CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to prohibiting natural gas piping systems in new buildings; adding a new Chapter 22.940 to the Seattle Municipal Code.
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WHEREAS, The City of Seattle ("City") has a long history of recognizing the threat posed by climate change and committing to efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that cause the atmosphere to trap heat from the Earth, resulting in global warming; and
WHEREAS, an October 2018 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report states that human beings have only until 2030 to limit devastating global warming and avoid a climate catastrophe; and
WHEREAS, the 2018 IPCC report also states that every bit of warming matters, so every fraction of a degree less of warming will save lives and pay dividends across the world's economies; and
WHEREAS, the City acknowledges that, at its current rate of greenhouse gas emissions reduction, it is not on track to reach its emissions reductions targets by 2030, established by Resolution 31312 in 2011; and
WHEREAS, according to the 2016 Seattle Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, emissions from the use of natural gas in buildings accounted for a quarter of Seattle's total greenhouse gas emissions; and
WHEREAS, prohibiting the inclusion of natural gas piping systems in new buildings would both improve public safety and public health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Council ("Council") makes the following legislative findings of fact and declarations:
A. Since the Council adopted Resolution 28546 in June 1992, recognizing the crisis of global warming, the City has taken multiple steps to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, including establishing the nation's first municipal building green building policy in 2000, requiring that all new City-funded projects and renovati...
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