Pinole becomes latest Bay Area city to ban new gas stations as movement spreads

PINOLE — A movement to ban new gas stations that spread quickly through the North Bay in recent years has expanded into the East Bay.

The Pinole City Council last week unanimously approved a temporary moratorium on new fuel stations that also limits expansion of existing ones as part of an effort to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions to at least 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

The April 2 vote made the Contra Costa County city the first in the East Bay to take on the issue.

“In an emergency, we need to take bold action,” said Mayor Pro Tem Cameron Sasai, who developed the proposal in partnership with Mayor Maureen Toms.

Emissions from passenger and commercial vehicles account for about 41 percent of the community’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to an inventory update prepared by Rincon Consultants. By prohibiting the development of new gas stations and limiting the expansion of existing ones, the city hopes to eventually phase out gas stations altogether and encourage residents to transition to electric vehicles or those that use other alternative fuels.

Councilmembers made it clear this was merely a stop-gap measure to allow staff more time to draft a permanent ordinance.

Petaluma made international news in 2021 when it became the first city in the country to ban new gas stations. The movement spread through Sonoma County, with similar restrictions eventually covering Calistoga, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Cotati, Novato, Windsor, unincorporated areas and the county’s largest city, Santa Rosa.

Simultaneously, cities in Napa County began passing gas station bans. In January, St. Helena joined Calistoga, Yountville, American Canyon and Napa — which has a temporary ban — in making Napa County the first in the country to have a prohibition on new gas stations in all of its municipalities. Marin County’s Fairfax and San Anselmo have also approved similar measures.

Sacramento announced in February that it will consider an ordinance to ban the construction of new gas stations.

In Pinole, zoning already limits where service stations can be located to the western part of the city. Seven service stations are currently in operation, with an eighth under redevelopment. A development application for the eighth station was approved before work on the moratorium began, but no other requests are being considered, nor would they be allowed.

“Human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe. There’s significant risk to human health, safety and welfare caused by climate change including air pollution, extreme weather events, increased food insecurity and rising sea levels,” said Pinole Community Development Director Lilly Whalen during the April 2 meeting. “Reducing GHG emissions to improve environmental and human health will a require massive transition away from internal combustion engines to zero-emission vehicles.”

Sasai said that he hopes the bans will continue to gain traction and that Pinole’s ordinance “serves as a model for other cities in our region to follow suit.”

The temporary ban will need to be routinely extended but allows staff to research and draft a more permanent policy over the next few years, City Attorney Eric Casher said.

In 2021, the Pinole City Council adopted a resolution declaring a Climate Emergency, which laid the groundwork for the city’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan and the moratorium on gas stations.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Councilmember Devin Murphy said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the impact of this and certainly hope it promotes public health as we intend for it to do.”