Article 29. Home Rule for Clean Heat (in new constructions)

1. 1. Both Select Board (in 2018) and the Town Meeting (in 2020) pledged for Lexington's commitment to reach Net Zero between 2035 to 2043.

   2. We will not meet our Net Zero emission goals without reducing fossil fuel combustion in buildings, which account for about 1/3 of GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions.

   3. This is a critical step after the strong statement made with the passage of Article 16 in 2020 Special Town Meeting. (i.e., no on-site fossil fuel combustions in buildings where feasible).

   4. This proposal is a small but important first step. It will only affect about 100 new buildings and major renovations per year.

   5. With the earliest possible effective date of December 2022, this article will educate builders, architects and residents and help us plan for better and healthier future buildings.

   6. Those involved in development, including EDAC, have said numerous times that as long as regulations are feasible, they want to implement sustainable design because they know that their clients and their client’s employees want it.

   7. New/renovated buildings (to stretch code envelope standards) without onsite fossil fuel combustion are healthier and more comfortable. We want these high-performance buildings for our kids in school; Our residents and businesses need high-performance buildings too. This is a public health issue.

   8. It’s also an equity and social justice issue, as lower income communities are more often closer to larger natural gas infrastructure facilities and more vulnerable to gas leaks. Not working on plans to transition from a natural gas affects these communities.

   9. It is not hypocritical to promote electrification when many of us still use gas - we are in a hole, stop digging is the first step. We will continue to promote electrifying older homes as their old fossil fuel boilers age.

   10. Our community has taken many steps to mitigate the effects of climate change (as listed in the Climate Emergency Declaration in 2020). Eliminating Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions is a top priority for this global effort.

1. 1. Fossil fuel systems in new buildings would lock in future emissions. Every building we build today with fossil fuel infrastructure defeats Lexington’s emission goals and will require an expensive retrofit in the future.

   2. It could take multiple years for the state to take action. Even with the current climate bill being negotiated, it's unclear what might be enforced or when. We have the opportunity to take a leadership role and act sooner.

   3. As cities, Boston, Cambridge, and Newton are pursuing similar paths for new construction. The Towns of Brookline and Arlington passed their home-rule petitions overwhelmingly in 2020, which this article is modeled after. Other towns are following suit.

   4. It will take at least 1.5 to 2 years before a home rule petition can take effect, which will provide ample time for the outreach, education and planning needed to start the transition away from fossil fuels in new buildings. We know that technology and pricing are no longer barriers; what needs to catch up is mindset.

   5. Home rule petitions were granted to Massachusetts cities and towns in 1966 and are quite common. Lexington and other municipalities have used home rule to accomplish their goals.

The gas industry has spent millions of dollars trying to convince the public that gas heat is clean, healthy, safe, and cheap. In reality, it is none of these things.

• Natural gas can be as bad for the environment as coal because it does more than emit CO2 during the combustion process. Unburnt natural gas is composed primarily of the far more potent greenhouse gas. Methane leaks plague every point of the natural gas chain, from production through consumption in our buildings. Studies show that, over time, the climate damage of natural gas is on a par with the CO2 emissions from burning coal.

• Combustion from natural gas home appliances has been shown to severely affect air quality, emitting such pollutants as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter that lead to cardiovascular and respiratory disease.

• Unburnt natural gas releases toxic air pollutants, most notably benzene, a known carcinogen.

• Gas leaks can lead to explosions. In 2018, excessive pressure in natural gas lines owned by Columbia Gas resulted in explosions and fires that destroyed as many as 40 homes in Andover, North Andover, and Lawrence. In the wake of that tragedy, a team of experts concluded that Massachusetts is “rolling the dice” with gas safety. Lexington had its own experience of a gas explosion in 2005, when a home on Hancock Avenue exploded into a ball of fire because of a gas leak.

• As of 2019, there were more than 15,000 reported active gas leaks in Massachusetts, including 144 in Lexington. Gas leaks are generally repaired only if they pose explosive hazards, but as mentioned above, a gas leak does not have to be explosive to present unseen climate and air quality hazards. Check this map to see if there is a gas leak near you (https://heetma.org/gas-leaks/gas-leak-maps/).

• Leaking gas also destroys trees. A 2020 study of the impacts of gas leaks on trees in Chelsea, MA found that dead or dying trees were 30 times more likely to have been exposed to methane leaking from gas pipelines, which displaced the oxygen in the soil, effectively suffocating plant life at the roots.

• Gas repairs are expensive to ratepayers. Gas companies pass the expense of repairing gas leaks onto consumers, costing Massachusetts ratepayers $11- 60 million a year.

Electric buildings produce lower emissions than those directly fueled by gas and oil, because the way we generate electricity is rapidly becoming greener, as utilities incorporate more wind and solar to power the grid (currently 18% renewable in Massachusetts, increasing by 2% each year). This is especially true in Lexington, where most residents have 100% renewable electricity through the Town’s Community Choice Program.

Approximately 100 new buildings and major renovations each year.

The expected effective date is no earlier than December 2022.

This proposed Town bylaw would limit the installation of new fossil fuel (natural gas, propane, fuel oil) infrastructure so as to require new or significantly renovated buildings to use clean energy sources with the following exemptions:

• All cooking appliances;

• Backup generators;

• Outdoor cooking and heating;

• Fireplaces;

• Large-building central hot water heaters;

• Life sciences laboratories and certain medical offices; and

• Repairs to unsafe conditions.

We decided to start with space heating and hot water, which make up 80% of home energy use, and to focus on consensus building.

Although gas cooking is a small part of carbon pollution, many people have already made the switch to induction stove and/or electric grills, and been very happy with their superior performance, speed, ease of control, cleanness, and safety.

Professional chefs are embracing induction stovetop as well: besides better efficiency and temperature control, there's no more worry of stuff caught on fire or sweating over the fire heat.

Another factor we considered was that cooking appliances are a much smaller investment than HVAC or hot water systems, and likely an easier decision to make.

For these reasons, we think many people will choose clean electric cooking technologies, like many people have bought electric cars.

The exemption for labs is due to their periodic need for very high ventilation rates and the feasibility of providing that much heated air with a heat pump. It’s not a subsidy for labs; it just reflects the limitation of current technologies.

It is necessary to provide the state with clarity about what the Town is planning to enact if/when given the ability.

This is consistent with Arlington’s fall 2020 Town Meeting when they overwhelmingly passed two very similar actions with one vote in Nov 2020.

Brookline’s fall 2020 Town Meeting also overwhelmingly passed a similar petition, which included the request to enact a similar bylaw they had previously overwhelmingly passed.

It helps our supportive legislators (which partially overlap with Arlington) argue in favor of this legislation, because there is uniformity and clarity in what multiple towns are looking to accomplish, a petition/home rule AND a bylaw.

• Without regulation, many new homes and major renovations will continue to be hooked up to fossil fuels, as they have always been, and as a result they will contribute to climate change and require costly retrofits in the future. (Currently the fuel of choice by builders for many new homes in Lexington is propane, a high emitting and expensive fossil fuel.)

• Climate change is a systemic problem that requires systemic solutions.

• Regulation pushes the adoption curve by providing certainty in the market and levels the playing field for all stakeholders.

• While the state (DOER and MassCEC) and Mass Save have been offering generous incentives, rebates, and interest free loans for homeowners who chose Clean Heat technologies, and various training programs for building professionals and contractors, this is a relatively new and unfamiliar territory to many. Article 29 will accelerate adoption of Clean Heat technologies and reduction of carbon emissions.

• Lexington’s new Farmview and Fairview affordable housing buildings are already leading the way, creating healthier, more resilient, near-zero emissions, all-electric buildings.

• Installation costs for all-electric systems can be lower because one system replaces two systems in a conventional, fossil-fuel heated building. Rebates and other incentives further decrease the initial cost.

• The lower long-term maintenance and operation costs are also saving tenants and LexHAB money. (More in testimonials.)

1. Lexington:

   • Lexington Sustainable Action Plan (2018) p5

   • Lexington Getting to Net Zero Emissions Plan (2018)

   • Declaration of a Climate Emergency (10/2020 Special Town Meeting)

   • Lexington Energy Inventory Report (October 2020) p8

2. Arlington

   • Arlington Home Rule Petition (Article 5, passed November 2020)

   • Longer version with explanations

   • Clean Heat for Arlington website (campaign materials)

   • Video of presentation

3. Brookline:

   • Brookline Home Rule Petition (Article 39) (approved 12/2020)

   • Brookline Warrant Article 21 (approved in 11/2019)

   • Attorney General’s Office disapproval of Brookline’s Article 21 (July 2020)

4. Boston: Net Zero Action Plan (2019) p33-53 Buildings

5. Cambridge: Sustainable Development policies

6. Newton: in the planning phase of home-rule petition

7. Concord: in the planning phase of home-rule petition

8. Somerville Zoning Ordinance and click on the pdf:

   • Residential: search "net zero" to see incentives for better buildings,

   • Commercial: "9. Development Standards" under 8.3. OVERLAY DISTRICTS Master Planned Development (MPD), on page 389

9. Action is planning a similar proposal as Article 29.

10. San Jose set to become largest U.S. city to ban natural gas in almost all new construction (12/2020)