Boston Mayor Wu’s net-zero climate plan for new buildings blocked by Zoning Commission

In a blow to the mayor’s climate agenda, the Boston Zoning Commission voted to block a proposal that seeks to accelerate the timeline for when new buildings would be required to adhere to net-zero emission standards, from 2050 to 2025.

Citing concerns with how the new requirement may hinder development and exacerbate the city’s “housing crisis,” the Zoning Commission voted 6-4 to approve the Wu administration’s net-zero carbon zoning initiative on Wednesday, falling short of the two-thirds threshold needed for the regulation to pass.

“I just think we’re pushing too fast, too soon,” said Commission Chair Jay Hurley, who voted against the proposal.

Commissioner Michael DiMella, who also voted ‘no,’ raised doubts that the benefits of the proposal would outweigh the immediate harm that would be done, in terms of what he described as a costly new requirement turning off potential developers.

“I’m just trying to understand what the benefit of implementing this policy is,” DiMella said. “My context here is that the market is extremely difficult to develop and build into. Now we have a massive housing crisis that is an immediate need for the city, that is a major problem, and adding more costs on top of that.”

A spokesperson for Mayor Michelle Wu said the administration plans to seek an additional vote from the Zoning Commission at a future meeting.

“We plan to return to the Zoning Commission to address some of the concerns commissioners raised and look forward to bringing NZC back for a vote in the future,” a Wu spokesperson said in a statement.

The zoning initiative would require that, beginning July 1, 2025, new buildings filing a “project notification form” in Boston, with 15 units or more, a minimum of 20,000 square feet, and additions of a minimum of 50,000 square feet or more to existing buildings, must meet a net-zero emissions standard, according to a written summary of the proposal.

The requirement would build off other local laws the city has adopted to advance the mayor’s carbon-neutrality goals for buildings, many of which are powered by fossil fuel electricity and account for roughly 71% of carbon emissions in Boston, according to Travis Anderson, the city’s senior infrastructure and energy planner.

New hospitals, general manufacturing and labs would have phased-in emissions standards that accelerate what would otherwise be required for existing buildings. Hospitals and manufacturing would be required to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, while labs would need to meet that net-zero standard by 2035, the summary of the proposal states.

The proposed zoning change would seek to accelerate the 2050 net-zero timeline set by Boston’s Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance, or BERDO, which sets requirements for large existing buildings to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions over time.

It would also align with the Specialized Stretch Energy Code, which took effect Jan. 1, and requires new buildings that connect to fossil fuels pre-wire for electrification and, where feasible, install solar, the summary states.

Officials from the city’s planning department argued that the net-zero carbon initiative that was blocked by the Zoning Commission would get ahead of the city’s net-zero by 2050 goal by requiring that new development adhere to the standard ahead of time, in 2025.

The strategy, planning department officials said, would also prevent the need for costly future renovations aimed at adhering with net-zero emissions standards.

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“We know the scope of this work and the magnitude of this change isn’t going to be easy or small,” Chief of Planning Arthur Jemison said, “and we know that an investment and a transition like this, it seems significant at this particular moment, but it’s going to pay dividends in the future and really set our city up for success over the long term.

“This policy,” he added, “is designed to help us accelerate the adoption of renewable energy, bringing new buildings online that are clean and efficient, and reducing the need for expensive retrofits in the future.”

Commissioner Drew Leff, who voted against the initiative, wasn’t convinced. He questioned why the city was seeking to shorten a zero-emissions timeline that had been “set up and agreed upon through reasonable processes” by “25 years.”

“Why do we need to add this?” Leff said. “Is this really a way for us to develop the housing and all those things that we need? I know we’ve got to get there, but it does take some time to do this, and all of a sudden jamming it all together, I’m very concerned about that.”

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