Should Chico have indoor cooling standards for residential and commercial properties?
That’s what the City Council will discuss at its Sept. 1 meeting.
Councilors will be exploring the potential benefits and consequences of regulating how hot rental units can get within the city.
Councilmember Katie Hawley requested that the item be agendized at a meeting earlier this summer.
“It more than likely will just be an informational discussion. I'm not sure whether any policy can even materialize this,” Hawley said at the July 14 meeting.
Hawley wrote in an Aug. 25 report that Los Angeles County is taking action to address the effects of extreme heat by setting its own indoor temperature-specific requirements.
It’s unclear how much support the council has for turning that discussion into new rules.
At the same July 14 meeting, Councilmember Mike O’Brien said he was “weary and leery” of adding more regulations to businesses.
Extreme heat has been the leading weather-related killer in the U.S over the last decade, according to the National Weather Service.
