§ 10-1301. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.  


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  • The City Council finds that:

    A.

    Stationary emissions from industries and residents, along with emissions from on-road and off-road mobile sources, combined with natural sources all contribute to a significant air pollution problem in the San Joaquin Valley. Although new regulations have resulted in lower vehicle emission levels, the number of vehicles and the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) have increased. As such, air pollution in the San Joaquin Valley has substantially increased, and is among the highest in California, resulting in several standards being increased in unprecedented numbers.

    B.

    Air pollution is a major public health concern in the United States. The American Lung Association estimates the nationwide health costs of air pollution to be in the billions of dollars. According to the United States Public Health Service, high levels of air pollution can cause or aggravate lung illnesses such as acute respiratory infections, asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and lung cancer. Coughing, wheezing, chest pain, eye irritation, and headaches are common reactions to air pollution. Children, the elderly, athletes, and people with compromised immune systems suffer the worst health problems caused by poor air quality. In these sensitive groups, poor air quality causes more significant health impacts such as breathing difficulties, weakening of the body's ability to resist disease, and hindering the development of lung capacity among children.

    C.

    The Clean Air Act mandates the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish national air quality standards that would ensure the same basic health and environmental protection for all Americans. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) uses the Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) to report air pollution information to the public, as well as to monitor compliance with the Clean Air Act. The EPA sets the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) to represent the concentration of a pollutant above which adverse health effects have been observed.

    D.

    From 1999 to 2003, the San Joaquin Valley has exceeded the NAAQS for ozone 158 times. As a result, the EPA has reclassified the San Joaquin Valley as an extreme non-attainment area for the federal one-hour ozone standard. The loss of ozone attainment status will force the SJVAPCD to adopt stricter regulations from a list of measures in the state implementation plan (SIP), a requirement under the Clean Air Act. New regulations could adversely affect San Joaquin Valley businesses and possibly automobile owners. Stricter air quality regulations translate to higher costs for everyone and may cause fewer businesses to be created and retained in the San Joaquin Valley. The EPA has implemented a new ozone monitoring standard which will likely further jeopardize the future attainment status of the San Joaquin Valley and lead to adoption of even stricter standards by SJVAPCD.

    E.

    Over ninety percent (90%) of Californians live in regions adversely affected by air quality problems, largely as a result of motor vehicle exhaust. A program to control automobile emission in California began in 1961, far in advance of federal controls. The State of California conducts its own vehicle emissions control program that is stricter than federal standards. In 1988, the California Legislature enacted the California Clean Air Act, which requires each air district not meeting state air quality standards to prepare a Clean Air Plan that would achieve the standards. The Clean Air Plan contains regulations that effect both San Joaquin Valley businesses and residents.

    In 1990, the California Air Resources Board adopted the Low-Emission Vehicle regulation, which requires auto manufacturers to produce vehicles that meet increasingly stringent air quality standards. In addition, the California Air resources Board has also implemented new regulations that have and will continue to reduce emission levels from light duty, medium duty, and heavy duty trucks and buses.

    F.

    In 2002, the state added section 25722.5 to the California Public Resources Code establishing timeframes, procedures and reporting requirements implementing the state's policy goal of developing and adopting low emission procurement specifications and standards.

    G.

    Under this Chapter, the City of Fresno wishes to exercise its power to create strategies which are made in a manner consistent with the policy of improving the air quality in the state, city and in the San Joaquin Valley through the development and adoption of fuel efficiency specifications for the purchase and use of Low Emission Vehicles and technologies, in the most practical and cost-effective manner.

    H.

    Under this Chapter, the City of Fresno wishes to foster, promote, and encourage the use of other modes of transportation other than the personal automobile, as well as the use of Low Emission Vehicles and technologies by developing infrastructures to support the use of these vehicles.

    I.

    Under this Chapter, The Fresno Clean Air Advisory Committee is established to recommend strategies which encourage the use of other modes of transportation other than the personal automobile, as well as aid the City of Fresno in identifying funding sources for the purchase of Low Emission Vehicles and technologies, to research and provide recommendations which will assist the City in the procurement of Low Emission Vehicles and technologies and the development of alternative fuel infrastructures, and to educate and promote the use of Low Emission Vehicles and technologies in the private and public sectors.

(Added Ord. 2000-20, § 1, eff. 3-27-00; Am. Ord. 2004-92, § 1, eff. 11-9-04).