CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION expressing the need to accelerate the transition of the City’s transportation sector away from oil and increase the use of electricity for transportation by adopting a goal to cut oil use for transportation by half by 2035; endorsing the Mayor’s Drive Clean Seattle initiative; setting a goal that 30 percent of vehicles in the City will be electric by 2030; and establishing requirements for the Executive to report on initial actions to support these goals.
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WHEREAS, transportation in Seattle, and across the globe, is overwhelmingly fueled by oil, and the pollution from burning oil is known to be harmful to human health and a leading contributor to climate change, in addition to costing drivers billions of dollars in fuel costs; and
WHEREAS, The City of Seattle has adopted a Climate Action Plan to become a carbon-neutral city by 2050 and transportation-related pollution contributes two-thirds of the City’s core greenhouse gas emissions and is the largest contributor to U.S. emissions; and
WHEREAS, dependence on oil to fuel America’s transportation needs drains money from communities, exposes the U.S. economy to volatile global markets, puts national security at risk, and accelerates the dangers of global warming; and
WHEREAS, the Union of Concerned Scientists has identified a realistic plan (“Half the Oil”) to transition from petroleum and halve U.S. oil use by 2035 to reduce pollution, create jobs in sustainable transportation, and save money; and
WHEREAS, by accelerating the shift in transportation fuel from oil to Seattle City Light’s carbon-neutral electricity, we are building on the strong environmental legacy of Seattle City Light, the nation’s greenest utility; and
WHEREAS, a sustainable transportation system is one that seeks to dramatically cut oil use through efficiency, innovation, and investment in clean transportation solutions; and
WHEREAS, transportation electrification may include all-electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle designs with partial all-electric functioning and will need to address a variety of vehicle types that currently burn gasoline or diesel fuel, including transit buses, rail, industrial and other non-road equipment (such as forklifts), passenger vehicles, short-haul shuttles and vans, and light and heavy duty trucks; and
WHEREAS, municipalities across the country are well positioned to reduce transportation pollution through the electrification of fleets, transit, port operations, and shared-use vehicles, and investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, recent studies commissioned by Seattle City Light show a consistent net benefit from transportation electrification in the Seattle City Light service territory across a variety of electrified transportation modes; and
WHEREAS, market research demonstrates that there is broad customer support for a Seattle City Light electric vehicle program; and
WHEREAS, on Earth Day in 2015, Mayor Ed Murray launched Seattle’s Equity and Environment Initiative, a partnership of the community, several City departments, and private foundations to deepen Seattle’s commitment to race and social justice in environmental work by creating an Equity and Environment Agenda centered on equity; and
WHEREAS, on March 10, 2016, at the Climate Leadership Conference, Mayor Murray announced the Drive Clean Seattle initiative focused on leveraging Seattle’s clean electricity across the transportation sector; and
WHEREAS, Drive Clean Seattle is a comprehensive plan to accelerate and increase the use of electric vehicles to move people, goods, and services around the City; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING, THAT:
Section 1. The City of Seattle endorses the ambitious call to action in the Half the Oil plan (“Half the Oil”) to reduce petroleum use in the transportation sector by 50 percent by 2035. The Office of Sustainability and Environment is requested to report back to the City Council (“Council”) within 180 days of the effective date of this resolution with a strategy to put Seattle on a pathway to achieving the goals of Half the Oil.
Section 2. The City of Seattle adopts the goals of the Mayor’s Drive Clean Seattle initiative to demonstrate Seattle’s intention to prioritize transportation electrification as a key part of our climate strategy and the strategy to achieve the Half the Oil goal.
A. The Drive Clean Seattle initiative commits to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the City’s transportation sector while prioritizing opportunities to electrify transportation modes that reduce congestion and pollution the most, such as transit and shared-use mobility solutions.
B. The Drive Clean Seattle initiative also calls for strategies to increase the share of personal electric vehicles to reduce petroleum use. The City of Seattle will lead by example and transform the City’s vehicle fleet by reducing municipal fleet emissions by 50 percent by 2025.
C. The City of Seattle’s Drive Clean Seattle and Equity and Environment initiatives will work as coordinated programs to provide economic and clean air benefits of electric transportation to communities who bear a combined disparate burden of air pollution and racial-socioeconomic inequities; create leadership opportunities for and build partnerships with populations and worker sectors who have historically received fewer benefits from and leadership opportunities in environmental programs; and inspire a multicultural generation of clean energy climate leaders.
D. The Drive Clean Seattle initiative also calls for the completion of a Racial Equity Toolkit assessment and to set program racial equity outcomes that further the goals of the Equity and Environment Agenda and serve to deepen the connections between Drive Clean Seattle and communities of color, immigrants, refugees, people with low incomes, and people with limited English proficiency. City Departments involved in implementing the Drive Clean Seattle initiative resolution will also apply a racial equity analysis as they develop recommendations and include in the Executive’s report to Council the ways in which the analysis and community partners informed their approach and decisions.
Section 3. The City of Seattle further hereby sets a target that 30 percent of all registered light-duty vehicles registered in Seattle be electric by 2030.
Section 4. To best prepare The City of Seattle to support the massive adoption of electric vehicles across the transportation sector and across vehicle classes, the Executive will report to Council no later than 180 days after the effective date of this resolution the best ways to set up the infrastructure and policy framework to support the electrification of transportation. Council expects that this report would include:
A. A study to determine what the electric generation, distribution, and charging infrastructure needs are to make this transition with some detail on phase-in of the work. The study should also address the most effective means to minimize peak system impacts on the electrical grid and best utilize current grid assets, which may include demand response, managed charging, or infrastructure approaches that align with variable renewable generation.
B. A determination of zoning, building, and electrical code changes necessary to ensure that buildings being built or remodeled today are prepared to meet this future need. These recommendations should specify what building code changes will best support transportation electrification in ways that reduce transportation-related emissions and, if possible, vehicle miles traveled.
C. Results of a survey of policies and financial incentives demonstrated nationally and internationally to promote both electric vehicle uptake and vehicle charging deployment across the built environment, and recommendations on how to drive uptake of some of these incentives.
D. Strategies that are available to address the charging needs of residents without off-street parking at home.
Adopted by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2016, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this ________ day of _________________________, 2016.
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President ____________ of the City Council
The Mayor concurred the ________ day of _________________________, 2016.
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Edward B. Murray, Mayor
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2016.
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Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)