Arcata electrification ordinance dead for now, city plans new bus route

On Wednesday, Arcata’s city attorney told the council that the city’s idea for an electrification ordinance is indefinitely on hold in the wake of a recent 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.

City staff was in the process of creating an ordinance modeled after Berkeley’s passed in 2019 that banned gas infrastructure in new buildings, though the city was sued in 2020 by the California Real Restaurant Association, and a panel of three judges from the 9th Circuit sided with the latter.

“(The ruling) is upending prior decisions from the 9th Circuit. Needless to say, we are stuck with it, and it has absolutely put on hold any more of these types of ordinances,” attorney Nancy Diamond said.

Diamond added that a petition for rehearing has been filed, but it could also go as far as the Supreme Court. However, she noted that the best solution would be a federal legislative fix that clarifies legal pre-emption.

The city could still conduct efforts to reduce their greenhouse gas emission on city facilities, such as switching out old water heaters to heat pumps, putting rooftop solar panels on city buildings such as the community center and electrifying city buses.

“(Electrification) is one of the primary measures in the draft Climate Action Plan, the countywide Climate Action Plan, so something that everybody’s going to be wrestling with is how do we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions,” Diamond said.

Also at the meeting, Arcata city engineer Netra Khatri briefed the council on a possible new bus route that would run every 30 minutes on a route similar to the gold route including stops in the Valley West neighborhood at Cal Poly Humboldt’s library circle.

“In an hour people who live in that area or students or any people who live in that area or that neighborhood, they will be able to catch the bus and will be able to go to the downtown or the transit area,” Khatri said.

Khatri said Cal Poly Humboldt has committed to funding the new “green route” for at least a year and the goal is to have it running by the beginning of the fall 2023 semester later this month.

However, for the plan to work, the Humboldt Transit Authority needs more bus drivers, according to Councilmember Alex Stillman.

“This route will not happen unless they can find drivers to do it, so I’m just putting a plea out or notice that the HTA is hiring drivers and that we definitely need more drivers in order to make things work.”

Interested residents can apply at hta.org/jobs/. The authority provides training and pays drivers between $17.91 to $21.77 per hour.

Jackson Guilfoil can be reached at 707-441-0506.

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