Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Bend residents split over climate impact fee and whether new homes should be electric-only
Summary
Dozens of residents and stakeholders urged Bend City Council either to adopt a strong climate impact fee to accelerate electrification or to pause fee decisions pending local cost and resiliency analysis. Comments highlighted health risks from gas appliances, housing affordability concerns and calls for pilot studies.
Dozens of residents urged the Bend City Council on Dec. 3 to adopt a strong Climate Impact Fee to discourage natural-gas infrastructure in new housing, while builders and trades urged caution and more local analysis.
Supporters emphasized public-health and climate benefits. Peter Fargo, environmental and energy program manager for Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, cited recent Stanford research and a paper in Science and told council that "a single gas cooktop burner on high ... can raise indoor levels of the carcinogen benzene above the levels of secondhand smoke."…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
