Garrett Andrews//December 16, 2016//

The Portland City Council unanimously passed a trio of big environmental measures at its latest meeting.
The three were shepherded by Mayor Charlie Hales during his last months in office.
― The first is a measure banning the construction of new fossil fuel terminals. In addition, the expansion of existing terminals will be limited to 10 percent of existing capacity, and only permitted when environmental retrofits are triggered.
The move is intended to discourage the transport of fossil fuels along Portland’s roads, railways and adjacent waterways.
More than 700 people submitted comments to the city, most supporting a ban.
A number of business interests opposed it, including the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council, the Port of Portland, Western States Petroleum Association and NW Natural.
“I want to thank the activists in our community who have called us to our conscience on this issue,” said Hales.
There were 11 terminals as of 2014, according to the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.
― The council passed a law requiring the disclosure of energy performance ratings for homes listed for sale.
Last year, the council passed a similar requirement for commercial buildings.
“Every home owner wants to reduce their energy costs, and most want to reduce their carbon footprint,” said Commissioner Steve Novick. “Having a mechanism where people are aware when buying a property of what its energy consumption is gives them an opportunity.”
The Home Builders Association of Portland provided testimony in hearings asking that new construction be exempted from the policy, due to the adequacy of current building codes. In the end, though, an exemption was not written into the policy.
Commissioner Nick Fish said he would propose additional notification rules next year addressing toxic materials in residential properties.
― Commissioners voted unanimously to ramp up efforts to electrify vehicles around Portland, through adoption of the 2017 Portland Electric Vehicle Strategy. The plan aims to reduce carbon emissions from transportation sector, which represent 40 percent of the city’s overall carbon emissions.
The strategy involves adding charging infrastructure around the city and increasing the number of electric vehicles in the city’s sedan fleet, from 20 percent to 30. Other recommended actions include making it easier to add charging stations to private property, exploring the electrification of some Biketown bike-share bicycles, and adding provisions to construction projects that trigger the Portland Development Commission’s Green Building Policy.
Commissioner Fish offered an amendment to favor local electric vehicle vendors over outside businesses as “aggressively” as possible.
The city’s previous electric vehicle strategy was adopted in 2010 in anticipation of the release of the Nissan Leaf.