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Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of March 23, 2021 Sustainable Lexington Committee position on Article 44: The Sustainable Lexington Committee endorses the elements of Article 44, including but not limited to EV charging and readiness and standards for site plan review, that are intended to advance sustainability as a guiding principle for future development in Lexington, but has not taken a position on elements outside of sustainability, which is our area of responsibility. 5. Article 45. Cindy expressed disappointment that the Planning Board did not adopt two of the committee's priorities that had been endorsed by Boston Properties: LEED Gold (with qualifications) and the 15Btu/sgft/hr hybrid language for buildings over 65 feet. Others echoed those sentiments. A long discussion followed that focused on whether to support an amendment to Article 45 on the floor of Town Meeting when the article is presented on March 31; whether to propose an amendment in the fall; and if an amendment is not adopted now, whether to support the adoption of 45, oppose it, or ask that it be referred back to the Planning Board for further study. The committee learned at the meeting that the Attorney General's office has approved Article 16 (adopted in the fall) without comment. Many considerations were weighed regarding the pros and cons of each option. The committee concluded that it would support an amendment, but only one focused on the hybrid heating provision (15 Btu/sgft/hr) and not to also seek LEED Gold. Cindy's offer to present the amendment was met with approval. A motion to adopt the following statement was unanimously approved: Sustainable Lexington Committee position on Article 45: With regard to Article 45, the Sustainable Lexington Committee desired improvement over the high-performance building elements of Article 16. While we endorse the elements of Article 45 that promote economic development, sustainable site design, and potential for the use of sustainability checklists, we believe there was a lost opportunity to more effectively leverage the range of zoning incentives to achieve in the commercial sector the same requirements established in the Town's own building policy. Achieving high-performance buildings in both the commercial and municipal sectors are essential for the Town to meet its net-zero emissions targets. Hartwell Avenue represents the key opportunity for the Town to significantly impact commercial sector building standards. Overall, Article 45 is an improvement over Article 16 and, therefore, we support its passing with the following amendment that is required to meet the Commonwealth's and Town's emission targets. 2.