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An Ordinance has been received from Diane P. LeBlanc City Clerk, relative to Emissions Accounting Zoning Petition (Ordinance #2022-20) PASSED TO A SECOND READING IN COUNCIL DECEMBER 19, 2022 TO BE ORDAINED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 9, 2023 EXPIRES ON MARCH 6, 2023 ORDINANCE AMENDED IN COUNCIL FEBRUARY 27, 2023
City of Cambridge
ORD 2022 # 20
IN CITY COUNCIL
December 19, 2022
ORDERED:
That section 22.25.1(c) of Article 22
<https://library.municode.com/ma/cambridge/codes/zoning_ordinance?nodeId=Z
ONING_ORDINANCE_ART22.000SUDEDE>, entitled Sustainable Design and
Development, be amended as follows:
(c) Net Zero Narrative: A written description of how the Green Building Project
is being designed in response to the City's Net Zero Action Plan, which seeks to
neutralize greenhouse gas emissions resulting from buildings by reducing their
energy use intensity and promoting renewable sources of energy. This
information is provided for advisory review by CDD staff, and CDD may
provide a questionnaire template to the developer for completing this narrative.
At a minimum, this narrative shall include the following information:
1. Anticipated building envelope performance, including roof, foundation, walls
and window assemblies, and window-to-wall ratio;
2. Anticipated energy loads, baseline energy simulation tool assumptions, and
proposed energy targets, expressed in terms of site energy use intensity
("EUI"), source EUI (expressed as British Thermal Unit (BTU) per square
foot per year), and annual greenhouse gas emissions projected until 2050,
expressed as Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalents (MTCO2e), and
calculated in accordance with the standards and requirements established in
Chapter 8.67 of the Municipal Code (“Building Energy Use”) and associated
regulations. If anticipated tenant plug loads (EUI and emissions) are
provided, they shall be separately broken out and clearly identified as such;
3. A description of ways in which building energy performance has been
integrated into aspects of the Green Building Project's planning, design, and
engineering, including building use(s), orientation, massing, envelope
systems, building mechanical systems, on-site and off-site renewable energy
systems, and district- wide energy systems;
4. A description of the technical framework by which the Green Building
Project can be transitioned to net zero emissions prior to 2050
(acknowledging that such a transition might not be economically feasible at
first), including future net zero emissions options for building envelope,
HVAC systems, domestic hot water, interior lighting, and on- and off-site
renewable energy sources;
5. A description of programs provided by local utility companies, government
agencies, and other organizations that provide technical assistance, rebates,
grants, and incentives that can assist in achieving higher levels of building
performance, summarizing which entities have been contacted and which
programs could be utilized in the Green Building Project; and
6. An assessment of the technical and financial feasibility to meet the projected
HVAC and domestic hot water demands of the building (as set forth in
Paragraph (2) above) using energy systems that do not consume carbon-
based fuels on-site (to include solar photovoltaics and hot water, ground
source, water source or air source heat pumps, district energy, geothermal
systems, and/or similar systems) compared to code-compliant energy systems
that consume carbon-based fuels on-site (including, where applicable, the
construction or expansion of energy plants controlled by the developer that
may be necessary to produce energy for that specific building), which shall
include the cost of installation, maintenance and upkeep of the energy system
and its components (incorporating programs and incentives as set forth in
Paragraph (5) above). This paragraph will become effective on February 23,
2021.
7. Embodied Emissions: A full lifecycle analysis of the estimated emissions
generated by the construction of the Green Building Project. The Community
Development Department shall promulgate regulations for how these
estimated emissions are to be reported. Such regulations shall include at
minimum the required reporting of estimated lifecycle emissions generated
by the use of major building materials, including but not limited to wood,
concrete, steel, aluminum and glass, using Passive House or other acceptable
energy and emissions modeling software and industry standards. This
paragraph will become effective on July 1, 2023, and shall not impose a
requirement on any Green Building Project that is a project of the Affordable
Housing Trust or otherwise for the construction of low and moderate-income
housing meeting the standards established pursuant to any City, State or
Federal housing program designed to assist low and moderate-income
households.