Eugene voters will decide whether the city should ban natural gas hookups in new residential construction.
At stake is a controversial ordinance that the Eugene City Council approved in February — the first of its kind in Oregon and one of nearly a hundred similar gas bans approved nationwide. City staff and environmental activists say it’s needed to stop the expansion of natural gas infrastructure and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in buildings.
Eugene Residents for Energy Choice submitted more than 12,000 signatures earlier this month to put the ordinance to a citywide vote. The group was funded by NW Natural, Oregon’s largest investor-owned gas utility.
The Lane County Clerk’s Office has now verified the signatures, and the Eugene city recorder has certified the petition, meaning it will be on the ballot in May or November.
The ballot measure may delay the ordinance, which was to take effect for building permits submitted on or after June 30. If voters reject it, it will have to be scrapped altogether.
The ordinance prohibits natural gas piping, fuel oil piping or other fossil fuel piping or conveyance systems in new homes, town houses, manufactured dwellings and multifamily residential buildings of three stories or less. It does not apply to existing homes and their gas equipment.
Portland-based NW Natural has spent more than $954,000 on the signature-gathering effort. The utility has been aggressively fighting electrification measures in Oregon. It says Eugene voters should have a say on the ordinance and points to a poll, paid for by the utility, that found 70% of Eugene residents opposed the gas ban.
In addition to Eugene, other cities including Milwaukie, Corvallis and Ashland have also expressed interest in banning natural gas to address climate change.