Authorizing the Committee on Environment to hold hearings to investigate the feasibility of the City of Philadelphia's Office of Fleet Management to integrate electric vehicles into the City of Philadelphia's fleet of vehicles by 2015.

WHEREAS

, The City of Philadelphia wishes to become the greenest City in America by 2015 and a leader

in clean energy development and technology

; and

WHEREAS

, In November 2007, this Council passed Bill 070788 which provides for the designation of electric vehicle on-street parking spaces where only electric vehicles may be parked. This legislation allows homeowners who own an electric vehicle the option to apply for a designated “electric vehicle parking” space along the curbside of their property; and

WHEREAS

, The over-reliance of America on foreign oil has become a growing and serious threat to the economic vitality and national security interest of the United States; and

WHEREAS

, Automobile emissions are a major contributing factor to global warming and to smog in our cities, which threaten the health of our citizens and the sustainability of our planet; and

WHEREAS

, The imbalance between gasoline resources and worldwide demand is escalating gasoline prices at an alarming rate and to levels that overburden commerce, hurt economic growth and cause serious hardship on our citizens; and

WHEREAS

, The transportation sector will ultimately move

away from the use

of petroleum and will transition to sustainable

and

non-polluting

alternatives;

and

WHEREAS

, There is a great opportunity for electrifying

the

transportation sector through the use of electric vehicles, plug-in

hybrid vehicles,

and other non-polluting transportation alternatives; and

WHEREAS

, According to J.D. Power and Associates, sales of hybrid-electric vehicles are expected to reach about 1.3 percent of an estimated 67 million light vehicle sales this year; and

WHEREAS

, There will be substantial economic and environmental benefits of electric car manufacturing, technology and usage; and

WHEREAS

, The City of Philadelphia can maximize its benefits

to

the

citizens of

Philadelphia by providing avenues to encourage clean energy use; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA,

That the City Council hereby calls on the Committee on Environment to hold hearings to investigate the feasibility of the City of Philadelphia's Office of Fleet Management to integrate electric vehicles into the City of Philadelphia's fleet of vehicles by 2015.

End