By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD – The Environmental Sustainability Committee (ESC) would like the town of Wakefield to adopt a new building energy code that is even more stringent than the current “Stretch Energy Code” currently in effect.
ESC Chair Melissa Eusden appeared before the Town Council last week to plug an article on the November Town Meeting warrant that would have the town adopt the stricter Specialized Energy Building Code. The Specialized Code applies to all new residential and commercial construction, including additions and renovations.
Eusden explained that Massachusetts cities and towns now have three choices of building energy codes. These are the “Base Code” the “Stretch Code” and the “Specialized Code.”
The ‘Stretch Code’ is a more energy efficient alternative to the base code. The Specialized Code goes even further and is designed to help achieve Massachusetts’ goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Eusden said that 20 Massachusetts communities have adopted the Specialized Code to date.
She said that the Specialized Energy Code requires new buildings to be all electric, or if using fossil fuels, to either be pre-wired for future electrification or install solar.
Under the Specialized Code, any new multi-family housing construction over 12,000 square feet will need to meet high energy efficiency standards. Eusden claimed that incorporating those standards would only minimally increase construction costs.
Buildings represent one of the biggest opportunities for greenhouse gas reduction in Wakefield, Eusden said. She maintained that proactively electrifying buildings at the development stage avoids costly retrofits later. She also suggested that these measures would reduce energy bills by making buildings more efficient to heat and cool.
In addition, the Massachusetts School Building Authority will provide an additional incentive for new school projects that meet the Specialized Code, Eusden noted.
She added that Wakefield would lose its “Green Community” designation if it does not adopt the Specialized energy code and would not be eligible for certain grant funding.
Adopting the Specialized code, she said, would “make Wakefield a state leader and an example for other towns.”
Eusden also asked the Town Council to place a “Town-wide Climate Action Plan” on a future agenda for a vote. She maintained that climate change impacts “are being felt on a daily basis” with extreme flooding, weather events and property loss.
“All communities need to take action to increase climate resiliency and align with Massachusetts state climate goals,” she insisted. A Climate Action Plan, she added, provides a roadmap for identifying action items and fostering community engagement.
Town Councilor Edward Dombroski was skeptical.
These kinds of measures should be driven by the market, he insisted. “If electrification at the time of construction is more cost efficient,” he said, “then market forces would drive that.”
Dombroski said that he didn’t see the necessity to mandate these measures when it’s within the ability of developers to do them on their own if the benefits are as claimed.
He maintained that Wakefield should stay with the vast majority of communities in Massachusetts and keep the current Stretch Energy Code.
Wakefield Municipal Light Commissioner Thomas Boettcher was also at the Town Council meeting to support the adoption of the Specialized Energy Code. Boettcher disputed Dombroski’s assertion that market forces would drive the appropriate measures.
“Developers don’t do the ‘right thing’ in terms of energy efficiency,” he insisted. “They do the cheapest thing they can get away with and the most profitable. Electrification is the only way we can meet the state’s 2050 goals. This is our pathway to meet these goals.”