San Francisco's Board of Supervisors has voted to ban natural gas in new buildings.
The measure, authored by Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, is designed to help cut greenhouse gas emissions and make buildings safer. It applies to over 54,000 homes and 32 million square feet of commercial space currently in the city's development pipeline.
Natural gas accounts for roughly 40% of San Francisco’s overall greenhouse gas emissions and 80% of building emissions. San Francisco has already banned natural gas for any new city-owned building.
More than 30 cities in California, including Berkeley, have already taken steps to limit the use of natural gas in new buildings. Previous legislation had already banned natural gas in new city-owned buildings in San Francisco.
"We’re big proponents of this because of the great risk that gas causes to the community and, in terms of the environment, just sustainability and resiliency over time," former San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White told KCBS Radio when the legislation came up in September.
At the last minute, Mandelman delayed the measure’s implementation by six months and allowed developers the ability to apply for a waiver that allows a mixed-fuel building where a restaurant could have gas stove, a permit waiver that would expire at the end of 2022.
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