Council also names new city attorney and establishes new 2200 Ashland St. committee

By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news 

An ordinance establishing “impact fees” for installation of fossil-fueled appliances in new residential construction was unanimously approved by the Ashland City Council on Tuesday, but only after parties both in support of and opposed to the ordinance took turns denouncing misinformation circulating around the issue. 

Ashland High School student Keira Retiz opened her public comment by saying she intended to “address misinformation that has been spread.”

“If you choose to install 100% electric appliances there is no fee. This policy helps make housing more affordable by encouraging the lowest-cost effective construction methods,” she said. 

Rietiz is a long time member of the Ashland Youth Electrification group supporting the creation of the ordinance. She went on to say all-electric homes cost on average $1,600 less to build and save homeowners hundreds on subsequent bills as compared to those using gas appliances, all while reducing emissions. Rietiz also took aim at a claim that gas appliances will continue to work during power outages, stating that because these appliances rely on electric power for ignition this is untrue. 

Subsequent members of the youth electrification group and the city’s Climate and Environment Policy Advisory Committee also spoke in favor of the ordinance and made similar statements concerning misinformation. Numerous members of builders unions and at least one representative from Avista spoke in opposition of the ordinance and made their own claims of misinformation. 

Rob Bates stated as a resident of Southern Oregon he could see that the local electrical grid was not prepared to withstand additional pressure. 

“Misguided information about the difference between electrical and natural gas cost is wrong and misguided to our young next leaders. The load on our grid — our grid is not handing our current load,” he said. 

Bates went on to say maintenance and needed infrastructure is behind schedule already for the electric grid and in the dry climate of the region “pushing the grid” would be dangerous. Councilor Bob Kaplan stated he had received somewhere around 80 emails concerning misinformation and concern surrounding the ordinance in question. 

“We all had a couple emails hit our inbox over the last couple months, and there’s a great deal to be discussed here,” said Councilor Jeff Dahle. 

The number of new residential construction projects in Ashland is small, Dahle said in reference to his own recent research. 

“The way this ordinance is written, if you are in the market for one of these homes or if you are completely demolishing your home and building from scratch, and only on or after January 2026, then you are one of the few for which the contents of this ordinance applies,” he said. 

Dahle underlined that affordable housing is a much larger issue than this limited ordinance. With this fee, rather than a ban, he added, residents freedom of choice is preserved. In a motion to bring the ordinance to a vote, Dahle included staff direction that any revenue from the ordinance be directed to the Ashland Low Income Energy Assistance Program within the Electric Fund.

“We often hear that Ashland is little and whatever we do doesn’t matter in the larger global budget of carbon. But what we know is that the larger global budget of carbon comes from what people do in their communities all around the world. While a solution in Ashland is not sufficient by itself, a solution without our communities doing what they can is not possible,” Mayor Tonya Graham said ahead of the vote. 

Council voted unanimously to approve the ordinance.

New city attorney

In other business Tuesday, councilors voted unanimously to hire Johan Pietila as the new city attorney. Dahle requested the approval of Pietila for the position to be added to the agenda for an immediate vote as the decision pertained to an executive session that had just closed. 

Pietila previously served as Deputy District Attorney II for Jackson County and has a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Willamette University College of Law, according to a page on Oregonvotes.gov. According to paperwork filed for the office of judge during the 2024 election, Pietila’s work with the D.A’s office focused on criminal prosecution while additional experience with the Jackson County Council’s office focused on civil litigation.  

The employment agreement will be negotiated by city staff and the new hire for future review by council, according to the motion put forward by Dahle. 

New 2200 Ashland St. committee

Council also voted to approve a new ad hoc committee to continue considerations of how the 2200 Ashland St. property will be used in future. City Manager Sabrina Cotta made more than one request to council to keep the committee’s charge separate from ongoing project planning for building renovations. Cotta underlined concern that the remodel project could become delayed and lead to the building not opening as a severe weather shelter by next winter as staff now intends. 

Debbie Neisewander, homelessness advocate and member of the previous 2200 Ashland St. ad hoc committee, questioned the cost of these committees during public comment. Neisewander said she had learned the previous ad hoc committee cost the city $26,000 and said that this was a large sum of money, especially when those advocating for homeless people feel even smaller sums of money could meet more immediate needs. 

Graham asked Cotta if the proposed follow-on committee would cost the same as the previous one even though the new committee would not make use of a hired consultant. Cotta responded that the fiscal impacts section of the staff report on the item in question was an indication of a city cost for a committee in the form of staff time: “Estimated $26,000 plus depending on timeline and staffing requirements (based on cost of last ad hoc process).”

The council voted 5-1 to approve the committee, with Dahle voting in opposition and Councilors Doug Knauer, Ginda DuQuenne, Eric Hansen, Doug Knauer, Kaplan and Dylan Bloom voting in favor. 

Council also unanimously approved an ordinance formally creating the Ashland Parks Department, and voted 5-1 to approve a change to the appeals process for those facing action from the city such as termination of utilities. Councilor Knauer voted in opposition while councilors Bloom, Hansen, Duquenne, Kaplan and Dahle voted in favor. 

As mayor, Graham offered a Black History Month proclamation and took a moment in her announcements to thank the city of Ashland’s staff and residents for responding to the recent snowstorm in “such a beautiful and community-driven way.” 

Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at [email protected].

Feb. 20: Article corrected to state the revenue from the fossil fuel “impact fees” will be directed to the Ashland Low Income Energy Assistance Program within the Electric Fund rather than the general fund, in accordance with staff direction included within Councilor Jeff Dahle’s motion, rather than as an amendment to that motion.