The Los Angeles City Council and local advocates introduced a new ordinance aimed at protecting residents in rental units from extreme heat, according to CBS News.
The concept isn't new ā several states, cities, and jurisdictions have "cooling ordinances." Las Vegas "introduced landmark legislation" mandating air conditioning capable of lowering indoor temperatures in rental units to a sustained 70 degrees in 1995.
Back in 2018, research published in the thermoregulation-focused, peer-reviewed journal Temperature observed that higher average temperatures raised awareness of heat-related risks, but little attention had been paid to dangers associated with warmer indoor temperatures.
Extreme heat is a form of extreme weather, and it's deadlier than hurricanes, wildfires, and floods combined. Shifting climate patterns have gradually increased indoor temperatures, leading to a measurable, sharp uptick in heat-related ER visits in places like North Carolina.
For an article published on Aug. 29, CalMatters spoke to residents about their experience living in units without air conditioning in and around Los Angeles.
"It's like being inside a toaster," Memphis Perez told the outlet. Perez, his three children, his wife, and his elderly mother remained "crammed into a bedroom," the only room with an air conditioner, for days during a recent heatwave in the city.
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Vox examined various proposed cooling ordinances in 2024, noting that while the majority of states experienced "scorching heat waves in recent years," few had regulations mandating that property owners provide units with safe indoor temperatures during hot weather.
"Unlike heat, cooling is really not incorporated into habitability standards or enforced in increasingly hot summers," said Ruthy Gourevitch of the Climate & Community Institute.
In Los Angeles, the council and local leaders introduced a motion on Wednesday, Sept. 4. If successful, it would create a "maximum indoor temperature standard" of 82 degrees.
"Nobody bats an eyelash about legislation that requires heating; we take that for granted. But in today's world, it should be the very same when it talks about conditioning the air against heat," ouncilmember Bob Blumenfield said at a press conference announcing the measure.
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All day š„µ Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez said that public cooling centers were insufficient, adding that Los Angeles residents deserved "relief in their own home."
"By setting this standard, Los Angeles will join the county in treating extreme heat as the emergency that it is," Hernandez stated.
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