Let our towns build green!

The Green Communities Act of 2008 empowered individual cities and towns in the Commonwealth to adopt additional energy-conservation requirements beyond those found in the Massachusetts State Building Code. The Board of Building Regulations and Standards accepted comments on this proposed "stretch code" through Tuesday. Read the joint letter of support for the stretch code submitted by the BSA and AIA Massachusetts. For other views on the issue, read these letters submitted to the BSA.

Help shape state policy

Every architect in Massachusetts is urged to reserve April 28 for the BSA's annual public-policy pilgrimage to the state house. Architects Day on Beacon Hill seizes the unique opportunity to converse with our legislators and their aides about critical design and planning issues that are expected to come before the state legislature in 2009

Welcome the 111th Congress by letting them know it is time to rebuild and renew

President Obama has called on Congress to pass an economic-recovery package focused on putting America to work and repairing our nation’s infrastructure. Help make sure Congress understands the value of the design and construction industry in creating the best solutions to infrastructure challenges. Customize our sample letter (DOC) and contact your member of Congress (visit http://www.aia.org/gov and click on “Contact Your Members of Congress” to find contact information.) For more information on the AIA’s plan, visit the Rebuild & Renew Web site at http://www.aia.org/rebuildandrenew.

Advocating at the national level

The AIA’s 2009 Grassroots Leadership and Legislative Conference was February 4 through 7 in Washington, D.C. More than 800 AIA leaders from every state—including the local contingent led by BSA president Jim Batchelor FAIA—participated to advocate architects’ legislative agenda on Capitol Hill. For more information, read the AIA's issue briefs for key objectives in 2009. Or contact BSA public policy director John Nunnari Assoc. AIA at jnunnari@architects.org.

Thank you to our public-policy volunteers

In January, the BSA Legislative Affairs Committee hosted its Freshman Legislators Breakfast. This biennial breakfast gives architects an opportunity to meet newly elected state representatives and senators, while providing those same representatives and senators with an introduction to our profession and a guide to key BSA resources.

The BSA thanks the more than two dozen architects and allies who participated in this event. State representatives and senators in attendance included Rep. Jim Arciero (Westford), Rep. Bill Bowles (Attleboro), Rep. Jonathan Hecht (Watertown), Rep. Michael Brady (Brockton), Rep. James Dwyer (Woburn), Sen. Ken Donnelly (Arlington) and Sen. James Eldridge (Acton). They were joined by staff from Rep. Jim Cantwell (Marshfield), Rep. Caroyln Dykema (Holliston), Rep. Kate Hogan (Stow), Rep. Jason Lewis (Winchester) and Rep. Tim Madden (Nantucket).

Legislative victories: 2007–2008 Massachusetts State Legislature

On July 31, the 2007–2008 formal sessions of the Massachusetts State Legislature came to a close. More than 14,000 bills were filed this session, with only 559 being signed into law. With 40-plus bills being tracked by the BSA this legislative session, it was an especially busy session for the Legislative Affairs Committee (LAC). Here is a brief summary of some bills that were either signed into law or held in committee, thanks to successful BSA lobbying efforts.

From the LAC's review of the Green Communities Act
"First and foremost, it is important to remember that this legislation is about energy in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: How it is produced, distributed and used. The Bill would be more accurately titled the “Energy Reform Act”, one of its prior names. It is, as promised by the Legislature, sweeping and far-reaching in its scope in regards to the electric and gas utilities. Although climate change is not mentioned specifically, it is clear that one of the intended results of this Act is to reduce the Commonwealth’s production of greenhouse gasses.

In that buildings are a major consumer of power, this Act will affect architecture and what we do as architects. In addition, the BSA can consider some provisions of this Act as public policy “wins”. We can also be satisfied that the provisions to which we most strenuously objected have been deleted. However, specific public incentives such as subsidies or tax credits for private sector “green building” are absent.  It would be inaccurate to say that the Commonwealth does not consider buildings to be part of its overall climate change strategy, but buildings are a minor part of this legislation and mostly as they are further regulated, not incentivized..."

Click here to read the complete summary and commentary on the Act.

Changes in the Land: State Zoning Reform
by Andre Leroux, executive director, Mass. Smart Growth Alliance

With so many of our historic cities, towns and villages predating the automobile—and the sprawl development it fueled—Massachusetts should be one of the smart growth jewels of the country. Yet we are consuming land at a rate seven times that of our population growth.

Not only do we drive to work, but we drive to the store, to school, to the park, to church, to visit friends. Commuting accounts for only a small percentage of all trips. If it were convenient to replace even some of those other trips with alternative transportation like walking, biking or shuttle service, we could go a long way toward creating healthier, more appealing places to live as well as taking a necessary step to confront global warming. It is also the only permanent relief for rising energy costs.

However, our outdated land-use laws make it difficult, and in many places, impossible, to build walkable communities. In eastern Massachusetts outside the Boston core, only 5 percent of all residential units projected to be built from 2000 to 2030 will be on lot sizes of a quarter-acre or smaller under current trends. It is projected that nationally, we have already overbuilt the market for large homes on large lots through 2025, while we are far behind the production number of needed small-lot detached and attached dwelling units.

We have to improve the rules of the development game in Massachusetts in order to build more of the housing types that are needed.

What can we do?
The BSA is one of the founding members of the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance, a coalition of seven policy organizations that came together in 2003 to promote healthy and diverse communities, protect critical environmental resources and working landscapes, provide housing and transportation choices, and support equitable community development and urban reinvestment in our state.

The alliance has made zoning reform a top priority. Over the last year and a half, with leadership from the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association and the BSA, the alliance convened key stakeholders from the development, municipal and environmental sectors. This group became a Zoning Reform Task Force coordinated by Undersecretary for Business Development Greg Bialecki and has been working to develop a framework for a major legislative proposal to be filed at the end of the year, tentatively called the Land-Use Partnership Act.

Key elements of the proposal include:

• supporting progressive municipal planning in cities and towns that opt in;
• requiring those municipalities to change their zoning to reflect the plan;
• identifying areas in their communities that are appropriate for compact growth;
• passing ordinances that improve water management and preserve open space;
• sharing new tools to manage growth and development; and
• initiating a regional review process to encourage coordination among municipalities with regional and state objectives.

For more details about the Zoning Reform Task Force or to download the latest framework documents, visit the Massachusetts Permit Regulatory Office.

To participate in the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance’s zoning advisory group, please email me at andre@ma-smartgrowth.org or Jay Wickersham FAIA at jw@noblewickersham.com.

André Leroux
Executive Director
Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance

We meet on the second Tuesday of the month at 8:30 am on the 5th Floor of  The Architects Building, 52 Broad Street, Boston. We will provide bagels and juice for breakfast. RSVP 617-951-1433 x225.

For more information, contact committee chairs Mike Davis AIA of Bergmeyer Associates at  mdavis@bergmeyer.com or 617-542-1025 or John Nunnari Assoc. AIA of HMFH Architects at nunnari@hmfh.com or 617-844-2136.