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Home My WebLink About2021-07-27-SLC-min RECEIVED 2021 29 IIMov, 3AI puiT°m Sustainable Lexington Committee TOWN CLERK LEXINGTON MA Minutes of Meeting of July 27, 2021 A meeting of the Sustainable Lexington Committee (SLC)was held by Zoom conference. A quorum of at least five was present throughout. Members Present: Cindy Arens, Celis Brisbin, Paul Chernick, Rick Reibstein, Todd Rhodes (vice-chair), Dan Voss (Chair), Charlie Wyman Members Absent: Archana Dayalu Staff Present: Stella Carr Other Attendees: Joe Pato (Select Board), Mark Sandeen (Select Board), Mary Hutton (Mothers Out Front), Ricki Pappo (LexGWAC), Griztko A Erickson (BU student), Michelle Wu (SustainabLY), Tanay Dalmia (SustainabLY), Charles Hornig (Planning Board), Robert Peters (Planning Board), Jeanne Krieger The meeting was called to order at 6:02 pm. Todd referenced the opening statement requested by the Town Clerk, and all members present responded that they could hear. Approval of minutes. The draft minutes of May 25, June 4, June 22, and July 23 were all approved as written. Comments from residents, New business. Cindy reported that someone from the Special Permit Residential District Committee (?) contacted her to inform her about potential changes to the Zoning By-Law, including language about sustainability, and to ask if Sustainable Lexington has any interest. Charles Hornig replied by directing the committee to the Planning Board agenda the following evening, which lists a number of by-law changes they are considering for either a fall Town Meeting (if one is held) or Annual Town Meeting in the spring; these include amendments to the by-law's special permit criteria, Open Space Residential Development provisions, and solar energy systems provisions, in addition to the adoption of regulations that relate to sustainability and landscaping. Cindy also reported that the testimony that she and other members of the Lexington panel delivered to the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government earlier in the day went well. Mark added that their testimony was well received and the response of the committee to all the home rule petitions on this subject was pretty positive; they will be grappling with the question of whether to approve such petitions town-by-town or to recommend statewide enabling legislation. 1 Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of July 27, 2021 Sustainability Director's Report. Stella introduced Michelle and Tanay, members of SustainabLY, who each spoke briefly about initiatives they are exploring, including a Sustainability Day at the schools and other hands-on activities. Stella provided updates on the new charging stations; the RFP for solar panels for the new fire station; a Police Department test drive of a Tesla; the water webinar she presented the previous week; and the Town's hiring of a new Equity Officer. Fleet Electrification Policy. Stella walked the committee through the latest draft of the fleet electrification policy. Some discussion followed about the logistics of obtaining approval of both the Select Board and the School Committee. After further discussion, the committee voted to endorse the policy as drafted, 7-0. Report on siting solar arrays without need for greenfield sites. Rick introduced a student of his at BU, Griztko Erickson, who had taken on the project of identifying feasible solar array siting alternatives to forest conversion. Gritzko led us through his presentation. Some discussion followed, especially focused on the opportunities that powerline corridors and roadway canopies might present. Dan suggested that a second student project that explored impediments and regulatory pathways to approval of these alternatives would be very useful. Updates to the solar bylaws approved by Town Meeting last fall. Charles explained that the Planning Board was considering amendments to the Zoning Bylaw to remove restrictions and streamline permitting to make it easier for people to install small scale solar systems, for consideration at town meeting this fall or next spring. The committee voted to express our support of the proposal, 5 in favor, none opposed, with 2 abstentions (members who wished to study the details further). Update on Article 45 working group. Charles explained that the Planning Department is current planning to bring back Article 45 in a substantially different form that will apply town-wide and not just to the Hartwell corridor. Separately, there is a working group (that includes Charles, Cindy, Mark)working on the emissions issue. Cindy added that Amanda Loomis, Sandhya Iyer, and Building Commissioner Jim Kelly are or will also be involved. The Town Manager has set the scope of the working group to focus on establishing a number for the minimum BTU/hour/square foot baseload that can be required from non-fossil fuel combustion for space heating as part of any hybrid system. The group has spoken with one consultant who might help but are trying to meet with others, and would like to have an answer by the end of August. The result of this effort could be incorporated into a general by-law, if not the zoning by-law. Ricki Pappo expressed concern that the Planning Department/Board is not planning to bring Article 45 back to Town Meeting as previously expected following the resolution of work by the working group. The Sustainable Lexington Committee will continue monitor progress on both activities. 2 Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of July 27, 2021 Update on Comprehensive Plan. Cindy identified that there has been no direct communication with the Comprehensive Plan group since she and Dan were interviewed last month. Charles reported that a lot of outreach is planned for this fall and the plan is targeted to be completed by the end of the year. BEUDO —Continuing Conversation. Todd provided the overview that a building energy use disclosure ordinance (BEUDO) has been discussed at recent committee meetings and has been kept on the agenda for continued discussion. Stella reported that she has no updates but will continue to look into what other communities are doing. Mark commented that Boston has had a BEUDO for about 7 years and is beginning to transition to a Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO)that would include requirements that building owners meet targets for emissions per square foot based on the building type. The program sets 5-year targets and is not prescriptive on the approach to reduce emissions. Fees are imposed if targets are not met. The committee discussed that such an ordinance would need to go before Town Meeting and a warrant article for spring 2022 Town Meeting would need to be submitted to the Select Board by December. Cindy, Dan, and Todd agreed to lead an effort with Stella to begin the work to prepare language and plan outreach for the warrant article. Dan identified that starting with municipal buildings (i.e., the buildings operations/performance policy) would be a needed first step to set the example for commercial buildings. Mark commented that Town buildings represent about 20% of the buildings over 25,000 sq ft. Residents Jeanne Krieger, Ricki Pappo, and Mary Hutton expressed interest in supporting the effort. Heat Pump Promotion— Continuing Conversation. Stella identified that she is looking at grants for heat pumps and is working to set up a webinar to educate residents about heat pumps. At spring Town Meeting, Stella plans to request funding to support a community outreach program. Neonicotinoids: Stella contacted DPW and they reported that they do not believe that use neonicotinoids on Town property. No input has been received yet on whether Conservation has a policy of the use of these chemicals on leased Town land. Todd asked Stella if she would ask DPW if they would be willing to allow a representative of the committee to review their list of purchased chemicals (Jeanne Krieger offer her support). Todd commented that the state passed restrictions earlier this year that only licensed professionals were allowed to apply these chemicals. Ricki suggested that Lexington Living Landscapes might be able to take up a larger effort to educate residents and landscapers about neonicotinoids. Capital Planning Tools: There have been no discussions with the Department of Public Facilities (DPF) since they presented the Capital Planning Tool to the committee. The committee discussed that the implementing performance requirements into this tool would be a valuable way to implement the planned Building Operations/Performance Policy. The team looking into the 3 Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of July 27, 2021 BERDO warrant article will contact the DPF to begin the process of establishing building performance targets. Next Meeting: The next regularly scheduled meeting of Sustainable Lexington is at 6 pm on August 24, 2021. The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 pm. Respectfully submitted, Charlie Wyman and Todd Rhodes 4