Some Evanston City Council members want to ban gas hookups in new homes, buildings

EVANSTON, Ill. - Evanston council members will soon consider a proposed ban that is reigniting the age-old debate – gas or electric.

If it's approved, the city would follow in the footsteps of San Francisco, New York, and Seattle by banning natural gas connections in new construction.

"It helps us reduce our carbon footprint here in the city," said Devon Reid, Evanston Council Member. "We're not there yet, but this is a measure that will help us keep moving the ball forward to get there."

While council members say this has been on the city's radar for years, the discussion is heating back up after an official with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said recently that "any option is on the table" when it comes to regulating gas stoves.

SUBSCRIBE TO FOX 32 CHICAGO ON YOUTUBE

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 38 percent of American households use natural gas for cooking.

Reid, who represents Evanston’s 8th Ward, tells FOX 32 Chicago that the move would be a major step toward achieving the city's Climate Action and Resilience Plan, which calls for Evanston to become carbon neutral by the year 2050.

The consideration shouldn't spark concern among residents who already have and love their gas stoves – at least not yet.

"This is looking specifically at new developments and banning natural gas. Now, down the road, we will have to work on existing natural gas ranges and natural gas connections, but that’s going to take quite a bit of financing especially because Evanston is a city that’s committed to equity and we have a large low-income population and we want to make sure we’re providing funds for that," said Reid. "This will be a couple months, and there will be plenty of time for folks to get engaged."

Next up, Reid says the ordinance will go before the city's Environment Board. After that, it has a couple more stops to make before it's presented to the entire Evanston City Council.  

FOX 32 Chicago reached out to all nine Evanston council members and Mayor Daniel Biss to comment on the proposed ordinance.

In addition to Reid, Jonathan Nieuwsma, who represents Evanston’s 4th Ward, shared his thoughts, saying, in part:

"With induction stoves and heat pump technology readily available, banning gas connections in new construction is an easy next step, but even with all-electric new buildings we’ll still have a lot of work to do to reach Evanston’s zero carbon goal," said Nieuwsma. "I’m committed to doing whatever we can at the local level in Evanston, but state and federal policies will have to change as well."