The Town of Windsor will soon join the City of Petaluma in banning new gas station infrastructure, following a recommendation by the Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority (RCPA).
At their Nov. 3 meeting, the town council voted unanimously to direct planning staff to explore a ban, which would not affect current gas stations, but only prevent the establishment of fueling stations providing fossil fuels, or adding to the number of fuel pumps at existing stations.
Kim Voge, a planner from the community development department, said that, following Petaluma’s ban in March of this year, the RCPA has been recommending all jurisdictions in Sonoma County follow suit.
The Town of Windsor declared a climate emergency in September 2019, and the general plan includes policies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and achieve net zero emissions.
Currently, Windsor allows gas stations in three zoning districts (community commercial, service commercial and gateway commercial), requiring a use permit; the ban would be implemented by removing gas stations from the zoning ordinance, making all gas stations “non-conforming.”
There are four gas stations operating in Windsor, the operations of which would not be affected except that new projects that included the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure — namely, adding more pumps — would be prohibited. Adding a new car wash or even electric vehicle charging stations would still be allowed.
The Town of Windsor has no currently pending new gas station applications, although in September the Chevron on Old Redwood Highway received approval to add two fuel pumps.
Voge said the ban would likely be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), meaning a potentially expensive environmental impact review (EIR) may not have to be completed. She said that the town should still conduct some studies to have solid evidence on hand in case the change was challenged in court at some point, however unlikely.
Another potential issue raised was related to equity: poorer residents are likely to continue to drive vehicles that use fossil fuels longer than more affluent residents.
“It looks like a gas station ban like this could be exempt from CEQA as an action taken by a regulatory agency to protect the environment, however, we would need to look at potential cumulative impacts and/or impacts to disadvantaged communities. Low-income households are typically not driving electric vehicles yet, and they will still need access to gas stations,” Voge said.
The town will have to consider cumulative impacts, such as the potential cost of increased travel time to and from gas stations, which could actually contribute to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by requiring drivers to be on the road longer.
“We are aware that transportation is the largest source of GHG emission, so we don’t want to make people drive too far to get gas,” Voge said. “Petaluma did a good job of (considering cumulative impacts). They looked at every household in Petaluma and were able to show that each had a gas station within five minutes. That’s how they were able to demonstrate that everyone had access.”
Voge said it was too early to determine the financial costs, however, the town may be able to include the ban in the zoning ordinance update currently budgeted for, and avoid pursuing additional funding. If it turns out the ban was not exempt from CEQA, an EIR would also require funding.
Councilmember Debora Fudge said she has been interested in the town enacting such a ban for years, and that it would help the town reach its GHG reduction and net zero energy goals.
“I think this is something we definitely need to do. We have GHG goals in our climate plan that we need to meet and this is a good way to start to at least not increase them by adding new gas stations in Windsor. We have plenty of pumps for the people who live here, and even for people in the future,” Fudge said.
“The world is in a crisis, and we need to accept that and get to net zero emissions by (as soon as) 2030. It’s that urgent now. This is one of the smallest things we can do — just not build new gas stations. I’m completely in favor of this and look forward to it being implemented,” she said.
The RCPA was formed in 2009 “to coordinate countywide climate protection efforts among Sonoma County’s nine cities and multiple agencies. The RCPA foster collaboration, helps to set goals, pools resources, formalizes partnerships and works across silos. The RCPA aims to create local solutions to complement state, federal and private sector actions — all showing that a better future with lower emissions is possible.”
It is made up of representatives from each Sonoma County municipal government, including Windsor, and one from the board of supervisors. Windsor representative to RCPA is Councilmember Esther Lemus. More information about the kind of work RCPA does in Sonoma County can be found here.
