Meanwhile, Burlington is advancing a primary renewable heating ordinance, which could serve as a sort of failsafe should state lawmakers reject the charter amendment. A group of state Democrats introduced House Bill 448 to approve the charter changes on April 14. Nearly 65% of Burlington voters supported the measure in a March 2 ballot.
VERMONT NEWS HEADLINES UPDATE
The council voted in December to send a resolution to voters seeking an update to the city charter. However, lawyers for the city determined the city council needed charter authority from the state to assess a carbon fee. 6, 2020, following about a year of work to develop building decarbonization strategies by city staff and the Burlington Electric Department, with assistance from the Building Electrification Institute. "And then we wanted to be able to reassess it every 10 years to help drive continued progress towards reductions, as opposed to a one-time fee that would only impact decisions being made at construction."īurlington Mayor Miro Weinberger announced the ordinance proposal on Oct. "It's an incentive up front to say, the more you can reduce your fossil fuel use, the less your building carbon fee would be, even if you can't get it to zero," Darren Springer, general manager of municipal utility Burlington Electric Department, said. All-electric buildings would not face any additional requirements during the permitting process. The ordinance would also require new buildings with gas hookups to be wired for conversion to electric heating systems and appliances. The city would assess the fee at the start of each new decade of building operation. Under the proposed ordinance, if a new building connects to fossil fuel infrastructure, the owner would pay a building carbon fee, equal to $100 per ton of the building's anticipated carbon emissions over its first 10 years of operation. If Vermont lawmakers give Burlington the green light, it would put the state's most populous city on track to restricting gas use in new buildings. to source 100% of its power from renewable sources, is seeking authority from the state legislature to implement an ordinance proposed in October 2020 and backed by voters in March. Several more could soon follow suit, as climate activists grow concerned about the expanding scope of the so-called energy choice bills in some legislatures.īurlington expands building electrification movementīurlington is advancing a plan to encourage all-electric construction by levying a fee on carbon emissions from new buildings that choose to connect to natural gas infrastructure.
states have now passed laws prohibiting building gas bans. Burlington, Vt., has made swift progress toward joining the ranks of cities implementing policies to restrict natural gas use in new buildings.
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