Dear City Council,
Thank you for all of your hard work. Though I’m on the EQC, I’m writing in here as a resident of Menlo Park only.
For the March 18th priority session.
* Please require electric or zero emissions models to be installed when any gas water heater or gas HVAC system is replaced in existing homes and buildings, effective January 1, 2024.
* Note that I am not including gas stovetops in this requested requirement, though I do think residents ought to consider the serious health hazards associated with burning methane with gas stoves.
* Please prioritize meaningful hardship, financial, and feasibility exemptions as consistent with many of the exemptions listed for similar electrification policies in other cities (San Mateo, Palo Alto, Portola Valley, Denver and those in the Model Bay Area Reach Code). These are important protections, especially for our most vulnerable residents.
* Please also prioritize electrification permit streamlining (especially eliminating upfront "plan checks" for easy installations such as those for electric water heaters, as is done in Sunnyvale, Fremont, Mountain View and other local areas).
* Permit streamlining for these kind of easier installations will reduce pressures on staff time *and* make it smoother and faster for residents wishing to electrify. Permit streamlining will also help staff reallocate existing resources to process the important exemptions mentioned above.
* Please also prioritize the various edits to the zoning ordinances recommended in a February public meeting of EQC to help streamline the permitting process for those residents trying to electrify. These are reasonable edits that will make electrification easier for everyone involved, thereby encouraging more compliance. Thank you.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Angela Evans
