Newton’s Zoning and Planning Committee (ZAP) set up a likely final vote next session on Newton Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) at its meeting Monday night.
BERDO, which ZAP has previously considered, would mandate large property owners to report energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.Josh Morse, commissioner of public buildings, and Bill Ferguson, Newton’s co-director of sustainability and energy project manager, joined the committee to respond to inquiries regarding the city’s readiness to comply with the ordinance.
“The City of Newton started our preparation for BERDO before we knew BERDO was a thing,” Morse said. “About eight years ago, we started our transition away from fossil-fuel heat to fully electric. That being said, right now, based on Bill [Ferguson] and their consultants’ calculations—and I concur—we are in good shape to be in full compliance with BERDO through 2040 with the projects that are going on right now.”
Ward 6 Councilor-At-Large Victoria Danberg proposed an amendment to the draft that would require all residential buildings 20,000 square feet or greater to be included in the ordinance to report and comply with the emission standards of BERDO. Currently, as the draft ordinance stands, it only applies to commercial buildings.
Danberg explained the need for residential buildings to be included in the ordinance, emphasizing that they represent a large percentage of the total greenhouse gas emissions.
“At this point, the requirement is to report, and later down the road … to achieve stricter emissions standards over time,” Danberg said. “And there are 292 large commercial buildings that are owned by 179 owners. They account for 23 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions in Newton. Large residential buildings represent 20 percent of the large building emissions. So of a total amount of emissions, 20 percent of that is represented by the large residential buildings.”
Greg Reibman, president and CEO of Charles River Regional Chamber, a non-profit organization, spoke to express his concerns regarding the amendment.
“We did not give any other residential owners a chance to speak, and I think, really, my only concern here is we have a climate crisis,” Reibman said. “We also have a housing crisis. We have an affordability crisis, and we have a housing shortage crisis. We do not know the implications of this … and I urge the council to give us time to explore that and to collect feedback.”
All eight members of ZAP supported the original BERDO ordinance, and six of the eight would support amending BERDO to include large residential buildings of 20,000 square feet or greater.
The committee indicated it would hold the ordinance one final time, and in the next session, the committee would put BERDO to a final vote.
ZAP Committee Vice-Chair and Ward 1 Councilor-At-Large John Oliver moved to hold BERDO and directed that the ordinance be modified to distill any points of confusion.
“The goal here would be to have you come back with one version of this ordinance,” Oliver said. “Let’s just make sure that when we go through this at our next session—when we can get this on the table—everyone’s confident as to what was included.”
Monday’s meeting also featured the elevation of Jennifer Pucci to a full-voting member of the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA).
Pucci, associate general counsel at Boston University, discussed her former role as a litigator for Newton’s Law Department and expressed her commitment to public service and interest in serving on the ZBA.
“I appreciate the opportunity that the mayor is giving me to serve,” Pucci said. “I believe really strongly in public service and playing your part. When I worked for the city, it was incredibly interesting to see how [government] works. It works because good people give their time to make it work—the employees who work for the city, but also the counselors, the commissioners, the folks who are on the boards and commissions—and I very much wanted to serve and play a part in that.
Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller appointed Pucci to a full board position last month and sought ZAP’s confirmation. Until now, Pucci had served as an associate member of the ZBA since her appointment in 2022.
Following a brief question-and-answer session, ZAP unanimously confirmed Pucci to the ZBA. Pucci will now complete the term of ZBA board member William McLaughlin, which ends on April 30, 2025.
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