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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-02-25-SLC-min Town of Lexington Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of Meeting of February 25, 2020 A meeting of the Sustainable Lexington Committee (SLC) was held in the Hudson Room of Cary Hall. A quorum of five was present. Members Present: Cindy Arens, Marcia Gens, Todd Rhodes (vice-chair), Dan Voss (chair), Charlie Wyman Members Absent: Celis Brisbin, Paul Chernick, Rick Reibstein Other Attendees: Joe Pato (Select Board), Archana Dayalu, Jeffrey Rhodin, Kaveesh Pathak, Mary Yardley The meeting was called to order at 7:15 pm. 1. 1040-1050 Waltham Street. The developers of 1040-1050 Waltham Street(Greatland Realty Partners) would like to speak with the committee about the building. They have received strong encouragement from the Planning Board to make the development as sustainable and climate- friendly as possible. Todd will get in touch. 2. Climate Emergency Declaration. Kaveesh Pathak of Sunrise Lexington introduced their proposed Climate Emergency Declaration. • The non-binding resolution acknowledges the emergency, sets an ambitious goal, but is just a first step, albeit an important one. The team is still reviewing edits and Cindy forwarded her, Charlie's, and Paul's suggestions. They welcome endorsements from any and all groups in town. • After discussion, it was moved, seconded and voted: "The Sustainable Lexington Committee supports the non-binding resolution to declare a climate emergency. The resolution is aligned with the objectives of Lexington's "Sustainable Action Plan" and the goals of the "Getting to Net Zero Emissions Roadmap & Recommendations" and emphasizes the urgency for the Town to take the lead in facilitating actions by residents, businesses, and governmental leaders to meet these goals." 3. Extended Producer Responsibility. Charlie explained that there has been growing interest in "product stewardship" and "extended producer responsibility" in the last twenty years as the most effective ways to manage our waste and internalize some of the external costs of the products we consume. The Product Stewardship Institute nationally, and CLF more recently in New England, have been championing EPR as the best long-term solution to our growing waste and recycling crises. • CLF is trying to generate interest in EPR in Massachusetts, and particularly in its H.750 bill, which is showing unexpected life in the current legislative session, and is asking towns to adopt a resolution in support of EPR and to communicate their support to their legislators, MMA, and neighboring towns. 1. Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of February 25, 2020 • The committee reviewed and agreed to recommend the proposed resolution to the Select Board. There was some discussion of strategy, and it was agreed that the resolution should be accompanied by a draft of the requested letter. Charlie and Rick will follow up. 4. Solar Amendments to the Zoning By-Law. Todd explained that some minor changes have been made in the proposed amendments, primarily to reflect the requirements of state law that prohibits undue restrictions on ground-mounted solar systems on residential property. There is now an aggregate limit of 25kW per lot(ground- and building-mounted), and ground-mounted is now permitted as a right but with site plan review. • There was consensus on the committee that these were positive changes; that we still support the article; and there's no need to alter our earlier endorsement. • The formal Planning Board hearing is on March 4, and letters of support are encouraged before then. • There was some discussion about the design standards that the Planning Board will apply during site plan review. Todd said that Amanda Loomis has drafted these; Jeff made the point that the standards should be finalized in a timely fashion so that they are ready when the amendments become effective. • It was agreed that we should prepare a statement of support in favor of Article 39, to be read at Town Meeting; Paul will be asked to draft it, Cindy or Dan may read it. 5. Electric School Buses. Todd reported that he's giving a presentation on electric school buses to the School Committee on March 10. The expectation is that the committee will establish a short-term task force to look into electric school buses and the different business models that could be used to bring them to Lexington. 6. Sustainable Development Standards. Cindy mentioned that during her and Todd's meeting with Amanda Loomis, they discussed the draft standards that were written by the consultant who is also helping with the Hartwell Avenue rezoning. The standards include, among other things, standards on energy use. The draft was circulated previously but Cindy will do it again. It's somewhat unclear what the timetable and pathway to approval are, but the Town Manager has given assurances that Sustainable Lexington will be consulted before they are adopted. • Discussion focused on the opportunity to apply some elements of our integrated building policy for municipal buildings to the residential and commercial sectors. Jeff noted that Boston and Cambridge have such requirements and that Somerville has recently joined them. • Cindy was tasked with the first review, and will consult Jeff and Archana and perhaps a couple members of the committee, and will forward her thoughts to the committee for discussion at our next meeting. 7. Sector/committee organization. Dan tasked the committee to think about how we organize ourselves to do the work of the Sustainable Action Plan, and specifically to think about lumping some of the sectors together to bring the number of topics and teams down to a manageable level, from 10 to 5-7, for discussion at our next meeting. 8. Getting to Net Zero in the Residential Sector. Jeff reported that he is giving considerable thought to the pathway by which we might reach carbon neutral status for existing housing stock 2. Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of February 25, 2020 (to do so by 2035 will require essentially one house/day to go carbon neutral between now and then), and he will share his thoughts with us soon. Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Sustainable Lexington Committee will be on Tuesday, March 24 at 7 pm. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 pm. Respectfully submitted, Charlie Wyman 3.