R-R comments and NESC_Minutes 2019-11-26
NORTHAMPTON ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY
COMMISSION
APPROVED MINUTES
November 26, 2019
City Council Chambers
212 Main Street, Northampton, MA 01060
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Voting Members: William Dwight • Wayne Feiden • Louis Hasbrouck • Alisa Klein • Adin Maynard •
Gordon Meadows • Ashley Muspratt • Richard Parasiliti • David Pomerantz • Tim
Smith • Ben Weil
Ex-officio, non voting: Chris Mason
Attendees: Wayne Feiden, Richard Parasiliti, Gordon Meadows, Ashley Muspratt, Alisa Klein, Adin
Maynard, Bill Dwight, Tim Smith, Louis Hasbrouck, Ben Weil
Facilitator: Chris Mason
Scribe: Douglas Renick
Bill Dwight moved and Gordon Meadows seconded a motion to put all the Climate Resiliency and
Regeneration Plan (CRRP) feedback documents received by the Energy Office into the minutes of this
meeting. Unanimous approval. Adele Franks submitted feedback some time ago and it will be included
in the minutes for this meeting.
Public Comment Period:
Lilly Lombard: Thanks for this discussion. It is exciting to see NESC energized. We are in a very
dangerous time. Headline in the Washington Post: UN says drastic action is the only thing to address the
dire situation. These are unprecedented times. NESC must act in an unprecedented way. Urgency
needed. Clear roadmap needed. A plan with metrics and goals needed. People stood in support of Lilly’s
comments. Cooperation by the Mayor and City Council are required. We have your backs.
Wave: climate change is a result of human behavior and it is beyond our control. Small stuff: gas leaf
blowers, too-wide mowers. The environmental quality has gone bad. Personal choices, if toxic to others,
like laundry fragrances, needs to be addressed.
Noah Casis of the Northampton mayor’s youth commission and representatives of the Sunrise
Movement (Saraphina Forman, Eli, Elijah, Willa Sippel): Climate emergency, climate crisis. We urge
the Commission to revise the Plan: change the name, use emergency language, look at 2030 as target for
carbon neutrality, add specific metrics, create a timeline for the long haul, increase the resources to
implement the Plan, support frontline communities, include youth voices in developing and monitoring
the Plan.
Denise Lello: Mothers Out Front statement. I don’t envy you your job. There are not unlimited
resources. How do we get regeneration out of our efforts? Aggressively going after the resources
required. Focus on impactful actions—regional battery storage, housing stock, commercial stock,
building code for zero emissions, time frame to match the urgency, action to change behaviors.
Emphasize the regeneration.
Ed Olmstead: It’s not just the climate emergency we are in, but also the war on facts and science. This is
an opportunity to talk to each other.
NORTHAMPTON ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY
COMMISSION
APPROVED MINUTES
November 26, 2019
City Council Chambers
212 Main Street, Northampton, MA 01060
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Voting Members: William Dwight • Wayne Feiden • Louis Hasbrouck • Alisa Klein • Adin Maynard •
Gordon Meadows • Ashley Muspratt • Richard Parasiliti • David Pomerantz • Tim
Smith • Ben Weil
Ex-officio, non voting: Chris Mason
James Lowenthal: Fantastic to have the commission. A model to develop. I teach climate change at
Smith. An exercise in class to keep within the 2 degree temperature limit. It is hard work. We have to do
it.
Review/approve minutes of 10/10/19 meeting: Bill Dwight moved and Gordon Meadows seconded a
motion to approve the minutes of the 10/10/19 meeting of the NESC. Unanimously approved.
Climate Resiliency and Regeneration Plan:
Gordon, on behalf of NESC small group (Ashley, Adin and Gordon): The introduction and synthesized
feedback from all Commission members will be included in the minutes. The group proposed forming
working groups. The CRRP is a work in progress. 55% cut in emissions by 2030 now required. Intensive
planning and resources required. Model an urgent pace. Recommends not adopting the CRRP now.
Forming working groups: energy transition, urban farms and forests, waste, transportation and mobility.
All groups will address equity issues. Recommendations will go to the Planning Office. Composition of
working groups will include at least one NESC member. Working groups: 3-6 members. Working
groups will be formed 11/15-25. We need to be ambitious to match the urgency of the work. We must be
significantly more aggressive in meeting goals. Stretch our goals. Move goal of net zero back from 2050
to 2030. Sunrise movement agrees. Mothers out Front says the city must move faster than 2050. In the
next ten years the required changes must happen. The intention is to vote on the document in this
meeting. Then form working groups. NESC must step up.
Wayne: I have nine slides I want to share. We agree there is an emergency. What’s the purpose of the
plan? How will this fit in Northampton Sustainability Plan? These recommendations will slow the
process of doing something now. I appreciate the work of the subgroup. We need a plan to get us to our
goal by 2030. Timeline: What kind of plan do we want? Carbon Neutrality for city buildings by 2030 –
yes. We need a roadmap now. Regeneration Framework slide. We don’t need working groups to work
on these items. What are things we should be moving on immediately? Let’s outline steps the City can
commit to right now. Yes, we need more brain power. We need open meetings. Can we get started?
Bill: the process of getting things implemented needs to be followed. Council creates law. Ordinance
proposed. Mayor has the ultimate authority related to departments. Council votes on budgetary issues.
NESC can make recommendations. Recommend to the mayor: appoint a working group who will speak
to the mayor. Make a modified plan with goals. Working group fleshes it out. Subgroup is not ready to
recommend that the Plan as is should go forward. A plan is best as a consensus builder. Cut out parts of
plan that are not useful. Adopt a framework for moving forwards.
NORTHAMPTON ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY
COMMISSION
APPROVED MINUTES
November 26, 2019
City Council Chambers
212 Main Street, Northampton, MA 01060
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Voting Members: William Dwight • Wayne Feiden • Louis Hasbrouck • Alisa Klein • Adin Maynard •
Gordon Meadows • Ashley Muspratt • Richard Parasiliti • David Pomerantz • Tim
Smith • Ben Weil
Ex-officio, non voting: Chris Mason
Alisa: difference bet policy and legislation. Take high level ideals, codify them and then figure out how
to implement them. Have a Councilor propose that 2030 be the goal for carbon neutrality. Use
legislation as a tool.
Bill: if we vote carbon neutral by 2030, then if you don’t meet the goal you violate the law. What does
carbon neutrality mean? What’s wrong with adopting the Plan as is? We are picking out a destination.
The details about how to get there is all that stuff we are working on. It’s the political dilemma. There
needs to be a cultural shift. The Plan gets us started. What the subgroup is suggesting is exciting. The
commission is engaged.
What is the subgroup’s concern about this plan? Adin: it’s not a framework. It’s not specific. It’s broad.
Not aligned. We need a functional framework. Sections of the Plan don’t have content.
Bill: dilemma is addressing the urgency and following the process. Timeline is ambitious. I want the
cultural shift. We are getting to work. Can we move forward soon? Put something into the Mayor’s
hand. Change the language to emergency. Wayne what do we want to do?
Ashley: the tone of plan has to change. Change the Plan before it is adopted. This plan does not carry the
weight of law. It is a guidepost.
Bill: we agree on the urgency. We agree on the timeline. Specificity not important to the plan. The
conversation is engaged. Express the urgency. Change the language.
Wayne: two ways forward: 1) provide a vision and framework but not details. Have the working groups
flesh it out. Or 2) wait for a more complete Plan before we move forward.
Chris: by calling it a plan it feels comprehensive. That’s not the purpose. Commission should focus on
the framework. Where do you set priorities? Urgency, timeline, areas to address--look at the plan
through these lenses. Strategic plan, but not specific.
Alisa: example is pesticide reduction process. A committee formed. Set a 4-month timeline. We came up
with a plan. Now creating legislation for the plan. If we set carbon neutral by 2030 as goal, then work on
how to meet that goal. Which pieces are legislative pieces, which will require mandated policies? Within
the next 6 months to a year we have a roadmap.
NORTHAMPTON ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY
COMMISSION
APPROVED MINUTES
November 26, 2019
City Council Chambers
212 Main Street, Northampton, MA 01060
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Voting Members: William Dwight • Wayne Feiden • Louis Hasbrouck • Alisa Klein • Adin Maynard •
Gordon Meadows • Ashley Muspratt • Richard Parasiliti • David Pomerantz • Tim
Smith • Ben Weil
Ex-officio, non voting: Chris Mason
Adin Maynard moved that the NESC endorse the intent and sentiment of the first page of the subgroup’s
Introduction. Bill Dwight seconded the motion. Discussion: Wayne stated that if the motion is passed as
is stating that the working groups must complete their work before the CRRP advances to City Council
all work by Planning & Sustainability on this will have to stop until the working groups are done.
Amendment: Edit the last bolded sentence of the introduction to read: “NESC will form a series of
working groups to add, rework, and enhance several key pathways for action.” Further discussion: Chris
is tasked with asking the City Solicitor how open meeting law will effect NESC working groups.
Vote: Motion as amended unanimously approved.
Next meeting: December 12. Agenda: forming working groups. Chris will talk to legal resources about
open meeting law issues. The Mayor working on how the chair of the Commission will be determined.
Adjournment: Bill Dwight moved and Richard Parasiliti seconded a motion to adjourn. Unanimously
approved.
.
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Northampton Energy & Sustainability Commission Comments on the 2019 Climate
Resilience and Regeneration Plan
November 14, 2019
___________________________________________________________________________
Introduction
The Northampton Energy and Sustainability Commission (NESC) recently completed a review
of the city’s 2019 Climate Resilience & Regeneration Plan (CRRP), a planning document
commissioned to provide a roadmap for Northampton’s response to the climate change
emergency as well as inform an update to the Sustainable Northampton Master Plan.
NESC finds the CRRP document wanting in several respects. Though well-meaning, the CRRP
lacks ambition, fails to delineate measurable outcomes, and leaves several critical policy gaps.
NESC therefore considers the CRRP as it now stands “a work in progress” and not ready
for adoption by the City Council or Mayor’s Office.
In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a warning that in order
to limit temperature rise to 1.5 C - and to avoid the most dire consequences of climate change -
net human-induced carbon emissions must fall by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030. Since global
emissions have continued to rise since 2010, today’s emissions now need to be cut by more
than half – 55% – in order to meet the 2030 target, at a minimum.
In the face of widespread climate in-action – at many levels of government – NESC believes
that climate-conscious cities like Northampton must dedicate intensive planning and commit a
new level of resources in order to take towards preparing for and mitigating climate change. We
believe Northampton possesses the public will to take such action, and must do so at a pace
that serves as a model for what is possible.
This call for action is intended to burden the city, but as an opportunity to demonstrate both local
and global leadership in building a thriving post-carbon economy and community. We
recommend that we take this opportunity to prove that decarbonization is achievable in mid-
sized cities and across socio-economic strata. This is an opportunity to assert a legacy
Northampton can be proud of, and one that reflects the values and creativity of this city’s
population.
NESC’s review of the CRRP (below) includes detailed comments, recommendations, and
suggested language insertions aimed at bolstering the document’s scope and efficacy. While
believe as a Commission that the incorporation of these comments alone is insufficient. As the
body responsible for advising and assisting the City in identifying, developing, implementing,
and managing programs and policies that combat climate change, NESC will form a series of
working groups to add, rework, and enhance several key pathways for action. NESC
recommends against the CRRP’s adoption and instead recommends our Commission
form a series of working groups to add, rework, and enhance several key pathways for
action in the CRRP before it advances to the City Council.
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The form, function, and timeline for the envisaged working groups is detailed below.
CRRP working groups
Proposed working groups:
Energy Transition
Urban Farms and Forests
Waste
Transportation and Mobility
The Commission believes that Equity should be incorporated as an integral and natural
component of each pathway for action and not segregated as its own “other” pathway to action.
Role of the Working Groups
Research best practices from other city’s climate action plans and activities;
Recommend specific actions, targets, and metrics for achieving the city’s climate
mitigation and resilience goals, and for measuring progress against them;
Solicit feedback and input on the proposed actions, targets, and metrics from relevant
city departments, including the Energy Office; and
Deliver comprehensive recommendations to NESC for review and ultimately submission
to the Planning Office. Once recommendations are sufficiently incorporated, the
enhanced CRRP will be advanced to the City Council for adoption.
Composition of the Working Groups & Recruitment
Each working group will be overseen by one or more NESC commissioners. Working groups will
comprise a minimum of three members and a maximum of seven, all of whom are recruited on a
volunteer basis. Any citizen of Northampton or city employee is eligible to be a member of a
working group.
The opportunity to volunteer for a working group will be advertised through media coverage in
the Gazette, through social media, and through direct outreach to target expert participants.
Timeline for the Working Groups and Adoption of Enhanced CRRP
Formation of working groups: November 15-25, 2019
Working groups return recommendations to NESC: January 31, 2020
NESC votes to submit recommendations to the Planning Office: February 13, 2020
NESC reviews Planning Office’s incorporation of recommendations: March 12, 2020 and
votes to advance to City Council
Resources
While NESC proposes volunteer-staffed working groups, the Commissioners recognize that,
going forward, the level of mobilization and action required of Northampton to pursue an
impactful climate mitigation strategy will take significant human resources (a point on which the
CRRP is silent). The Energy Coordinator’s office should serve as the hub for activities falling
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under the CRRP and as such, is in critical need of additional staff and resources whose role it is
to track and facilitate Northampton’s climate mitigation and resilience activities.
Detailed Comments on the CRRP
In light of NESC’s recommendation that working groups be formed to take deep dives into key
elements of the CRRP, the following comments serve to demonstrate the extent to which the
Plan has gaps and omissions. NESC does not consider these comments sufficiently
comprehensive, rather, they and comments submitted by other groups, shall serve as a starting
point for working groups.
I. Executive Summary and Introduction
The title of this document needs to include the term “mitigation”, as reducing carbon
emissions is the highest priority. Suggested title: “Northampton Climate Mitigation and
Resilience Plan”. We don’t know what “regeneration” means. All subsequent titles would
be similarly updated, adding the term “mitigation” and removing the term “regeneration”.
Executive summary should mention the urgency of cutting global GHG emissions by
45% of 2010 levels by 2030 in order to keep temperature from rising >1.5C (pp 5-6)
Building on past success (p 8): Add call-out box of successful urban forestry program.
2nd paragraph citing past successes, add “planted over 1000 public shade trees”
Figure 2 (p 9): Collective Actions for GHG Emissions Reductions, should include more
emphasis on the following:
Getting around. Expanding public transportation needs to be addressed here.
Our lifestyle. Expanding the urban tree canopy; improving public shade tree
protections.
Waste & Wastewater. Reduce waste generation should be added to “Reuse,
recycle and compost more”
Actions should include educating commercial entities and residents about
waste prevention strategies, especially food waste (N.B. 40% of the food
grown in the US is wasted, about 50% of that waste is generated by
households)
Summary Table
Energy (pp 11-12): 1A) Need to look at energy storage; Add planning for energy
storage; 2A) Add education around use of non-toxic building materials;
possibilities for promoting green roofs; 2) Add: “Target shade tree plantings
around municipal buildings to reduce energy consumption”; 3A) Add programs
that promote organic land management for private homes, businesses, municipal
areas; 3B) “Continue to protect...city’s forestland (add and urban forest) and its
capacity to …”; 3C) “...agricultural systems, including agriculture (add organic
systems),...”; 3E) Encourage carbon pricing at the state level
Water 1C (p 13): Produce a green infrastructure (add including a street tree
planting) plan…
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Waste (p 14): 1) The “Waste Reduction” section doesn’t address reduction at the
source; 2) Initiatives related to food waste prevention and food rescue/donation
are missing (e.g., establishing food rescue/donation programs in schools and
commercial entities)
Transportation (p 14): Improving bike safety of streets is missing (e.g., improved
bike lanes on King, Elm, Main Streets)
Human Experience 1 (p 15): Plant trees in EJ zones to promote walking
Education (p 15): Today’s youth are already engaged in working toward a
sustainable future for themselves. This section should create a plan for how to
support their advocacy efforts.
Health & Safety 2 (p 16): Build out the city’s “cooling capacity” through (add
street trees), parks and recreational sites. Insert: Map, identify and protect
existing and potential cool microclimates in urban residential zones
III. A Plan Crafted by Northampton
Nearly 10 pages about how this document was created doesn’t belong in the middle of the Plan
itself. It is a distraction and creates a disconnect between the executive summary and
substance of this document. This should be moved to an appendix.
IV. Pathways for Action: Our path to a carbon neutral and regenerative city
Pathway 3 (p 42):
If this section is about Energy Efficiency and Conservation, then in this section we must discuss
the pathway towards energy conservation and efficiency, as opposed to focusing on
benchmarking.
Suggested language:
The City of Northampton will take action to increase the efficiency of its buildings to the
maximum extent possible and at the same time switch all of its Heating, Ventilation, Air
Conditioning and any other fossil fuel usage over to electrically driven systems by the year
2030.
While undertaking efforts to increase efficiency and electrifying its HVAC systems, the city will
work with the utility companies to quantify the electricity demand of the City post electrification,
and develop generation and storage assets to match that and future demand.
The city will work not only on its own buildings, but also work with all available organizations,
businesses, and the utility companies to drive the conversion of privately owned buildings within
city limits to electrify their fossil fuel using systems (HVAC, transportation, other), and to build
out their own private electricity generation and storage assets.
Pathway 4 (p 42):
The goal of Zero Energy buildings should be inclusive of both new and existing building stock.
Note the recent report from the US Green Building Council, Zero Energy Buildings in MA:
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Saving Money from the Start, which found positive ROI in a matter of years for existing
buildings.
Suggested language:
All city buildings will be made Net Zero by 2030. This will be accomplished through energy
efficiency and the conversion of fossil fuel burning systems to electric. The city will then couple
renewable generation and storage assets with the buildings to match their energy demand with
zero emission sources, thus making the buildings Net Zero.
Pathway 5 (p 43):
The end goal of electrification is of course to be procuring energy from renewable sources; this
should be noted.
Suggested language:
The City will work with the utility companies to ensure that all electricity being supplied to the
City of Northampton is generated by renewable energy sources by 2030.
Pathway 7 (p 43): Sentence beginning with, “Northampton has made the use of sustainable
transportation modes…; investing in “complete streets” that make room for walkers and cyclists
within city roads; (add planting shade trees that improve the experience of walking and
biking;)...and helping to launch ValleyBike...In order to make further progress...further expand
the bike share program, (add plant more street trees)...as well as focus…
Pathway 8 (p 44):
This section talks about transportation but does not address the best use of land to decrease
carbon emissions.
Suggested language:
The siting of Solar PV generation assets as well as battery storage on land owned by the City of
Northampton will be planned for in order to meet the electricity demand of the city as well as its
residents. We recognize that we as a city must be prepared to produce enough renewable
electricity by 2030 to meet the electricity demand of the City and its residents as we convert to
electrified HVAC and Transportation systems.
Pathway 9 (pp 44-45): Carbon Sequestration and Offsets--this section strangely minimizes the
role of woody plants, notably mature trees, in storing and sequestering carbon. Yes, soil stores
carbon, but the way soil draws carbon from the atmosphere (which it needs to do, we all agree)
is when photosynthesizing plants take root and break down into it.
Second sentence "Urban areas, in particular, retain significant percentages of soil cover that
can positively contribute to regenerative land practices and climate change mitigation," does not
make sense to us.
The sentence “...these practices will likely become much more important strategies as the city’s
emissions approach zero” seems to ignore the reality that 1) mature urban trees take a human
lifetime to grow, so delaying action on carbon sequestration through tree planting is a poor
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strategy; and 2) mature urban trees are not only stores of carbon, but offer numerous co-
benefits that also lead to reduced carbon emissions (stormwater, building cooling, wind block,
walking/biking promotion, etc). Therefore, the urban tree’s net capacity to reduce carbon
emissions is greater than a tree of the same size in a stand in the forest.
Northampton Low-Case, Mid-Case, and High-Case GHG Emission Projection Graphs (pp 45-
47):
The current “low-” and “mid-cases” should be removed from the CRRP and the current “high-
case” should become the “low-case”, representing the City’s least aggressive path toward
carbon neutrality. Two new cases should be added, each representing increasingly aggressive
paths toward carbon neutrality.
Net zero must be applied to existing buildings as well.
Our path to climate adaptation and a resilient city
Pathway 1 (p 48): To what extent does the “Northampton Designs with Nature for stormwater”
include well-sited shade trees?
Pathway 3 (p 49): This paragraph is very general and confusing. What specifically is it
recommending, especially in relation to urban shade trees? Why are Energy 3A-3D all focused
on soil health?
Pathway 4 (p 49): The “discouraging Solar PV” is counterproductive to our urgent need to
address climate change.
Suggested language:
Preserving open space is critical, however, the City shall seek a pathway forward with land
management that both encourages the use of land as habitat for critical species, and a carbon
sink through preserved forests, but also promotes non forested land as a place where we can
generate sufficient renewable energy to power our city’s transition away from fossil fuels.
A portion of open space in the City must be dedicated to the production of renewable energy if
we are ever to become carbon neutral. This portion can best be determined through the study of
the full electricity demand of the City after converting all buildings and transportation to
electricity, and then determining the size of the renewable energy generation assets needed to
produce this amount of power, and then dedicating that much of our open space to that
production. This is our pathway to Net Zero.
Pathway 5 (p 50): In line with the existing language in this section we would like to see a few
specifics. Smith Voc could be an excellent place to site renewable generation and storage
assets with the purpose of using these assets as training tools. We believe that this could be
stated in this section. Students can be trained in installation, system maintenance, and grid
interface. This is an opportunity to change the future. We can train the workers that will be
needed for the economy of the next 40 years, which will be based upon converting our energy
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infrastructure from one that is based in carbon fuels to one that is based in renewable
generation, distribution, and storage.
Second column, in the sentence, “These could include job training or career development in
areas such as…” replace: “climate-resilient street tree care” with “urban forestry”
Northampton framework for resilience and regeneration
Regeneration (p 52).
The Respect Resource Limits component should replace “reuse waste” with
“...emissions, and material reuse, repurposing, and upcycling”.
In Stewardship add “protect natural ecosystems”
Resilience. The “Strong & Healthy Community” component should do more to address
local social issues such as houselessness, food insecurity, and aging in place among
others. There should be a plan for working cross-sector and with local organization to
tackle these issues in a holistic way.
V. Action Plan: The Resilience and Regeneration Strategies
We recommend this section open with an overarching strategy for implementing
mitigation and resilience goals, including:
Dedicated staff for orchestrating, measuring, monitoring progress
A plan for measuring and monitoring progress (metrics specified for each
category and a minimum frequency at which they will be measured)
A plan for establishing a local carbon market to mobilize investment in carbon
offset/reduction projects, particularly with an emphasis on using it as a tool to
achieve equitable climate mitigation and resilience. A local carbon market should
be elevated as a tool and strategy for achieving cross-cutting climate mitigation
goals, not buried in “Energy 3E” as a tangential possibility and as something tied
strictly to energy.
Each thematic area (e.g., Energy, Water) should open with a summary of clear, time-
specific commitments and targets. For an “Action Plan” we feel it is extremely weak on
goals and actions. This plan needs to shift from “consider” to “do”.
“Urban Food and Forestry” should be its own dedicated category, inserted between
“Water” and “Waste”
All Categories 1A (p 56): We strongly support the concept of setting “long term and annual
carbon budget with allowed carbon emissions allocated to each department and the
community…”
We would like to see this concept elevated in the CRRP by referencing it elsewhere,
including the Executive Summary, in the “Northampton Framework for Resilience and
Regeneration” pie chart under Resilience as “Carbon-budgeted operations”
Even if specific details are omitted, we would like to see acknowledgment of the steps
and resources required to implement and operate a city-wide carbon budget
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Energy 1A (p 57):
In the sentence, “Program goals also include incorporating energy storage and other
tactics to reshape the load profile to reduce peak energy periods.” we suggest extending
the sentence to say “...energy periods, and to enable deployment of PV generated
power at night.”
Energy 1B (p 58):
Explore public-private partnerships to expand renewable energy on private property.
Ground-mounted installations are typically more economically viable than building
canopies and should be explored as a priority.
PV mounted parking structures, and other approaches higher cost, should be considered
after the more cost-effective ground mount options have been exhausted.
Energy 1C (p 58): The Microgrid for the hospital and emergency services: Is $3.1M enough?
That sounds like a very low number.
Perform public outreach and awareness of the distributed energy resources, to build
support for this public investment
Energy 2A (p 60):
Edit Title and scope of 2A to be more encompassing, to include evolving the real-estate
market to value building energy performance.
Recommended new title: Evolve the real estate market to encourage greater
investment in building energy retrofits and high-performance new buildings.
Language focusing on building energy disclosures must include building types
that, city wide, account for more energy waste than large buildings. Note that a
disclosure policy does not change energy itself, but is a tool that moves the
market, which encourages greater private investment in building energy retrofits.
Encourage the real-estate market to include/require:
Energy performance metrics on MLS listings
Energy assessments at time of property sale (building upon state-wide efforts).
Disclosures:
1-4 unit residential should be included in the energy disclosure ordinance. These
building types are largely underserved by energy efficiency programs.
Establish a public opt-in database of historical heating and cooling costs to
feature and celebrate good performing housing units.
As a disclosure policy may be difficult politically and legally, establish a reward
system (carrot not stick) approach to gaining buy-in from property owners.
Use established tool kits for shaping a disclosure ordinance, such as the one
published by ACEEE
Engage Columbia Gas and National Grid to provide energy consumption data at
a resolution useful for driving public participation in a disclosure act.
Work with regional lenders and the DOER (State) to develop a local PACE Financing
tool for commercial and residential buildings.
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Work with regional lenders to design user friendly ‘green financing’ tools, including EEM
(Energy Efficiency Mortgages). These must be user friendly and easily marketable.
References to job training should include leveraging existing state funded clean energy
internship programs. Suggest moving this to Education action section, so it is inclusive
of all Actions.
Remove reference to Energy Star Portfolio. For Northampton’s building types (no high
rises), this is excessively complex and not especially helpful.
Annual Awards reference - have a more encompassing reference to a rewards system to
encourage building retrofit investments. Use rewards as a motivator for participation in
voluntary energy disclosure with an ultimate goal of motiving greater investment in
energy retrofits
Energy 2B ( p 61):
There is an opportunity to broaden this strategy to be inclusive of programs beyond the
Heat Smart model. Programs modeled after the Solarize program (which Heat Smart
was modeled after) are characterized by being well planned, community driven, targeted
marketing, promotional pricing, bulk buying, gamified, strong public/private partnerships.
Though more difficult, this model can expand to additional components of building
energy retrofits, such as advanced energy assessments, insulation, weatherization,
indoor air quality (ventilation/moisture management), residential EV charging, domestic
hot water, etc.
Recommended edit name: Launch more programs,based on the ‘Solarize’
model, to encourage building energy retrofits and electrification
Add: Compared to previous Heat Smart program, establish stronger partnerships with
existing rate-payer funded energy efficiency incentive programs, including the new Mass
Save Renovations & Additions program.
Greater focus on ease of participation and bundling of incentives.
Job trainings, internships, and school partnerships should be encompassed in the
Education strategy section
Remove reference to GSHP (ground source). In our market they are simply not
competitive for the far majority of building types. Poor recommendation
Energy 2C (p 61):
Reference previous zoning-based efforts that require high density to be more efficient
than code
Quotient system should reference HERS index, as it is already required by code.
Energy 2D (p 62):
Title- remove ‘net’ from title, change to ‘ all new buildings to be zero energy ready. ‘(no
‘standard’)
Building energy codes are not under the jurisdiction of the City.
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Phased approach of 5-10 years is not aggressive enough: Zero energy ready homes are
very close to the current code built home in many respects.
The CRRP should identify the established DOE Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH)
certification program as the NZE building standard.
ZERH is a logical step above current energy code required HERS requirements.
As we cannot change the building codes, explore ways to incentivize ZERH
certified projects, including awards, competitions, tax abatements, and
recognition.
Advocate for utility incentive programs that are above code
In addition to NZE standards, include encouragement of well-placed shade trees near
building to reduce energy needs.
Energy 2E (p 62):
This strategy is vague and includes items that fall under additional sections (financing, Solarize
programs) . Recommended to move all financing/real estate market references to section
Energy 2A .
Edit this strategy to focus on leveraging and partnering with utility and government incentive
programs to grow a culture of energy retrofits using available incentive programs. Resources
supporting energy retrofits are an import precursor to building electrification.
leverage private/public partnerships to encourage the local home performance
contracting workforce
Propose tailored energy efficiency pilot programs to utility companies
Use existing City sets and GIS capabilities to map opportunities for retrofits, and
renewable energy system development and to identify neighborhood scale
targeted marketing opportunities
Leverage the new market-based Mass Save Renovations & Additions rebate
program to streamline HEAT loan and utility rebates
Energy 3B: Open space acquisition should include land to be purchased for the purpose of
installing Solar PV, and Grid Scale Storage.
Expand the first right of refusal to include open space/agricultural to support PV until we hit net
neutrality.
How can we work together to come up with an agreed upon balance between the need for
carbon sink, and the need for renewable generation. If all of our land was kept for carbon
sequestration how much could we sequester? Would it be enough for us to be carbon neutral
without producing renewable power? If not, is it really enough? How much carbon dioxide does
the city produce as a whole? Do we have that number?
Until we get the City’s CO2 emissions down to a level that our forests can sequester, we must
be committed to reducing emissions.
I disagree with the sentiment of these
comments (they are also in contrast to Rich's
comments) and don't think they belong in a section
about "protecting forestland and its capacity to store
carbon"
I stand by everything I say here. It is
an important point in how we use out land. We cannot
plant enough trees to stop our contribution to global
warming. We can however, put up enough solar
panels.
11
Continue to protect, grow and enhance the city’s (add urban canopy), forestland and its
capacity to store carbon, while also allocating enough land for clean energy generation.
Add 1-2 paragraphs here on urban tree canopy including the importance of preserving
existing mature urban trees. This especially includes stands of trees that not only store
carbon but create micro-climates whose cooling effects ripple out in otherwise hot zones.
See recent research on wide variance of temperatures in cities due to presence/absence
of trees.
Energy 3C (p 66):
Change title to “Support education and training in urban forestry, regenerative
agriculture systems,...”
Here, there could be an entire paragraph on urban forestry. UMass Stockbridge has an
urban forestry program that could be highlighted
If we are allowed to mandate Riparian Buffers, we suggest that they city does so.
Water (p 68): What is the plan for capturing water so that it can be used in periods of drought?
Is there a plan for storing water for times of drought that can be supplied to our farms?
Waste 1. Waste Reduction (p 73): This section doesn’t actually address reduction it addresses
diversion of the same volumes of waste from disposal. There should be explicit actions toward
reducing the waste people and businesses generate in the first place. This section could target
single-use plastic and food waste in particular. Reduction in food and other types of waste are
where real GHG emissions reductions are achieved.
The content of the current “Waste Reduction” section should be re-titled: “Waste 2.
Waste Diversion”, and should come after the insertion of a new waste reduction section.
As part of the CRRP, Northampton should strengthen regulations around construction
and demolition debris and mandate or incentivize deconstruction and recovery of
building materials.
Several contractors in the area perform deconstruction and residents/contractors
have ready access to EcoBuilding Bargains in Springfield for donating recovered
building materials (e.g., doors, windows, flooring, cabinets, sinks, toilets, fixtures,
etc).
Cities across the country are adopting Zero Waste Plans, including Boston, Philadelphia,
Austin, Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco among others. A plan for achieving Zero Waste
should be in the CRRP.
Massachusetts already has an organics waste ban for commercial entities generating
more than 1 t food waste/week. It’s going down to 0.5 t/week by 2021. Northampton
should actively encourage all commercial entities to participate in organics diversion;
shared food waste totes and service would help make it more affordable.
12
Waste 1A (p 73): Diversion programming in schools should also include food rescue and
donation, both internally using share tables, and externally to food banks/non-profits serving
food insecure individuals.
Transportation 1A (p 75):
Safer biking conditions on main roads throughout the city are necessary for making a
larger portion of the population feel comfortable with bike commuting. There’s no
mention of improved bike lanes in the CRRP.
The CRRP should address expansion of public transportation and the role the city/Mayor
can play in that.
Second paragraph, second sentence revision: “Invest in sidewalks, (add street trees),
and complete streets…”
Transportation 1C (p 76): If allowable, Northampton should mandate that “all” new construction
includes EV Charging.
Education 1 (p 80): Expand education strategy to include job training, and leveraging state
funded internship programs.
Include vocational training for high school students in the clean energy and
energy efficiency industries.
Health & Safety 2A (p 86): Title: Build out the city’s cooling capacity through (add street trees),
parks and recreational sites
Note here tree planting zones that are identified high public benefit/high priority by the Public
Shade Tree Commission:
High traffic corridors
Environmental justice areas
Retail districts
Parking lots
Walking/biking corridors
Bus stops
Community centers such as schools & health facilities
Health & Safety 3B (p 88): Conduct a tree and forest ecosystems vulnerability and adaptations
assessment
It is unclear whether street trees are included but it sounds like it's only referring to "stands" of
trees, which are not defined. Please define.
This assessment should include forest microclimates within urban residential zones (especially
those at risk of conversion) that provide vital function to surrounding neighborhoods including
reducing heat island effect, violent storm buffering, and storm water mitigation.
13
COMMENTS ON DRAFT
CLIMATE RESILIENCE & REGENERATION PLAN
The draft CRRP is an impressive compilation of the many consequences that climate
change will have, whether mild or grave, on the life of Northampton. The list of actions
proposed for the mitigation of these consequences is similarly comprehensive and,
though well thought out, strikes me as largely aspirational at this point. Numerous,
commissions, committees and working groups--involving both city personnel and
volunteers--are envisioned and the cost of many of the proposed actions is high, yet the
draft plan says little about whether new city staff positions will be required to accomplish
the stated goals and how money will be raised to fund the many initiatives. According to
the Action Plan, Planning and Sustainability will bear an enormous share of the
leadership and it is not clear how this will be managed.
While I have a passing acquaintance with many of the issues raised in the draft plan, I
have little expertise in any of them. That said, as the draft itself explains, the lion's share
of the green house gas emissions that are slated for reduction result from buildings and
transportation, and it is these two sectors that must receive the most attention.
Community electric aggregation seems like a very productive avenue, as does
improving public transportation based on non-fossil-fuel-using vehicles. Other initiatives
are important though lacking in large-scale effects. Overall, as others have already
noted, there is too little attention in the draft plan on the timelines and metrics which
should be spelled out in much greater detail, i.e., how long do we have and how are we
going to measure success? To achieve a 50% reduction in green house gas emissions
will take a tremendous effort and I fear that a target of 50% reduction by 2035 is too
leisurely to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
A few items in the Action Plan drew my particular attention.
-Management practices to enhance soil carbon storage in parks and agricultural lands
are surely worth pursuing, though they will not have a very large effect on mitigating
climate change within the next 30 years (Energy 3A, 3C).
-As the draft plan notes, the city's forestland affords many benefits: water retention,
cleaner and cooler air, and, of course carbon sequestration (Energy 3B). Unfortunately,
the importance of forest land as wildlife habitat seems not to have made it onto the list.
In this regard, the further acquisition of forested land, especially in wildlife corridors, is
an important goal.
-The re-forestation of open land should be treated with caution as the state as a whole,
and Northampton in particular, is deficient in undeveloped grassland and shrubland
which provide critical habitat for many animal and plant species that do not use forests.
Grasslands and shrublands must be included in the mix alongside forests.
-Planting trees in the urban landscape, which des not appear to have received much
attention in the draft plan, definitely improves esthetics, provides cooling, and aids
carbon sequestration; it's a very good move. Nonetheless, the beneficial effects of such
trees will take time given their slow growth and may not be significant within the 30-year
time scale of the plan.
-In the Health and Safety Action Plan, assessments of ecosystem vulnerability, the
maintenance of habitat connectivity for both plants and animals, and the control of
invasive plants are important measures to take in the face of climate change. The
development of educational material on the management of vector-borne diseases also
makes sense, though the conduct of research on these matters by the city doesn't.
These comments reflect my personal reactions to the draft CRRP and do not
necessarily represent the views of Broad Brook Coalition, of which I am President.
Moreover, they are based on a rather hurried reading of the draft CRRP and have not
benefited from more thoughtful consideration of the many actions proposed in this
document.
Bob Zimmermann
November 25, 2019
To: Mr. Chris Mason
From: George Kohout, President
Friends of Northampton Trails
Date: November 25, 2019
Re: Northampton Climate and Resiliency Plan
I am writing on behalf of the Friends of Northampton Trails (FNT) with comments on the draft
climate plan (NCRRP). Our Board of Directors and approximately 250 members are very
appreciative of the time, energy and creativity applied to this plan by volunteer residents and
city staff. The stated goal of making Northampton carbon-neutral by 2050 is wonderful … but
of course the devil is in the details of this NCRRP.
Our comments are focused primarily on the Transportation and Human Experience sections
of the plan. Please consider incorporating these suggestions into the appropriate sections
• There is a lack of specific metrics for many of the activities and projected outcomes
detailed in the plan. The City developed a similar planning report in 2006 titled
Sustainable Northampton that incorporated metrics for long-term & short-term goals. A
review of this plan by the committee could inform the development of relevant metrics
aligned to each category in the NCCRP. Adding metrics to the Summary Tables (pages
11-17) might be appropriate.
• In the Transportation section (page 77) more emphasis could be placed on promoting
alternative transportation options beyond the Valley Bikes (which are great!). There
should be a greater incentive to build separated bike lanes on our connector streets,
collaborations with businesses to develop employee incentives that reward alternatives
single occupancy vehicle commutes and creative strategies, starting with city
employees, to limit car-centric commutes to work.
• The incorporation of a Climate-smart curriculum into the K-12 system is a great
concept. An added component of the curriculum could be focused on alternative
transportation systems and awareness e.g. using public transportation (PVTA) and
bicycle safety guidelines. These discussions and hands-on activities would legitimize
the options of alternative transportation at an early age.
Thank you for drafting this NRCCP and incorporating input from Northampton residents in this
review and other stages of the process.
Jonathan Goldman
589 Burt's Pit Road
Florence, MA 01062
Driving to a meeting as the BBC Newshour played on the radio, I listened to Anne Olhoff, one of
the original drafters of the Climate Paris Accords talk with exhaustion. She noted how, yes, it's
fantastic to see both government and the business markets beginning to pay attention to climate
change but that their sense of urgency is still far behind where it needs to be. She described this
as a cognitive dissonance as politicians and business leaders try to tell the world they're fighting
for us while simultaneously not listening to our cries for urgency in addressing this climate crisis.
We're not making a sacrifice by focusing our resources on protecting the environment; we're
making an investment in our future so we have a future.
I'm proud to see Northampton taking steps to address the climate crisis. When I was chair of the
Northampton Mayor's Youth Commission, one of our priorities was the plastic bag ban. With
Northampton's Climate Resilience and Regeneration plan now before us, it's important to take
into consideration the points I noted above: we must approach this like a crisis and we must be
clearer in how we will meet our goals.
While the climate plan includes many many steps Northampton must take to counteract climate
change, there is a lack of urgency. Without strict deadlines and timelines for how those goals
will be achieved, we're kicking the can down the road. We need to set actual dates on these
projects. Without those dates pressing down on us, we will not be pressured with the urgency
needed to take action.
I would also like there to be metrics tied to how we are determining we've met these goals. For
example, community aggregation plans vary widely and without metrics determining what
counts as success, we're leaving too much room to institute weak plans that don't achieve our
goals.
Lastly, I believe it is important to note how urgent this truly is while simultaneously showing the
pathway towards hope. By only instilling fear, we lose but by showing the urgency and what we
need to do, we instil hope.
When we implement this plan, let's not pat ourselves on the back for just taking action but let's
put together a plan which leads the way for other cities and towns. Let's make this a blueprint
for guiding the way. A plan which doesn't recognize the urgency, lacks clear metrics, and
doesn't have deadlines will not lead the way.
We're Northampton. We don't want to fall in line with making progress; we want to lead that
progress. We may be small but we're loud and leaders in progressive policies. Let's ensure this
policy follows that same mindset and make the changes necessary to make this a successful
climate plan for the future.
Thank you,
Jonathan Goldman
Chris Mason <cmason@northamptonma.gov>
Comments on NCRRP
1 message
Nancy Polan <nancypolan@gmail.com>Thu, Nov 14, 2019 at 3:22 PM
To: cmason@northamptonma.gov
Northampton Area League of Women Voters comments on
Northampton Climate Resilience and Regeneration Plan
Dear Mr. Mason,
I am writing on behalf of the Northampton League of Women Voters with comments on the draft climate plan (NCRRP). Thank
you to all who contributed to this comprehensive plan to reach climate and resiliency goals for 2050. We applaud the deep
commitment and dedication of our community leaders to making Northampton carbon neutral by 2050, while growing the
economy, and providing equity.
The efforts by Northampton to work regionally is commendable, particularly with the Community Choice Aggregation 3.0
Program. We urge the town of Northampton to take leadership in launching this program within the next year. It is very
encouraging that Representatives Mindy Domb, Lindsay Sabadosa, and Senator Jo Comerford are champions of this program and
want to hold it up as a model to be used across the state. Now is the time to put it into action!
We offer the following recommendations to make the NCRRP more powerful.
· 1. Add to the introduction a statement that acknowledges that from this day forth, everything the city does will be to reduce the
severity and speed of our climate crisis. This plan directs how Northampton will take actions that reflect the immediacy of the
situation and make it a resilient city.
· 2. Declare that all actions will be made on evidence-based, current climate science. The excellent comments submitted to you
by the Tree Committee are based on current science, specifically the latest report on the major role of forests to sequester carbon,
and provide many ecosystem services. The Tree Committee recognizes the important role of trees in cities and their plan should be
incorporated into this plan and the Master Plan.
· 3. Without a roadmap, this plan is powerless. It is critical that this plan be built on a strong, clearly defined roadmap with a
detailed timeline that describes when measurable outcomes will be assessed, whether goals were met, and adjustments made based
on new science and technology, and falling prices. How and when will data be collected to track carbon emissions? In what year
will the city:
begin to transition to zero-emission vehicles in its municipal fleet?
will all school buses be zero emission vehicles?
will all Northampton properties operate with 100 percent renewable energy?
How aggressively will the city find state grants for these and other clean energy projects? What is the specific
timeline for improving building efficiency and all net-zero construction?
The good news for the committee writing this draft plan, is that they can build a powerful roadmap and timeline using the
excellent format found in the climate plan for the city of Evanston, IL Climate Action and Resilience Plan.
Creating a strong roadmap for climate action should be done at all levels of government. Representative Sabadosa and
City of Northampton Mail - Comments on NCRRP https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ik=b9d2eb11a2&view=pt&search=all...
1 of 2 11/18/2019, 8:54 AM
Senator Comerford are champions of a bill to create a state-wide roadmap and timeline for reaching our climate goals for
2050. The League of Women Voters are strong supporters of this bill - H. 832.
With the addition of these changes, the Northampton climate plan will be a very effective tool for guiding Northampton in
the energy revolution, meeting it’s climate goals, and making it a resilient, prosperous community.
Thank you for considering our comments.
Nancy Polan
nancypolan@gmail.com
Legislative Director
Northampton Area League of Women Voters
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City of Northampton Mail - Comments on NCRRP https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ik=b9d2eb11a2&view=pt&search=all...
2 of 2 11/18/2019, 8:54 AM
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Northampton Draft Climate Plan
1 message
NICHOLAS WARREN <Warren4023@msn.com>Mon, Nov 11, 2019 at 4:48 PM
To: "cmason@northamptonma.gov" <cmason@northamptonma.gov>
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City of Northampton Mail - Northampton Draft Climate Plan https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ik=b9d2eb11a2&view=pt&search=all...
1 of 1 11/12/2019, 9:51 AM
Chris Mason <cmason@northamptonma.gov>
Message for the Energy and Sustainability Commission
1 message
Katharine Baker <bakerkg@comcast.net>Mon, Nov 11, 2019 at 1:46 PM
To: cmason@northamptonma.gov
To Chris Mason and the Energy and Sustainability Commission:
I understand that you will be discussing the City’s draft climate plan at your upcoming meeting. As I am unable to attend, I wish
to submit this written comment:
In looking at the plan, I notice that Northampton Neighbors is listed as a community partner. I am also surprised to see
Northampton Neighbors identified on page 78 of the draft plan, Human Experience 1A, Engaged Communities, Launch a Strong
and Healthy Neighborhoods Program, as an organization whose members will “assess what it takes to enhance the resilience of
particular neighborhoods.” We are also expected to “identify specific actions” to implement this component of the plan.
I believe that a City-wide Climate Resiliency plan, including action steps, is an excellent idea, and the City certainly needs one.
However Northampton Neighbors and its Board of Directors will need to be involved in planning any tasks our organization may
be expected to implement. Currently we are a two-year-old non-profit, with a small annual budget, and just one part-time
Administrator, so we will need funding to expand her hours or hire an additional employee who can create, manage, and
coordinate the Neighborhood Teams described on page 78 of the draft plan.
At this time I request that the draft plan be rewritten in a way that does not include expectations for Northampton Neighbors
which we may not be able to fulfill without considerable consultation with the City.
Katharine Baker, President, Board of Directors
Northampton Neighbors
City of Northampton Mail - Message for the Energy and Sustainability ... https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ik=b9d2eb11a2&view=pt&search=all...
1 of 1 11/12/2019, 9:29 AM
Chris Mason <cmason@northamptonma.gov>
Comments on Climate Resilience and Regeneration Plan
1 message
Sunrise Northampton <sunrisenorthampton@gmail.com>Thu, Nov 14, 2019 at 11:15 AM
To: Chris Mason <cmason@northamptonma.gov>
Dear Members of Northampton’s Energy and Sustainability Commission,
As the Sunrise Movement Hub of Northampton, we unfortunately cannot attend the meeting this afternoon, but we
have a few comments on the Climate Resilience and Regeneration Plan.
Sunrise is a movement of young people fighting the climate crisis. We care about combating climate change
because we are scared for our futures. Failing to adequately address the climate crisis is just not an option. In
the last year, Sunrise Northampton has hosted a Green New Deal Town Hall with Rep McGovern, Claire Higgins,
and Mayor Narkewicz; held an action at the August Democratic National Committee meeting where the DNC
unanimously passed a resolution supporting a climate debate; planned the May 3rd and May 24th climate strikes
in front of city hall; and helped to bring 13 buses from Western Mass to the September 20th Climate Strike in
Boston. We have also created and helped pass a Northampton Green New Deal resolution, and hosted watch
parties for the presidential debates. We would love to see the Climate Resilience and Regeneration Plan back up
the Green New Deal resolution <http://bit.ly/noho-gnd> that the city council has passed.
First of all, we think that the plan does not sufficiently acknowledge the severity and urgency of the climate crisis.
As Greta Thunberg says, our house is on fire. We do not see this kind of emergency language in the resiliency
plan. For example, even calling it a “Climate Resilience and Regeneration Plan” suggests a future security that
we cannot expect. While a balance between mitigation and adaptation is critical, we think there is an
overemphasis on the latter. The truth is that adaptation is but a short term solution that will not address the
climate crisis and will not save our futures or future generations. Emphasizing mitigation and how we can help
prevent the climate crisis before it’s too late, rather than just lessening its impacts, is important to us. We think
language such as “Climate Emergency Action Plan” or at least “Climate Mitigation and Resilience Plan” would be
much better. The plan should explicitly contain language that indicates climate emergency.
We also think that the plan must explicitly contain much more aggressive goals and actions. We noticed a lack of
specificity in the plan, and as youth, we can’t afford to gamble on the will of future politicians to carry out a vague
plan. Specific metrics are necessary. Also, some of the points in the plan are not aggressive enough. In order to
protect our futures, carbon neutrality by 2050 is not enough. If, as the 2018 IPCC report mandates, we achieve
carbon neutrality by 2050, we will have only a 50% chance of stopping the worst effects of climate change. For
young people who are facing these effects, a 50% chance is not enough. In addition, carbon neutrality by 2030
must be on a global level, which means that when equity (developing countries) are taken into account, highly
developed places like Northampton must cut carbon emissions even more. For these reasons we would like
Northampton’s goal to be carbon neutrality by 2030. We understand that people have called this goal
unachievable or aspirational, but the truth is that we must do whatever it takes to hit that goal, whether it currently
seems achievable or not, because the goal is what we must meet in order to fight extinction. We want
Northampton to lower its pledge of carbon neutrality to 2030, and have actions to support that goal in the plan.
We would like to see a timeline detailing the specific steps that will be taken.
In addition, the plan must recognize that we need new resources in order to reach the high goals mentioned in the
previous paragraph. For example, the report should recommend an expansion of the current Energy Office
City of Northampton Mail - Comments on Climate Resilience and Regen... https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ik=b9d2eb11a2&view=pt&search=all...
1 of 2 11/14/2019, 2:31 PM
staffing. The goals that we need are ambitious, and the response should not be to lower the goals to those that
we think are “achievable,” but rather to mobilize and raise our ability to achieve goals that will save lives. With the
current system, this does not seem possible, so considerable new resources must be allocated.
Finally and possibly most importantly, we think that the current plan fails to adequately acknowledge climate
justice. For instance, the words “frontline community” or "frontline communities” are mentioned 0 times in the
entire 97-page document, and “people of color” are only mentioned twice. People of color, low-income folks,
disabled people, and other disenfranchised groups are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis and yet
have contributed to it the least. Climate justice needs to be a top priority of any climate action plan. While we were
glad that these groups were addressed in the current plan, we would like to see more of an emphasis on frontline
communities and more explicit actions taken to support them.
We are grateful to grow up in such a great city as Northampton, and we hope it will continue to live up to its
progressive reputation by protecting our futures. As young people scared for our lives, we are lucky to live in a
community that is fighting alongside us. Northampton is in a position to take a leadership role and show other
cities how to treat climate change as a crisis and take effective action. However, we still have not seen the city
acknowledge the urgency of this crisis.
Moving forward, we’d really appreciate it if we could be looped in and involved in revisions of this plan and future
climate-related projects. The youth provide a perspective that can be valuable to this process, and really need to
be heard and listened to. We understand that we’re coming to this from a position of less experience with this
work, but we also, as you know, are the ones who will be experiencing the worst effects of climate change.
Sunrise is an organization that is founded on representing youth voices, and us all working together is an
opportunity to begin an intergenerational dialogue that is invaluable to the cause. It’d also be an opportunity for
Northampton to be a leader in comprehensive and inclusive climate resiliency.
Best,
Saraphina Forman, age 16
Willa Sippel, age 17
Jordan Winsor, age 17
Co-coordinators of Sunrise Northampton
sunrisenorthampton.org
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2 of 2 11/14/2019, 2:31 PM
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pat@growfoodnorthampton.com
August 30, 2019
Comments on Draft Northampton Climate Resilience and Regeneration Plan
These comments on the draft Northampton Climate Resilience and Regeneration Plan
(NCRRP) are submitted on behalf of Climate Action Now, Western Massachusetts
(CAN).* Specific comments by section are inserted into a pdf copy of the NCRRP draft
separately provided (see document named “CAN comments on NCRRP draft plan 8 20
19.pdf), with general comments and other suggestions provided below in this document.
The NCRRP draft (hereafter referred to as the “Plan”) presents an admirable set of
aspirational goals for Northampton and reflects a great deal of time and dedication on
the part of city staff. The Mayor’s proclamation that Northampton will become carbon
neutral by 2050 is inspiring and consequential.
However, the Plan should acknowledge that we are in a state of climate emergency with
the IPPC having announced the next 11 years as the most critical in reducing carbon
emissions to avoid tipping points after which we face much more grave consequences.
The Plan therefore needs to establish targets for achieving rapid progress, with
scheduled assessments to assure that we are achieving them. If the goal is carbon
neutrality by 2050 (in 30 years) then we should be well over half way to our goal by
2035. The IPCC recommends overall emissions elimination of 45% by 2030, which is
acknowledged in the Plan on page 45. The Plan then presents “Low-Case, Mid-Case
and High-Case” GHG emissions projections on pages 45-47 but disappointingly does
not commit to achieving the “High-Case” scenario, which is the only one that achieves
the necessary 45% reduction by 2030. We recommend that a firm commitment be made
to achieving this goal.
The Plan needs to specify what metrics will be used for measurement of our progress in
each sector. For each proposed measure, the timeframe for achievement should be
given in years (rather than the short, medium and long-term designations). The absence
of clear metrics and timeframes gives the impression of weak commitment to the
achievement of these goals.
In addition, the plan should give recognition to the fact that achieving our ambitious
goals will take massive commitment and coordination at the municipal, state, regional &
federal levels, and that a municipal action plan is an incomplete but necessary piece of a
larger campaign.
The current draft of the Plan does not distinguish between actions that a municipality can
undertake under current laws and regulations, and those that require advocacy to
change state policy to achieve. The categories for action that require changes in state
law or state building codes should clearly acknowledge that municipal strategies need to
consist of persuasive and determined advocacy. In those cases, the Plan should specify
what mechanisms for advocacy will be explored (municipal resolutions, letters to state
officials, communication with legislators, endorsement of legislation, communication with
the Governor, efforts within regional agencies, efforts within the Massachusetts
Municipal Association etc.)
Those categories for action that are possible to achieve municipally (e.g. via zoning
changes) should be clearly delineated.
In the Summary Table (pages 11-17) the column that includes categorization of ‘policy,
program, capital improvement’ etc. should be replaced with one containing information
about what categories of actions are needed e.g. city council ordinance or order, zoning
change, advocacy for change in state law or regulation etc.
Regarding the health of shade trees and forest, we wholeheartedly endorse the
comments of the Shade Tree Commission and have refrained from making many other
comments in these sections.
Other specific suggestions:
In the Energy section we suggest adding a strategy of outreach to community members
and landscapers to eliminate the use of gas-powered leaf blowers and mowers.
In the Energy section we suggest adding a strategy of requiring energy audits as part of
permit applications for any building renovations/additions.
In the Energy section we suggest adding a strategy of providing city incentives for
farmers in the floodplain to plant perennial crops, minimize tilling, and use other methods
to stabilize soil and increase its ability to absorb flood waters. This would decrease flood
danger and provide an example for other farmers.
In the Waste section, we suggest adding a strategy of reducing the source of waste by
eliminating disposable plastic bottles, packaging and Styrofoam via ordinance. We
suggest a 1-year timeframe for eliminating Styrofoam and single use water bottles, and
2-3 years for packaging.
*The CAN Steering Committee members who are residents of Northampton include:
Marty Nathan, Adele Franks, Susan Theberge, Sharon Moulton, and Tina Ingmann.
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