluting gases inside the home. So we've gotten really concerned about that and about any kind of combustion inside the home. The other thing I just wanted to say is some people are spreading misinformation about reliability issues and they say, well you know we have power shut off sometimes or sometimes electric power goes out. We need our gas but you know all modern gas appliances need electricity. They're required by code to have electronic ignition. You know we don't have standing pilot lights anymore. It's not healthy it's not legal and so you have to have that electronic mission to get it started You know, in addition your furnace has an electric fan.

Your dryer has an electric motor. The only exception is your gas cooktop. You can light a gas cooktop with a match. You can't light the stove with the match. So that's the only exception. So I don't think those reliability issues are really an issue. So thank you for considering this and I appreciate the opportunity to speak.

Thank you Scott for the information. Gail, the next speaker.

Is Steve Quillesey?

Steve? Steve? Yes, sir. I'm here. OK. Welcome, Steve. You're on. Thank

you very much. I have two points. The briefing said that REACH code is electrification of new construction. I think at the last meeting Council Member Wyrick pointed out That the oft mentioned 35 cities that have passed reach codes only three or four, I think it was had actually passed reach codes that read like this ordinance. Second, I'd like to read a letter that I sent you all this afternoon for the benefit of people that may be listening tonight.

Excuse me. Dear Mayor and City Council members As you know, and I'm speaking as a member of the public though you'll infer something else perhaps from the letter. As you know, the Climate Emergency Committee briefed the Planning Commission on their Reach Code plan prior to briefing the City Council. Mr. White stated that committee's goal is eliminating the use of natural gas in Ojai.

I haven't looked at the transcript again He may have put the word infrastructure in there as well. I asked if it was part of the committee's plan to force me, as a homeowner, to stop using my natural gas appliances and he said no. I then asked how the committee expected to eliminate the use of natural gas without forcing me to stop using my natural gas appliances And he answered, it's only a goal.

So my question for the mayor and city council is as you vote tonight to adopt the reach codes for Ojai are you one making a merely symbolic statement with almost no effect on the use of natural gas in Ojai or two taking the first step enforcing me to stop using my natural gas appliances? If the latter, when do you plan to force me to stop using my natural gas appliances?

And finally, do the citizens of Ojai have any say in this matter other than waiting for the next city council election. Thank you very much for your time.

Yeah,

thank you Steve. Mayor Thompson, could I just correct the record on that statement about representing what I said? Yes go ahead. Just really quickly, Steve if you're listening my comment was the very small number of cities are the ones that have a blanket ban without specific stipulations addressing possible unintended negative consequences. So what we have before us tonight is much more in the center average of what much more common presentation of what's in those cities so I wanted to correct the record a little bit on what I said

Thank you. I appreciate the correction and I stand corrected, thank you sir. Okay Gail the next speaker.

The next speaker is Maria Ventura.

Maria you

should be able to talk.

Can you hear me?

Yes we can welcome Maria.

Thank you good evening Mayor and City Council my name is Maria Ventura and I'm commenting today on behalf of SoCalGas. When I spoke at your last meeting I shared information with you about SoCal Gas clean energy programs This past Friday, I emailed you a letter offering additional details about our vision to be the cleanest gas utility in North America and clarifying certain inaccurate incomplete statements previously made about building emissions, natural gas and renewable gas. I hope we had an opportunity to review our comments. It's a lengthy letter so I won't go over it all today. However, I do want to highlight six important points.

Number one, comprehensive building emission reduction strategies were omitted from your consideration Our letter includes a discussion of some proven cost-effective strategies such as energy efficiency, incentives and home weatherization. Two, renewable natural gas or RNG for short is already a part of SoCal Gas clean energy system and experts agree it is needed to help the state achieve carbon neutrality.

RNG is currently the only carbon negative fuel and we have committed to replace 20% of our gas supplies with RNG by 2030. SoCal gas customers will soon have the option to purchase natural gas for renewable sources. Incorporating this into your reach code would provide residents the ability to maintain gas service while offsetting all reports of emissions associated with their gas use, like they're really due for electricity use. Four buildings homes without gas service does not equate to decrease building cost. Many of the savings referenced by staff and the climate committee are incorrectly premised on building practices that are commonly used in the building industry.

Five, proper ventilation is the only important component to protect indoor air quality. Cooking food regardless of energy source generates certain emissions and it's the churn of the food is a primary cause of emissions not the type of heat source used. Properly maintained kitchen Range hoods can effectively remove harmful emissions from cooking regardless of appliance type. Six, experts agree that mixed field buildings with both natural gas and electricity service are more resilient to extreme weather events and disasters. Redundant energy systems enable critical services and facilities such as buses hospitals and grocery stores to operate a safe life during climate events. We applaud Ohio's leadership in environmental progressive city And we support your overarching effort to find innovative ways to reduce emissions and create a more sustainable city.

As a trust and long-time energy provider at Ojai, we are committed to work with the city to achieve these goals. We hope the information we have provided you will help make a better informed decision of how to reduce emissions from buildings in your city. Thank you for that opportunity to comment on this important policy issue.

Thank you Maria. Gail, the next speaker?

Is

Andrew Ellison.

Okay.

Good

evening, Council. Welcome. Hi. I want to congratulate this council for demonstrating vital leadership by recognizing the imminent existential threat that climate change poses to all of us and our children. And you rightly declared an emergency. You appointed competent people to a committee who have been working very hard to find tangible ways our community can immediately begin to reduce the damage we're inflicting on our climate.

I know how these people are working. I'm married to one I appreciate your thoughtful deliberation as this has gone on, but when I see the exemptions that have been proposed it reminds me that we are not truly acting like this is an emergency. In a true emergency we don't default to the status quo. I've been amused by some hand-wringing about potentially losing access to beloved gas ranges even among my climate concerned friends. This reminds me of when electric cars became widely available only a couple of years ago Electric vehicles are safer, quieter, more powerful. Offer more control, cheaper to buy feature after incentives. Much cheaper to own and operate over the life of the vehicle.

Yet until people had actually driven one they were sure their old gas must still be better. We're in a similar place on the adoption curve regarding electric induction cooking ranges. Once people try cooking with induction there's no going back. Chefs who earn their living in the kitchens are showing the way forward. Cooking like driving has evolved and most people just haven't experienced this yet.

Similarly, modern electric heating is a superior alternative to gas furnace. When our family put in a high efficiency mini split air conditioner in our home it came with a heat pump heater. This immediately proved a better cheaper way to heat our house and we have removed the old furnace and haven't missed it. We haven't missed the carbon monoxide risk that diminished indoor air quality, the fire risk, the heating bills And I think the same goes for electric heat pumps for pools.

So, I'd also challenge you to reconsider the proposed exception you've carved out for ADUs. Any home with a 100 amp panel that is adding an ADU is almost certainly going to require a panel upgrade especially if the ADU it's going to be air conditioned And even if the panel upgrade doesn't happen when the ADU is built, it will be coming as the primary home adds electric vehicle charging, as most of us will soon.

Or when they learn that they'd actually prefer to be cooking with induction in the main house as well. When an ADU was added, the panel upgrade is going to happen regardless of whether gas appliances are also present. But the cost and the trouble of the additional plumbing of a gas main to the ADU And the plumbing of gas throughout the ADU does not have to happen. The homeowner can be spared the construction expense, the long-term risks, the operating costs and they can be nudged into this carbon free future.

My concern is this exception for ADUs hazards swallowing the rule because we can project that as likely that the great majority of new construction in the coming years will be ADUs. So let's build them for the future not tether them to this burning past.

Thank you Andrew. I appreciate your remarks. Gail, the next speaker

is Laura Meisch. Laura, go ahead.

Laura?

Laura, unmute your mic please. Yeah, I got it. Great.

You got it? OK, welcome, Laura.

Thank you. Well, I guess I'm going to be an exception to the prior speakers as we are local contractors We were pretty shocked, first of all that we'd only heard about this initiative through the paper last week and it's already on the second reading. So we felt that this was really coming too fast and that there should be more public education and awareness made on this issue I mean, we are builders in the valley for 30 years. Plus we have a house currently in plan check that we had not heard anything about this initiative. So anyway, just again fill it's very fast. Just in doing some research for our new home, we found that for the most part gas is still a preferred for efficiency and economic reasons, for gas dryers, for gas water heaters and for heating larger homes.

Gas is still the preferred way to do it. So we felt that let's see, Um, that even though our project I guess will be exempt from this. If you did pass it tonight since we are already in plan check, um, we felt that perhaps the city could at least reach out to current buildable lot owners because there is still a few in Ojai not too many, but there are some lots out there And just make them aware of what's happening because I think it really impacts the value of the lot and what people perceive they can do with their property.

And there's already so many requirements in building right now, just through the current code as far as the title 24, the high fire Provisions that we now have to fall under the earthquake structural, the landscaping requirements. There's so much on people to build these days that it's just amazing and how expensive it is. That's about all we wanted to say.

Okay well thank you very much Laura. Gail the next speaker?

The next speaker is Ruth Cooper. One moment, this looks like the same problem before with the old software. Ruth, you should be able to speak? Oh, I'm going to promote her to panelist. Sorry about that.

Does that come with a raise or just title?

Ruth, you should be able to speak now.

Got it. Hello thank you for this opportunity to speak and I just want to say that I really appreciate the Climate Emergency Committee and their work.

Ruth can you speak up a little? I can't quite hear you.

Sure. I really appreciate the work that you all are doing to address climate change, and I wanted to speak to a couple things. One is Al Gore was right. This is a very inconvenient truth. It is going to be inconvenient but we have to set that aside to some extent. I agree with Mr. Ellison that the exceptions seem excessive, particularly the ones for ADUs since Ojai is fairly built out and we don't expect a lot more building other than ADUs. So I would like to suggest that ADU not be part of the exception and that remodels also Thank you very much.

We put in a heat pump and we've experienced a hot summer and now some very cold weather, and have been very comfortable and very happy with it. So our house is being heated and cooled electrically, and we look forward to replacing our water heater and our range as we have the ability to do so. We're a family of very modest means, and we are making these changes even if it means that we have to refinance our house to do so. We feel that we all should be taking every step that we possibly can to address climate change so that we leave a livable planet for our children. This is not about saving 100 bucks here or $1,000 there. This is about providing a livable planet for our children so I think we all need to keep that in mind and really understand that there are going to be difficulties this is going to be inconvenient but we have to remember what our mission is and I appreciate the council considering What would be best for future generations and not just the people who have the good fortune to be on the planet right now.

Thank you.

Thank you. Gail, the next speaker

is Dan Kegel. Dan go ahead.

Hello can you hear me? Yes,

Dan

you're welcome. So my name is Dan Kegel. I am an engineer and a Sierra Club member speaking to you from Los Angeles, which is considering a similar move. I use an induction cooktop. It's safer than my old gas stove, and I find it faster and just as controllable. And it costs 50 bucks. It is not like this is rocket science anymore. Second, SoCal Gas claimed tonight that they will be able to meet 20% of demand with renewable natural gas by 2030. Well first a state report found that there isn't going to be enough biogas in the state of California to do that they just can't scale it up and second the State Utility Commission's watchdog has proposed fining SoCal gas 255 million dollars this week for using ratepayer money to oppose actions like yours their credibility is limited Third, we need to get to 100% renewable not 20%.

So while this motion is not pure enough to get to 100%, it's a great intermediate step and it's very similar to what the City of San Francisco passed tonight. That's a big vote of confidence for this approach and I urge you to approve. Thank you very much.

Gayle, the next.

Next we have Michael Shapiro.

Michael, you're on. Michael?

Michael go ahead and unmute yourself.

It's going to be new in our dictionary. Welcome Michael.

Hello, good evening City Council and Mr Mayor. This is a great step forward and we know that Ojai suffers from such a fragile air quality environment. We have to pull out all the stops do what we can to make our community healthier. And frankly, you'll be joining some premier cities throughout the state that don't have the same kind of air quality challenges that we have. Santa Monica, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Cupertino, Mill Valley Palo Alto, major cities have gone through this study really carefully and some of those cities have some of the most brilliant scientists at their disposal. And they know this is the way forward. So I really fully support it. I do have misgivings about too many exceptions. I think we should go all out frankly that's what I believe in.

And when I went solar and my wife and I converted to all electric cars, we were able to take advantage of federal estate rebates. My question has the City Council looked into the possibility for people who want to convert all away but have the expense of going from a gas appliance to a electric heater, heat pump, stove whatever Are there any rebates out there that would make that big knot a little less onerous to take on? I think, you know, conferring with our state representatives or congressional representatives to see if it's possible to plug into similar rebates that were available for solar I'd like to see if the City Council can look into something similar so that we as a community can make this transition and it'll be a little easier financially on all concerned.

So other than that, it's a great program. I urge the city council to move forward with it. Thank you.

Okay well Michael in answer to that last question is that yes the city council and Climate Committee are looking into that as far as exemptions, or not exemptions but subsidies. But that would be the next step right now what is before us doesn't apply to anybody who currently is here and is enjoying whatever benefits they feel they're getting from the gas. They get to keep doing that but at some point creating incentives to move it further down the line you make a good point and I'm sure we'll continue pursuing it. Thank you.

Next speaker, Gail.

That's all the speakers that I have on the list who are in the queue. However we have two people that are in the queue but I don't have them listed as a particular item so I'm going to bring on the first person Denise Grabb and ask her if this is the item she wants to speak on?

Are we going to do public comments during some pause?

Yeah, we'll go right to public comment here shortly. The other person that's in waiting.

The other person is Dennis McCarthy. And here, Denise Grabb you should be able to speak. Did you want to speak on this item?

Yes, this item please.

Okay.

Good evening Council Members and Mayor and thank you for the opportunity to comment. My name is Denise Grabb and I actually work at Rocky Mountain Institute of the aforementioned paper. I'm in the Oakland office there and we're, as you know an independent nonprofit working to shift toward a low carbon future. I grew up in SoCal visiting Ohio on a number of weekends and I'm really grateful for all the city has done to move forward being the first city in its county to declare a climate emergency and for good reason. As we've seen the effects of climate change in Southern California Our action or inaction today will impact the livelihood of generations to come.

And we don't have time to wait on climate change. If we continue to build mixed fuel homes, we'll be locking in more carbon emissions for decades and increase the risk of stranded assets. Moreover there are substantial health risks from gas appliance pollution such as greater asthma risk from both indoor and outdoor pollution. The EPA has concluded that exposure to nitrogen dioxide from gas appliances causes respiratory harms and homes with gas stoves have 50 to 400% higher concentrations of nitrogen dioxide than homes with electric stoves. In fact, children living in homes with a gas stove are 42% more likely to experience asthma symptoms and 24% more likely to be diagnosed with asthma by a doctor in the first place compared to children living in homes with electric stoves.

This pollution is preventable and we need to electrify our buildings. This is especially important today as we face a global pandemic that threatens our respiratory health. Emory University recently found the greater exposure to nitrogen dioxide leads to a greater likelihood of death from COVID-19. When considering the impact of the proposed ordinance and whether or not to continue putting gas in our homes, we need to consider that That lives will directly be impacted by these emissions.

And in addition as Kit Stoltz mentioned, a report earlier found that all electric new construction is actually cheaper than mixed fuel construction and Council Member I believe Sousa responded on that front. And we also support comments from Andrew Ellison and others in favor of limiting exemptions from the rule, we want to make sure that the policies here achieve the intended goal and not have the exception swallowed the rule.

Tonight you have the opportunity to accelerate us to a safer healthier cleaner all electric future I ask the City Council to pass the proposed ordinance for all electric new construction, to improve the livelihood of Ojai's residents today and in the future. Thank you for the opportunity to comment and for your consideration.

Thank You Denise. Gail do we have anybody else that would like to speak?

There's one more speaker that I don't have identified which as to which item and it's Dennis McCarthy so I'll go ahead and put him on and see if this is the item he wants to speak on if that's okay with you

yes

okay Dennis, go ahead. Dennis if you could unmute yourself. One more time. Okay, so then we're done there's no more speakers.

Okay, well that will conclude the public hearing then. I'm going to close the public hearing but then can we with the council's agreement we can take a break and we have I think one person is waiting to make a public communication. It was 7 30 okay if there's