Bay Area residents slam plan to phase out high-polluting fireplaces

LIVERMORE — Angry homeowners and real estate sellers Thursday denounced a proposal to phase out high-polluting open-hearth fireplaces in the Bay Area as expensive, intrusive and unnecessary.

More than 100 people packed a public workshop to criticize a regional air district proposal that would be the strictest in California in regulating old-fashioned wood-burning fireplaces with no emission controls.

People selling their homes would be required to retrofit such fireplaces with gas- or electric-heated logs, or with federally certified low-emission wood-burning fireplace inserts or stoves. Alternatively, consumers could seal off their fireplace to make it inoperable.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District also proposes to require the fireplace retrofits in rental houses by Nov. 1, 2016, and to ban wood-burning fireplaces or stoves of any kind in new construction by Nov. 1 this year.

Bill Cantrell, of Fremont, said the air district should offer cash incentives to retrofit old fireplaces rather than order people to make the change at their own expense.

“You should do the carrot,” Cantrell said. “Make it all incentives and if that doesn’t work, then break out the whip.”

Livermore resident Sally Weber said she doesn’t use her fireplace because of her asthma, but the district would force her to spend to retrofit it if she wanted to sell.

“I’m not contributing to your problem, so I shouldn’t be penalized,” she said.

The standing room only audience cheered and applauded at the most severe criticisms of the air district, including one launched by Greg Lambert, of Livermore, who said the rule comes from an overreaching government bureaucracy that is trampling personal freedom.

“You are perpetuating the nanny state,” Lambert said, getting loud audience support. “We are not happy. Livermore should look at leaving the air district.”

Some speakers said the district should do more to stop violators from burning on Spare the Air Days instead of imposing expensive restrictions on home sellers and landlords.

Several real estate professionals said the proposal would raise housing sales prices and rents in a region that already has some of the highest prices in the state.

“Rents are going to go up even more,” said Sherri Souza, a Realtor from Livermore. “Affordable housing is a big issue.”

Air officials say the proposed rule protects people from tiny wood smoke particles that can trigger asthma and emphysema attacks, and strokes.

Air quality in the Bay Area continues to violate the federal public health standard for fine particulates several days a year in the cold season, when stagnant air can trap smoke near the ground.

Wood smoke is the biggest contributor, accounting for nearly 39 percent of fine particles on bad air nights, studies by the air district have found. Motor vehicles account for 12 percent of the fine particles.

But those statistics did little to assuage attendees of Thursday’s hearing, many of whom said the pollution agency is going too far.

“This is feeling too much like Big Brother being shoved down our throat,” said Livermore resident David Livingston.

Thursday was the fourth of nine public workshops on the proposed fireplace ban. Each workshop has attracted at least 100 people, with many critical of the rule.

Air district officials said they will study the public comments and consider whether to modify the proposal before taking it to the 22-member regional air pollution board.

The stricter smoke rule is opposed by several real estate associations, and supported by the American Lung Association in California.

The air district regulates air pollution in seven Bay Area counties and southern parts of Sonoma and Solano counties.

Contact Denis Cuff at 925-943-8267. Follow him at Twitter.com/deniscuff.