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Image courtesy of Cushman & Wakefield
West Tisbury officials have asked to formally withdraw from a new pilot program allowing a group of cities and towns to restrict fossil fuel infrastructure in the building sector, tipping over a domino that could lead to groundbreaking new regulations in Boston, Somerville or another community, entirely.
The tiny Martha’s Vineyard community was one of 10 that secured a spot in line for the groundbreaking program created in an August clean energy law, but its leaders say they cannot fulfill housing requirements added to the legislation in the final steps of its passage. West Tisbury has very few affordable homes, and faces a high hurdle to establishing a substantial multifamily zoning district as mandated by the law.
“In stepping aside, we hope to make way for a large, diverse municipality to be part of the pilot, providing an opportunity for a greater impact on this program,” West Tisbury Town Administrator Jennifer Rand said in a letter to the Baker administration, urging the Department of Energy Resources to pick a replacement “promptly.”
Other major American cities including New York, Los Angeles and Seattle have started the process of reining in greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector by requiring some combination of electric-powered heat, appliances and hot water in construction or renovation, rather than natural gas or oil.
The Massachusetts law sought to explore the impacts of steps like that in a small, “demonstration” group of 10 cities and towns, and it outlined two different processes for municipalities to win admission into the program.
All 10 original spots must be awarded in the order cities and towns sent the state legislature their home rule petitions, and if any drop out, DOER selects a replacement municipality that has also submitted a home rule petition but no longer needs to heed the queue – the administration can pick any alternative community from the pool of applicants, regardless of whether it held the 11th or 51st spot in line.
Now comes a waiting game of undetermined length. DOER, part of the Baker administration for the next three months until the next governor takes office, has sole authority to select a new city or town from a still-minute pool to take West Tisbury’s spot in the pool.
State Hasn’t Issued Rules Yet
So far, the department is remaining mum about how it will proceed.
Asked when DOER would name a replacement and what cities and towns were eligible, a Baker administration spokesperson who agreed to communicate only on background said the department is still reviewing the law and expects to develop a formal process to implement the pilot program, which will include a schedule outlining when DOER will accept applications from municipalities.
Sen. Mike Barrett, who co-chairs the Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee and played an integral role in crafting the legislation launching the program, said he hopes that DOER moves quickly to accept West Tisbury’s letter as a formal withdrawal.
“That would be an extremely helpful step and formally open up one of the 10 spots,” the Lexington Democrat said.
But the department is not exactly on the clock, according to lawmakers.
Fellow TUE Committee Co-chair Rep. Jeff Roy of Franklin said there are few hard dates outlined in the section of the law, other than a July 1, 2023 deadline to promulgate optional regulations governing the pilot program, an 18-month window for cities and towns to meet the affordable housing targets, and reporting requirements down the road.
Barrett said a specific timeline for confirming a withdrawal and filling an open slot is “a level of detail the statute leaves unaddressed.”
“This is effectively up to DOER at the moment,” Barrett said.
Both lawmakers said they think it would be within reason and good-faith operation for DOER to take several months to figure out the logistics of the pilot program before choosing a city or town to fill West Tisbury’s spot.
Boston, Somerville or Another?
At this point, there are only two potential successors: Boston and Somerville.
City councils in both communities approved home rule petitions – H.5291 for Somerville, H.5317 for Boston – in the last two months looking to win state approval to limit fossil fuel use in their building sectors. They would be the 11th and 12th municipalities in line, so either community will need some kind of action from DOER to secure a spot in the pilot program or additional legislative authorization to pursue the action they want.
By the time DOER is ready to select another community, it might have far more options. Barrett said he expects news of West Tisbury’s attempted withdrawal to trigger “intense interest” in taking its spot.
Roy added that he hopes to see a designated environmental justice community, where residents are disproportionately burdened by the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, secure a place in the program.
“One of the things that was important to us in considering this type of legislation was to make sure it wasn’t just wealthy communities that were having an opportunity,” Roy said. “We wanted to have something that went across the board and could apply to any community. If they weren’t complying with 40B, we didn’t think they should be part of the process.”
Seven of the original 10 communities already surpassed the 10 percent affordable housing target in the most recent state data: Acton, Aquinnah, Brookline, Cambridge, Concord, Lexington and Lincoln.
The other two, Arlington and Newton, lagged below 10 percent, but officials there are optimistic they can qualify by reaching that target in the coming months or by securing local approval for the zoning change alternative.
If Boston isn’t selected, its leaders have already lined up a fallback option: proposed zoning changes that would require new buildings to emit net-zero carbon from opening day. Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration is accepting public comments on the proposal through Oct. 28.
