Write emailcouncil@slocity.org to offer support. If you believe this is the right direction, your contribution of three minutes will make a big difference… voices are needed. The Clean Energy Choice for New Buildings program would amend the local building code to accelerate the transition to zero-emission electric buildings. While providing options to those who still want to develop buildings with gas: Such projects would need to meet higher energy efficiency standards, and would be required to offset the pollution from their gas use by paying an in-lieu fee to help retrofit existing buildings. More than 50 cities and counties across California are pursuing similar local codes to shift to zero-emission electric new construction. Promoting the switch to electricity in buildings is a key way to meet the city’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2035—residential and commercial buildings are responsible for one-quarter of California’s greenhouse gas emissions—and it also offers direct health and economic benefits to residents by avoiding the indoor air pollution, fire risks especially during earthquakes, and rapidly increasing gas prices. Building all-electric also lowers utility bills, shielding customers from hikes in gas prices. For example, Southern California Gas company—which serves SLO—has requested rate increases of 42 percent between 2018 and 2022, and Energy and Environmental Economics (E3) reported in its draft Future of Gas study for the California Energy Commission that it expects gas rates to continue to increase rapidly through 2050, making gas increasingly unaffordable. By voting for the Clean Energy Choice for New Buildings ordinance, San Luis Obispo’s council-members will position their city to lead a wave of other cities and counties across California in constructing a cleaner, healthier, safer, and more affordable future.