Back in 2019, Berkeley, CA became the first city in the country to pass an ordinance banning natural gas in newly constructed buildings. That obviously meant no gas appliances in these new buildings. But before the ordinance even took effect the city was sued. There were twists and turns in the story but about a year ago a panel of judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Berkeley’s ordinance could not stand.
The California Restaurant Association, or CRA, filed a lawsuit in November 2019 against the City of Berkeley to block the legislation, arguing that the ban is “irresponsible” amid electrical outages and “does little to advance climate goals.”
In July 2021, a federal district court judge dismissed the lawsuit. The CRA challenged that decision, and on Monday a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously ruled in favor of…
