The Eugene City Council voted five to three to ban natural gas from new residences under three stories built in Eugene on Monday.

The council has previously held three meetings seeking public input on the ban, where 87 people have spoken in favor and 73 in opposition, according to the meeting agenda. 

Councilor Mike Clark, the sole Republican-endorsed councilor, originally called for Monday’s special meeting to put the issue on the ballot rather than passing an ordinance approving the ban. Clark said he was concerned about a possible legal challenge if the city didn’t let the people vote on the issue.

Clark was joined by councilors Greg Evans and Randy Groves. Groves said that if the council passed the ban without a ballot measure, voters would likely put a ballot measure in place objecting to the ban, and the city would lose control over the wording of it.

Evans said he didn’t like that they were talking about the gas ban in isolation and felt it should be a part of a larger package toward decarbonization, he said.

Both said they felt the city should create incentives for electric infrastructure instead of requiring it.

That motion did not pass by a vote of three to five.

At that same meeting, councilors made a motion to pass the ordinance.

“It’s not just a climate issue, although that is a big part of why I support this ordinance, but it’s also a health issue,” Councilor Jennifer Yeh said. She agreed with providing incentives for homeowners and businesses who want to switch off their gas but didn’t think the ban needed to wait for a larger decarbonization package. 

Yeh disagreed with Clark’s opinion that passing the ban without a ballot measure sends a message that councilors know best.

“We’re being asked by many folks in our community, many people whose voices have historically never been listened to, and they’re asking us to do something. To take this seriously. To take a step. To show them that we’re going to make progress. It’s going to be slow, and it’s going to take us decades, but we have to start moving, and this is that movement,” Yeh said.

Councilor Emily Semple disagreed with Clark that council passing the ban would discourage construction, saying construction is cheaper without gas infrastructure. She said that electric appliances are more efficient than gas ones, which will lead to less energy consumption. 

“I’m concerned that if it goes to a vote, there will be a huge huge amount of money from the gas company, and it will be difficult to have a fair conversation,” Semple said.

Councilor Matt Keating said the ban is important to protect renters. He said opponents of the ban have framed it as an issue of government taking away choice, but framing is inaccurate. Renters already have no say over the infrastructure put in by their landlords and reaffirmed that the ban only applies to homes not yet built. 

“I find it baffling that there’s so much advocacy and enthusiasm to protect the interests of a fracked gas monopoly,” he said.

Councilor Lyndsie Leech agreed with Keating’s opinion on choice: “It’s not taking choice away from each individual because you can choose to buy a house with gas. If you want to build a house with gas you still have options to do so outside of the city limits.”

Mayor Lucy Vinis agreed with the councilors who supported the ban. “You were all elected, and many of you campaigned on climate,” she said. “This is an issue that has progressed actually very slowly, and we are finally at a point to take an action…We have a governor who has pledged to build 36,000 new houses. We do not want those houses with natural gas hookups.”

She also disagreed with the argument that the ban needed to be part of a larger package, saying they discussed decarbonization more broadly in July last year and parsed out the gas ban because it was simpler and narrower.

Councilor Alan Zelenka said he agreed with Evans and Groves’ arguments for incentives and that the gas ban should be part of a larger package, but disagreed with sending the issue to the ballot. 

“Taxes and monetary issues like that are things that go to the ballot, but not regulations. We regulate all sorts of things all over the place. That’s our job. Regulations are what the council’s supposed to be doing,” he said.