The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Berkeley does not have the power to mandate electric hookups in new development because a federal rule preempts the local regulation.
![Natural gas stove with blue flame](/files/styles/featured_small/public/images/1599px-Gas_stove_flame.jpg.webp?itok=2yLuC6EF)
A ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled has overruled a Berkeley city ordinance banning natural gas hookups in new buildings—a dramatic legal setback for the first citywide ordinance mandating all-electric power in the United States.
Maya Earls and Samantha Hawkins report on the court ruling for Bloomberg Law, noting that the lawsuit was pursued by the California Restaurant Association and that the ruling hinged on a question of preemption. In the end, the court ruling decided that the city ordinance was preempted by the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA).
“Berkeley can’t bypass preemption by banning natural gas piping within buildings rather than banning natural gas products themselves,” the panel wrote in the ruling.
“By its plain text and structure, EPCA’s preemption provision encompasses building codes that regulate natural gas use by covered products,” Judge Patrick J. Bumatay wrote for the panel. “And by preventing such appliances from using natural gas, the new Berkeley building code does exactly that.”
Berkeley approved its natural gas ban in 2019, setting the stage for San Francisco, Seattle, and other cities to approve their own versions of gas bans. Natural gas hookups became a flare in the culture war earlier this year after a commissioner for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission suggested the agency could ban gas stoves, like the city of Berkeley attempted to do at the local level.
FULL STORY: Berkeley Ban on Natural Gas Hookups Tossed by Ninth Circuit
![Portland Bus Lane](/files/styles/small_400/public/images/5962729519_94a2a7705f_c.jpg.webp?itok=V_0hNFSw 1200w,
/files/styles/large/public/images/5962729519_94a2a7705f_c.jpg.webp?itok=V-FP7hHN 992w)
‘Forward Together’ Bus System Redesign Rolling Out in Portland
Portland is redesigning its bus system to respond to the changing patterns of the post-pandemic world—with twin goals of increasing ridership and improving equity.
![An aerial view of Milwaukee’s Third Ward.](/files/styles/small_400/public/images/Milwaukee-Third-Ward.jpeg.webp?itok=ThTZMA1Z 1200w,
/files/styles/large/public/images/Milwaukee-Third-Ward.jpeg.webp?itok=72bEtsBS 992w)
Plan to Potentially Remove Downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate Faces Public Scrutiny
The public is weighing in on a suite of options for repairing, replacing, or removing Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee.
![Conceptual rendering of Rikers Island redevelopment as renewable energy facility](/files/styles/small_400/public/images/Screenshot%202023-08-23%20at%2011-49-44%20ARTICLE%20Green%20Future%20for%20Rikers.png.webp?itok=d6m2GusQ 1200w,
/files/styles/large/public/images/Screenshot%202023-08-23%20at%2011-49-44%20ARTICLE%20Green%20Future%20for%20Rikers.png.webp?itok=Iwd36Q0M 992w)
Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?
New York City’s bold proposal to close the jail on Rikers Island and replace it with green infrastructure is in jeopardy. Will this compromise the city’s ambitious climate goals?
![A rendering of the Utah City master planned, mixed-use development.](
/files/styles/large/public/images/Vineyard-Utah-Civic-Center-FINAL-COLOR_1920x1080.webp?itok=S4Vyoz5O 992w,
/files/styles/small_400/public/images/Vineyard-Utah-Civic-Center-FINAL-COLOR_1920x1080.webp?itok=tXe1YuWQ 400w
)
700-Acre Master-Planned Community Planned in Utah
A massive development plan is taking shape for lakefront property in Vineyard, Utah—on the site of a former U.S. Steel Geneva Works facility.
![A line of cars wait at the drive-thru window of a starbucks.](
/files/styles/large/public/images/Starbucks-Drive-Thru.jpeg.webp?itok=OSz83Rrf 992w,
/files/styles/small_400/public/images/Starbucks-Drive-Thru.jpeg.webp?itok=NOZDpcFu 400w
)
More Cities Ponder the End of Drive-Thrus
Drive-thru fast food restaurants might be a staple of American life, but several U.S. cities are actively considering prohibiting the development of new drive-thrus for the benefit of traffic safety, air quality, and congestion.
![Air pollution is visible in the air around high-rise buildings in Dhaka, Bangladesh.](
/files/styles/large/public/images/Dhaka-Bangladesh.jpeg.webp?itok=UchxQNTP 992w,
/files/styles/small_400/public/images/Dhaka-Bangladesh.jpeg.webp?itok=1w9el1n7 400w
)
Air Pollution World’s Worst Public Health Threat, Report Says
Air pollution is more likely to take years life off the lifespan of the average human than any other external factor, according to a recent report out of the University of Chicago.
Placer County
City of Morganton
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area Management Committee
City of Waukesha, WI
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Indiana Borough
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.