Energy And Climate Action Committee Looks At Housing Policy Draft

The Town’s Energy and Climate Action Committee (ECAC) convened on February 24 to open a sustainability dialogue regarding the Community Resource Committee (CRC)’s draft Comprehensive Housing Policy. The goals of the policy is to create housing affordability, economic diversity, strategic housing placement, and promotion of environmentally sound design. Members of ECAC plan to comment on the draft policy related to design. The final version of the Housing Policy is expected to be completed by June. 

“Reducing carbon emissions is the goal, but for this policy what we’re actually talking about is making houses more energy efficient…less of an energy sink,” said ECAC Chair Laura Drauker. “It’s a high priority [to make] sure that we are leveraging as many green infrastructure and low impact developments as we can with any new buildings.”

Other discussion concerned specifying language and time frames. “I’d like to see a little bit more explicit language about trying to encourage, or regulate, or somehow replace fossil fuel boilers in these [preexisting] buildings. That’s going to be the big transition needed to get the carbon reductions,” said Committee member Dwayne Breger. Member Darcy DuMont (Councilor District 5) also expressed concern about encouraging population density at the potential expense of sustainable construction.

“I’m always imagining and thinking about the fact that there are going to be several hundred million climate refugees in the next couple of decades, and I do think that we need to house them,” ECAC member Ashwin Ravikumar added. 

ECAC’s involvement in the Housing Policy will continue. 

Amherst’s Energy Burden
Committee member Steve Roof presented data on Amherst’s energy burden. The localized charts were compiled as preliminary notes by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) using a graphic tool called LEAD. The main takeaways showed significantly more energy burden as a percentage of income in low-income households, as opposed to high-income. Amherst’s general energy burden exceeds the Massachusetts average.

“It’s very compelling data,” he said. 

Roof also addressed an energy efficiency tool from the Rocky Mountain Institute. With collaboration from other Massachusetts towns, the tool could potentially be used to develop rental efficiency standards. 

“I hope to learn more through RMI,” said Roof. “We get a group of towns in Massachusetts all trying to do the same thing, and with some RMI help, we can work together to develop something that can be implemented.” 

Roof and Ravikumar plan on researching the tool kit, particularly an RMI policy blueprint. In combination with a full housing study of about $50,000, the blueprint could be used to create standards specific to Amherst. Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant money could potentially be used to conduct this study. 

“We already have a rental licensing program. And those rentals have to be licensed every year so that provides the perfect mechanism for adding on to rental efficiency standards,” Roof said, although he also noted the importance of avoiding overburdening property owners or raising rent costs.  

The meeting concluded with discussion of rebates for heavy duty electric vehicles and incentives for electric school buses, among other topics. The Committee also discussed funding strategies, such as college solar development PILOT payments. ECAC hopes to fund its own solar development projects as well. 

The full recorded meeting can be found here. 

The Community Resource Committee’s Comprehensive Housing Policy draft can be found here..