ORDER-2024-12 : Requesting the adoption of the Specialized Energy Code as found in 225 CMR §§ 22 and 23, including Appendices RC and CC, as the minimum energy code for the City of Melrose effective July 1, 2024.

Transcript (~42 min @ 43:26)

Speakers identified by voice; unnamed voices are numbered within this recording. Auto-caption text — verify against the video.

▶ 43:12 Speaker 2: Councillor McMaster? Yes. Councillor Sun? Yes. Councillor Repe. Yes. Councillor Chetty. Yes. Councillor Bruski. Yes. Councillor Williams? Yes. President? Yes. And Chair Elli? Yes. That's unanimous. Alright.

▶ 43:29 Speaker 3: Thank you very much. And those will brought, be brought

▶ 43:32 Leila Migliorelli: to the next full counsel for final vote. Um, next up is order 2024 dash 12. Requesting the adoption of the specialized energy code is found in 2 25, um, CMR 2 22 and 23, including appendices, RC and CC as the minimum energy code for the City of Melrose, effective July, 2024. July 1st, 2024. Tonight we have Mayor Broder, Martha Grover. Okay. Mayor Broder First and

▶ 44:07 Speaker 3: Cast. Okay.

▶ 44:08 Paul Brodeur: That's right. I, I'll try to be brief and just kind of frame it up for y'all, um, a little bit. Um, you all know that Melrose has a net 0, 20 50, uh, energy plan and it lays out a lot of goals and procedures. This, and it, it is, a lot of hard work went into that. And this is, I suggest you the, the blocking and tackling, the hard work, the granular work of advancing those goals. Um, you may all know today, particularly if you're a, if you're a climate non policy follower, that, um, the COP 28 meeting is today, that is, uh, unceremoniously means conference of the parties, which doesn't tell you much about what's going on. It is an annual meeting of the 200 or so countries, I believe the time the Paris Climate Accords to get together and try to make progress on this and that, um, the preliminary information out of there and previous information isn't too optimistic. So I just wanna, uh, I wanna frame it in that sense. Um, and so y'all, I think I know you get it 'cause I know you've, um, our energy, excuse me, our sustainability manager, Martha Grover, has made herself available to all of you, and some several of you have taken advantage of that. But here is what in part that the, um, what the Net zero plan says on page 11. I should have mailed this to y'all, but I didn't think of it till today. Um, how do we get there? The kind of the $64,000 question of, of Net 0 20 50? Well, to directly quote, we know that we need to make our buildings and vehicles the two major sources, sources of emissions in our community, much cleaner and more efficient. To reach our net zero zero goal, our community will need to work towards five, five core transitions. One of them being, making existing buildings super efficient and constructing new buildings to high efficiency standards, which will reduce emissions and make energy bills more affordable for everyone. Because the cheapest energy is the energy that you don't use. Um, further on in the report on pages 45 and 46, it notes adopt policies to mandate energy efficiency and renewable energy in new construction and main major renovations that, um, my colleagues is exactly what this is all about. And, um, what is the commitment that elected officials, um, we're asked to make in that plan? Um, consider how your decision, the decisions your board, committee, or legislative body will impact knowledge's net zero goal, advocate and vote to support policy or regulations that advance actions identified in the net zero plan. I would never suggest to you that the devil isn't in the details, but that is why we're doing this. That is why we've done several other initiatives that are not one-offs. They're part of a larger plan, which is always a reasonable consideration. Um, an incredible amount of work by people that are much smarter than me have gone into this. And, uh, uh, substantial number of communities in the Commonwealth have already adopted that. That doesn't necessarily make it right for us, but it does certainly suggest that this has been, uh, considered for a long time in many different forms and has moved forward in several our communities. With that, I will turn it over to the experts,

▶ 47:46 Speaker 7: Martha and team.

▶ 47:53 Speaker 6: I'm going to invite, um, Dylan Patel, who's in addition to being a new resident. He's also our green community's regional coordinator. And Dylan is new to the job, new to Melrose, but he's already made the rounds to many communities that have taken up, that have taken up the specialized energy code. And so he's here as a resource representing DOER if you have any questions. And of course, Mar got here and I, speaking of our local expert, I just wanted to, um, before I get started, point out that I'm sure you've saw some of the letters, um, that Melrose is really fortunate to have a whole host of energy experts living right here, professionals who work in this field. Um, and when I put out the call this week just to have, ask them to weigh in, they did enforce. And, um, I was, I've just really appreciate their support. I appreciate their expertise, their knowledge. A lot of 'em know a whole lot more about this than I do. Um, and I hope that you appreciate their perspective as well. And I, I also wanted to pro provide a little more context about where this, um, code fits into the big picture and what we're trying to do here in Melrose. The Mayors, um, kind of set it up for you. Um, about 61% of the greenhouse gas emissions, what we found when we created that plan are from buildings. Um, most of that, as you can imagine are from homes. Our focus, especially since we launched the net zero action plan, has been to focus on those existing buildings, focus on, on those homes, and encouraging and assisting homeowners to reduce emissions by first increasing energy efficiency, weatherization, insulation, second, converting their fossil fuel heating systems, hot water, um, stoves, dryers, et cetera, uh, to electric equipment as they fail. And third, offsetting, um, their, their electric load with rooftop solar signing up for the Melrose Community Power Plan as a result. I mean, this is pretty amazing. I looked at these numbers today. Um, in the last two years, Melrose has really stepped up in a huge way. We have about 7,501 to four unit dwellings, homes and Melrose there. We have served with our partners 1700 home energy assessments, 600 weatherization projects in there, and about 400 heat pump installations since we started the heat pump, the Heat Smart Melrose campaign in 2020. I see installation trucks parked outside homes all the time, and of course, I pull over and take photos to post and everything and embarrass my children in the back of the car. But, and the building energy code is one tool of many that are in our toolbox that provides an opportunity to encourage property owners to update or renovate their existing homes to increase the energy efficiency and disconnect from fossil fuels. What we're talking about here tonight is a new tool that we can opt into and adopt. It's called the Specialized Energy Code that applies to new buildings only. So it's just shaving off, you know, the few new buildings that, that are built in Melrose and ensures that they are future-proofed and don't add to our emissions. So to go to the first slide, just a brief energy code history. Um, Alan went over a lot of, kind of did the highlights of my presentation, which is great. And so I'll try to get through this, um, briefly. But, uh, the energy code in 2009 is when the, the stretch code was introduced. Uh, it's more energy efficient than the base code Melrose adopted it in 2010 in order to become a green community. As you know, fast forward to 2021 and the base code has now met, met the stretch code, and the stretch code is really no longer a stretch code as of 2021, which is when the legislature said, all right, we're gonna take the stretch code out of the BBRS, assign it to D-O-E-D-O-E-R to update and make it in line with the state's climate goals, and then add a requirement to develop this specialized code for new construction only. That, again, is in line with our climate goals. So in 2023, what was introduced at the beginning of this year was a major update to that stretch code. The residential went into effect on January 1st. The multifamily commercial went into effect on July 1st, and adoption was automatic for any green community of which there are 291 today. So the next slide kind of shows how the code is, is built and designed. There are three codes in place today. You've got the base energy code, which was also updated this year, add on to that amendments and changes where they add efficiency requirements through the stretch energy code that went into effect. And then there's this, there's the specialized energy code that we're proposing go into effect in about seven months on July 1st, 2024, um, and make that the minimum energy code for the city of Melrose.

▶ 53:22 Speaker 6: Uh, this next slide shows 30 cities and towns, Boston, Somerville, Cambridge, Worcester, all the big ones, and some of our neighbors, as Alan pointed out, uh, Wakefield passed it about two weeks ago, uh, Medford and I've talked with Stoneham, Redding and Maul, and they all plan to probably put it forward in their town meetings or city council in early 2024. And I'm seeing new cities and new cities and towns are adopting it kind of at a weekly pace. What are we talking about in Melrose? What, what, what buildings does this really impact? Um, most new construction in Melrose is residential and there's very little of it. There's just not a lot of space for new, new homes or new buildings to be built. So I, I went through the permits over the last, um, two years, found about 10 single family home, new, new single family home permits, one new two family and four multifamilies in the last two years. And one mixed use of those 10 single family homes, seven of them are Patrick's place. Um, side note, those are pretty big houses. There's a picture of one for, for Melrose, but they're all under 4,000 square feet, which is important as when we get to the next couple slides.

▶ 54:50 Speaker 6: So what is the special ed co specialized code? What's in it? Well, what stays the same is comparison to the updated stretch code that's already been in place all year, is that the efficiency requirements are basically the same as, as in the stretch code. The ev ready requirements are the same. What's change, what changes are two main things. Number one, builders still have the option of building a new home with mixed fuel, say with fossil fuels, they can, they, they'll build, they can build a new home is all either all electric or what the, what DOER considers to be mixed fuel. Mixed fuels might be for, you know, natural gas for heating, hot water, um, dryers, cooking, et cetera. If a home is built with any net, any fossil fuels for any one of those end uses, what they're just simply requiring is that it be pre-wired for electrification in the future and that there be a little solar pv on any available space. There's a minimum size requirement depending on the size of the house. And for homes that are over 4,000 square feet, they have to achieve her zero if it's built with fossil fuels with some solar pv. The other major change is to multi-family. So multi-family buildings over three stories. Instead of having a few options of different pathways they can take under the specialized code, they have one pathway, which is the passive house. And I'll share a little bit about what that is. So here it is presented in two charts. There's this chart is the residential, the other chart on the next slide is the commercial. And in red is what changes under the specialized code. And most of the changes, as you can see on the left, are the building sizes and the types of buildings, the fuel type, the stretch code requirements, and then what changes or doesn't change under the specialized code, and then some additional requirements. So it's pretty consistent, as I said, for any, for all of the categories. Any built in any new construction built with mixed fuels has to be pre-wired for electrification and add a little solar. Um, and then there is also for the multi-family category here on the low-rise wrench residential. And on the next slide under commercial where it gets bigger than three stories, again, it's the passive house requirement, pre-wiring. Some people have asked what does that actually mean? Um, it's the installation of sufficient electrical service space and wiring that allows for future conversion to an all electric building for all of those end uses I've mentioned before. So it means dedicated circuits and plugs located near the fossil fuel equipment for future future installation of electric equipment and DOER projects that, um, 200 amp service is generally sufficient for most loads.

▶ 57:46 Speaker 6: I think we can go to the next one. Passive house for multifamily. What is this? Passive house isn't new, it's not passive and it's not necessarily a house in every situation, but it's what it's called. It's a certification that features air type building envelopes, high performance windows and doors, balanced ventilation and efficient min minimized heating and cooling. And the result of this high performance building standard for multifamily buildings is that the heating loads can be reduced by 90% or more compared to a typ typical building. And the overall energy demand can be reduced by 60% or more, resulting in much lower operating costs and significant indoor air quality in occupant comfort. It's, it's be really becoming the gold standard. And if you go to the next slide, you can, you can see how the uptake of passive house for multifamily is just going up exponentially. There are already 13,000 units in the pipeline with a third of those categories categorized as low income housing.

▶ 58:57 Speaker 6: Uh, one of the questions I've gotten is, you know, will this cost more in general if you build your house with as all electric? Uh, DOER did some pretty deep analysis. They hired a consultant to take a look at, um, different models of, of houses, um, comparing and, and because they were concerned about this, this issue of, um, they wanted to understand what the cost implications would be of, um, the stretch code and specialized code requirements for both the builder and the home buyer. And the main takeaway from their analysis is that all electric homes are generally cheaper to build and more, more, more cost effective than building with, uh, natural gas and cheaper to operate over time. The other, the other wind in the sail here is that you've got federal government, state government and the utilities that fun, that function behind mass save, incentivizing all of this, all electric high efficiency construction, um, and doling out pretty, pretty, um, uh, pretty good incentives that offset any additional cost, um, required to build, to build to these new codes. The other big, big one are, um, the federal tax credits that are, that are coming online for, um, a variety of building types.

▶ 1:00:29 Speaker 6: A question I got had to do within the next slide, Andrew, was would this, would the specialized code have any impact on our public, on our building projects, municipal building projects and no impact? Of course, on the, on the public library project, it's already permitted already on, already under construction. And in fact, um, the library project as designed is all electric and is on target to meet the low energy use intensity score under the mass save zero pathway incentive program, which is again, is gonna mean that we're going to, um, we are supposed to find out this week what that incentive number is, um, to support what we're doing at the library. The public safety buildings, again, no impact. They were, they will be built as all electric in line with our net zero action plan and the energy efficiency requirements requirements are the same, whether it's the stretch code or the specialized code for municipal buildings. And the same, same goes for new schools. And the nice thing is that the MSBA just announced this year that if a new school is built under the specialized code, they'll, they'll, um, we get the benefit of some additional funding. So there are lots of carrots out there for us to, um, adopt this code. The other thing to note, just in terms of over the next say seven years that a lot of these buildings may be built, the energy code is probably going to change two or three times. And these buildings will have to just keep adapting and being built to new codes as they, as they do develop. So why now? And what's in it for Melrose? As was already mentioned, the, the reason that we're doing this now is that Green Communities just announced something called the Climate Leaders program. I call it Green Communities 2.0 and which creates new funding for Melrose because we are in what's called the Million Dollar Club and we've actually already been awarded $1.7 million from the Green Communities program. We are static at being awarded just a hundred thousand dollars, which in today's building upgrade construction space is not a lot of money. So it resets under the Green Community's 2.0 program. And if there are six new criteria that they've just announced, we already meet five of those six. This is the sixth criteria. So if we adopt this before July 1st,

▶ 1:02:52 Speaker 5: before July 1st, yes, 2024.

▶ 1:02:54 Speaker 6: Um, we are then eligible to be, to be designated as a climate leader and then, um, um, have the opportunity to apply for some great grants. Side note that we have developed this year through a pilot program of building decarbonization roadmap for our schools. And we are in the process right now of getting several shovel ready projects. So when additional funding becomes available from the state, the feds, wherever we are going to be ready to go next year. The other carrot is that this is the tool we need to stop the fossil fuel hole for new construction so we can reach our 2050 climate goals. And, and acknowledging that new construction is really the low hanging fruit, the specialized code allow allows builders the option of fossil fuel for heating or appliances, but also through this pre-wiring requirement avoids future electrification retrofits for owners and future OCC occupants. And finally, like we're all trying to do, it encourages all electric buildings, which are cheaper to build and operate and healthier to live in. And we are here happy to answer any of your questions That you may have.

▶ 1:04:09 Speaker 3: Thank you. Questions from the council? Councilor Carm Shady?

▶ 1:04:16 Manjula Karamcheti: Um, I think, I hope what I have is a sim a pretty simple question just in terms of if the code is adopted. I'm wondering about some of the, um, projects that are sort of in process in terms of like in the planning department, planning board, zoning board.

▶ 1:04:41 Speaker 1: Will those projects need to comply by the code or they sort of get a pass? Depends, it

▶ 1:04:45 Speaker 6: Depends on the timing of their, of when they seek their building permits. So, and it depends on where they, they're

▶ 1:04:52 Manjula Karamcheti: All kind of in process now, where they are in the pop pipeline. I'm thinking of ward one in particular, we have about five, including 40 B housing. And I'm just wondering how this code may or may not impact some of those things that are already happening in, in the works.

▶ 1:05:08 Speaker 6: Yep. And we had an internal meeting, I did meet with Denise and Lori. They were not necessarily concerned about the ability of any of those projects to meet the specialized code. If it were to go into effect on July 1st, um, that, you know, the the and

▶ 1:05:23 Manjula Karamcheti: They would also comply

▶ 1:05:25 Speaker 6: Or that they would have to comply? Yes. Okay. If they seek a building permit after July 1st. If, if we adopt this code, um, uh, you know, the difference here is that there's a seven month ramp up time with this updated stretch code that went into place. There was all of five days before that went into effect. So we discussed whether or not to propose this now or in a couple months, um, in January after the new council is seated and we, and after talking with Al and with Denise and Lori, it made more sense to give more time rather than less time for the, the inspectors and the, the developers to respond and to prepare. Thank you.

▶ 1:06:04 Speaker 1: So much. Appreciate it. Councilor Oppe.

▶ 1:06:08 Mark Garipay: Uh, thank you. Thank you for being here. Um, just want to confirm, 'cause I think there's some misconceptions out there regarding the stretch code we have now that that's in place. Um, talks about renovations over a thousand square feet has to comply, so that's already in place, so this will not affect that we're doing that

▶ 1:06:34 Speaker 6: Anyway. Nothing will change for additions and renovations.

▶ 1:06:36 Mark Garipay: Um, okay. And then, um,

▶ 1:06:44 Mark Garipay: My, when I was reading, um, the building inspector's letter and he said implementing the stretch code, which happened in January, has been a big, big, uh, lift for many building departments including theirs. And it requires additional, additional work that's been, in fact, since January and we're now we're going stretch code. I, I'll be honest with you, I was totally against this until we talked, but I can get there on, on, on supporting this. I just, I'm concerned with the same question that Councilor JE said regarding all the new development. Um, we have buildings that are, that are been approved by the planning board that people are sitting on. And it's a lot of DA lot of different reasons. You know, it's, they're not ready to build interest rates are up, um, raw materials, everything, right? So I would like to see with the administration, if we pass this tonight in delay the implementation till January 1st, 2025, it sounds like we can still apply for grants, but it gives these developers, whether it's the Tremont Street that's in front of the Board of Appeals, we get Chipman Ave with 40 something units. You get Greenwood, you get Caruso's, all these buildings that they'll have six months to kind of go back to the drawing board if they can't get their building permits pulled by July 1st. So I'm willing to support this if we can just give them another six months. I think we owe them, they've, they've invested into this community and I think that, um, I'm tired of looking at dilapidated properties around they're, they're ugly around town and we need to spur this construction, but I don't want to, I don't want to hinder it. So if we were to amend this order to take effect January 1st, 2025, would, would the administration support that? Would you be, I'm

▶ 1:08:41 Speaker 6: Gonna let the representative from the administration respond to that, that Question. Um, you know, I, this, um, is a question that I, I haven't raised with the mayor directly, but I, you know, I think we're all sensitive to the impacts to those projects that are in progress. You know, obviously the whole point of this is that the new construction be moving forward towards our climate goals, but in these, um, in these timeframes that are tight and certainly, um, with respect to interest rates and some of the facts on the ground, um, there, there may be some, um, extenuating circumstances that certainly might justify consideration of, of a delayed implementation. I will say, I think the goal would be for those projects to be compliant with this, uh, updated specialized code. I, I think the idea is not, um, to create more time for people to file plans that are less energy efficient than they might otherwise be. Yeah,

▶ 1:09:42 Mark Garipay: I would, um, I just think that we need to do everything we can to, to try to help and push these, uh, developments along. So,

▶ 1:09:49 Speaker 7: So it's upstairs working on something, uh,

▶ 1:09:52 Paul Brodeur: that seems perfectly reasonable to me. Again, I would defer to the experts that know about the money flow and the potential of any grants being in jeopardy. But the point is well taken that these, that we obviously want it to be successful. Um, Martha's probably already spoken about the training opportunities and the way this gets off the ground, both with our folks and with the, the development community. Um, uh, unless someone tells me, oh my God, we can't, because there'll be serious financial implications, I think that's fine.

▶ 1:10:25 Mark Garipay: And I think it also gives the building, the building department an additional six months. I think they're still trying, in my conversations with the building inspector, they're still trying to understand the stretch code goals and it gives them a little bit more time. So, I mean, I would, I would make, make a motion that, that we changed the effective date on the order in front of us from July 1st, 2024 to January 1st, 2025. And I'd be more than happy to, to support this order

▶ 1:10:59 Speaker 3: Motion on the table.

▶ 1:11:01 Speaker 2: I chair I'd, I'd be willing to entertain seconding that. But I did have a question before if Const Garipay was either willing to hold that motion or withdraw Until motion. Okay.

▶ 1:11:10 Speaker 3: Um, alright. Councilor Gar paid, do you have any other questions at the moment? No. Okay. Councillor McMaster and then Councilor Williams is in

▶ 1:11:19 Shawn M. MacMaster: Queue. Thank you Madam Chair. I did have one follow-up question. Um, as it relates to the, the permits. So as I understand it, Ms. Corbert, from what you said is that if a permit is pulled and approved after that July date, the developer would, would have to comply. What about permits that have been pulled before that haven't been granted? Um, but because the developer is seeking variances before the, the Board of Appeals, so it's been, it's been sought but hasn't been granted, um, where would they fall within? So

▶ 1:11:50 Speaker 6: As I understand you're talking about, say, a special permit that's been granted by the planning board, but that's different from a building permit.

▶ 1:11:57 Shawn M. MacMaster: No, I'm talking about building permit. So if a building permit is, is, is sought beforehand and the building inspector says, I'm not granting it because you need to seek a variance before the Board of Appeals, what would happen in that scenario?

▶ 1:12:10 Speaker 6: I, I, I would defer to DOER to, um, contradict me. But my understanding is that it's the date of the filing of the building permit that determines the compliance. So if somebody files the, you know, if someone has their plans ready to go in advance of July 1st, 2024 under the current, uh, suggested, uh, effective date, um, if they filed the Bur building permit before that, then they would just be subject to the stretch code. If they filed the bur building permit afterwards, then it would be the specialized code. But again, that is my understanding. Um, I don't have a, I cannot cite a source for that, but perhaps, uh, DOER can clarify

▶ 1:12:53 Speaker 2: That, that would be helpful to know if we don't know tonight.

▶ 1:12:56 Speaker 5: Um, um, unfortunately I do not have that answer tonight.

▶ 1:12:59 Shawn M. MacMaster: Okay. If, if you can provide that information, that would be helpful. Thank you's all I have,

▶ 1:13:05 Speaker 3: Um, councilor Williamson Councillor Garipay for a second time.

▶ 1:13:08 Speaker 5: Thank you. Have we heard from any developers that they have concerns about the specialized code?

▶ 1:13:13 Speaker 6: I, I did reach out to the developer of the 360 Main and, and part of the, part of one of the issues here that, that Councillor Garipay has mentioned is after speaking to the building our building commissioner, there, there have been some pain points with the stretch code that was released this year. Part of it was the, the short note notification, the five days notice before the residential component went into effect. And, um, the slow, um, uptake in training of inspectors and just, uh, of the building community. And so Matt had a little concern about the ability of the training, whether it's effective so far and whether we know enough and whether inspectors and builders know enough to, um, to build to these new codes. It seemed like most of his concerns had to do with the stretch code, less so with the specialized code. 'cause specialized code doesn't really change much as regarding some of the concerns about the installation requirements, et cetera. The other thing I can note is that, um, I did also when reaching out to our neighbors to find out their timing of adopting the code Mauldin's building inspector, um, is happens to sit on the technical technical review committee, uh, for the specialized code. And he's also recommending that Malden hold off on adopting the specialized code until July 1st, or January 1st, 2025. Just knowing that some things still need to be worked out in terms of the administration of applying that code. So, um, I think it's, it's a transition period. Right. And we're, we're still learning. There are, you know, there are about maybe 16 communities that it's already gone into effect or another 12 that will go into effect on January 1st.

▶ 1:15:10 Speaker 5: There are, there are no communities where it's currently in effect. The first batch of communities will be in effect in January 1st, 2025. Yep. Which is roughly half of them and, um, roughly about 1415.

▶ 1:15:22 Speaker 6: Okay. Alright. Yeah, so that's the sense I got is that six months is,

▶ 1:15:28 Speaker 6: isn't gonna make or break, um, anything and give the communities, the inspectors, the builders, et cetera, more time to adjust. Um, e either one I think is

▶ 1:15:42 Speaker 2: Okay. Thank you

▶ 1:15:45 Jen Grigoraitis: President Greg. Thank you Madam Chair. Thank you for this presentation and for all of your work on bringing this before us. Um, you answered my question about the timelines for the other communities. I just wanna acknowledge that I don't think any of these developers work in a silo. So if you're building in Melrose, you're probably building in Medford and Cambridge and at some point the, the difference becomes, I think, more confusing rather than less. Um, but it's, it seems like they're all going with January of 2025.

▶ 1:16:11 Speaker 6: Some of the early adopters, their, their specialized code goes into effect this January. This, okay. 'cause they adopted it the beginning of this year. They were,

▶ 1:16:19 Speaker 8: So January 1st out of the 2024. Okay. So I wanted to clarify.

▶ 1:16:24 Speaker 6: But then there's a third tranche of communities, those of us who are doing it, this, you know, doing, having these conversations this fall that are looking at July 1st, first of 24 or January 1st of 25 as the start date.

▶ 1:16:36 Jen Grigoraitis: Okay. And I know you're not the planning board, so, or the inspection services department, but I, to the counter, I think to Councilor Rae's question is, are we anticipating that some of these projects, many of which were very divisive in this community and I feel like we would be holding them to a lesser standard of, um, building under the current code. Are we anticipating a rush to pull permits before this is implemented? Because I think from a perspective of the benefits to our residents, I would like to see these larger projects built in the most energy efficient Way possible.

▶ 1:17:10 Speaker 6: Are you seeing a rush to, so we are seeing a rush to permit in advance of these codes.

▶ 1:17:17 Speaker 5: So for the early adopters of, uh, the specialized stretch codes, so the towns which have either put in place a January 1st, 2024 or a July 1st, 2024, um, effective date, um, we've seen no evidence of, um, builders pulling their permits from these towns, or at least no one has told us of, of this phenomenon. Okay.

▶ 1:17:41 Speaker 8: Thank you. Thank you.

▶ 1:17:44 Speaker 3: Anyone else for the first time? Councilor Gepe?

▶ 1:17:49 Mark Garipay: So when I was talking to the building commissioner last week, and maybe I misunderstood, is it takes effect when they actually pull the building permit and everything's been approved through the, the zoning and board of appeals and they actually are gonna start demolition or whatever, that's when the actual permit permit's done. Right. Um, so, um, I'll move, uh, forward with that motion to change the, uh, effective date from July 1st, 2024 to January 1st, 2025. Second,

▶ 1:18:22 Leila Migliorelli: Some motion to amend the order to make it effective. July, uh, January 1st, 2025, uh, made by Councillor Repe, seconded by Councillor McMaster

▶ 1:18:37 Speaker 3: on discussion Counselor Carrum Shady,

▶ 1:18:38 Manjula Karamcheti: Just in the name of transparency, I'm still trying to process and I'm a little, I don't think I understand the answer yet in terms of things, buildings that have been presented to the planning board

▶ 1:18:59 Manjula Karamcheti: conversations and special waivers that have gone to the zoning board on different projects,

▶ 1:19:08 Speaker 1: they would with a

▶ 1:19:11 Manjula Karamcheti: July, 2024 need to make sure that their projects were up to this new code

▶ 1:19:21 Speaker 6: If, if they were seeking their building permit after, after that date.

▶ 1:19:28 Manjula Karamcheti: After that date. Yeah. I'm still confused on like, so the ones that are currently in process, and again, I'm specifically for four Ward one, we have about four or five Yep. That are, things have been filed, but they haven't been approved yet. Right. And I would want for those two, I think to, um, councilor Gita's point want them to be as efficient as possible for the residents. And I'm just trying to understand if they would or wouldn't given where they are in the process right

▶ 1:20:01 Speaker 6: Now. And I'm not, I'm not weighing in on one thing or or another just presenting what, what I'm hearing. Yeah. But keep in mind that that e if it's the specialized code or the stretch code that they're building to, it's pretty stringent. And the passive house is already one of their op, one of their pathway options under the current stretch code for a multifamily building. And I, I'm not sure how much passive house varies from the other two options.

▶ 1:20:30 Speaker 5: So passive house is a fairly stringent standard of building, but it is in existence in, uh, several, uh, projects around the state. Um, but it is, um, a step up from the current, uh, oh. Ms. Grover is correct that, um, it is one of the options, but it is a, um, more stringent, um, installation requirement than is typical for, um, multi-family houses.

▶ 1:21:00 Speaker 6: And that then that exists for the other two pathways under the stretch code. That

▶ 1:21:05 Speaker 5: Is correct. It is an option under the stretch code Right. As well.

▶ 1:21:14 Speaker 3: Um, counselor, are you all set with your I think so. Okay.

▶ 1:21:17 Leila Migliorelli: I just to ask or maybe re-ask counselor Caram Judy's question. If the projects that are in place right now have not filed a building permit and then don't file one before July 1st, then they're not subject to this code if we were to pass it by July 1st, or same thing goes for January 1st, as long as no one has pulled a building permit, they're not, they would not be subject to this code. Correct.

▶ 1:21:44 Speaker 6: Lemme try to clarify. Um, at the time that a, a comprehensive permit, or a special permit is granted, um, the developer usually has a certain timeframe with which to, within which to exercise that permit to begin whatever they're going to be doing. Mm-Hmm. Um, the critical moment in terms of the stretch or the specialized code is when they pull the building permit. Right? So an applicant can be before the zoning board of appeals or the planning board for several months, um, have their plans, their elevations, their landscape plans, their drainage plans, everything before the city and seek variances and approvals, get those variances and approvals. But then it's up to them to decide when they pull the permit. So there, the, the idea would be that we're setting, uh, a bright line. It's either July 1st or January 1st, after which if they pull the permit after that date, they are subject to the specialized energy code. And in that instance, what we discussed is that if this, if this passes tonight, then the planning staff would make a point of letting all of those developers of those existing projects know that there is a seven month ramp up period. And to expect that if their permit comes in after July 1st, it would Have to comply with The specialized code.

▶ 1:23:07 Leila Migliorelli: Thank you. So the motion on the table is amending the order to January 1st, 2025. Um, seconded by, made by Councillor Repe. Seconded by Councillor McMaster on discussion President Greg.

▶ 1:23:21 Jen Grigoraitis: Thank you Madam Chair. Um, I also just wanted to highlight how much I appreciate the plan around training for developers that you've put in this and partnered with, um, the inspection services department on. And I, I very much hear the capacity issues of that department and think that's a, an important but separate conversation to this. I do really feel like, personally, I would rather see this bright line about what it is we expect from developers as it relates to where we want our residents to live, to be set sooner rather than later. So my preference is for July, um, just as we move toward this motion. Thank you.

▶ 1:23:56 Speaker 3: Thank you. Anyone else on discussion?

▶ 1:24:00 Speaker 3: Seeing none, Mr. Clerk

▶ 1:24:06 Speaker 2: Councillor McMaster? Yes. Councillor Ella? Yes. Councillor Repe? Yes. Councillor Chetty?

▶ 1:24:22 Speaker 1: Uh, No.

▶ 1:24:24 Speaker 2: Councillor Reky? Yes. Councillor Williams? No.

▶ 1:24:30 Speaker 2: President Gure?

▶ 1:24:36 Speaker 2: No. Five? Yes. A three No. Motion fails. And me, oh, I'm sorry.

▶ 1:24:41 Speaker 6: Um, No.

▶ 1:24:44 Speaker 2: Okay. So it's uh, four yes. And four nos. Uh, motion fails.

▶ 1:24:50 Speaker 3: Oh yes. And four nos. No.

▶ 1:24:54 Speaker 3: Okay. Motion fails when it's tied.

▶ 1:25:01 Ryan Williams: All right. Councilor Williams. I'll make a motion to recommend the order as originally presented to the full

▶ 1:25:05 Speaker 6: Counsel. Second.

▶ 1:25:07 Leila Migliorelli: Motion to recommend the order as originally presented to the full counsel made by Councilor Williams. Seconded by Councillor Ella. On discussion. Seeing none, Mr.

▶ 1:25:16 Speaker 3: Clerk

▶ 1:25:19 Speaker 2: Councillor McMaster?

▶ 1:25:24 Speaker 2: Yes. Councillor Ella? Yes. Councillor Oppe? No. Councillor Chetty. Yes. Cremsky? Yes. Councillor Williams. Yes. President Greg? Yes. And Chair Elli? Yes. That's 1 0 7. Yes. Motion passes.

▶ 1:25:43 Leila Migliorelli: Alright. Thank you very much. This, uh, count, this order will be brought to the next full council meeting with a recommendation for passage.