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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Energy Committee - 06/27/2013South Burlington Energy Committee June 27th, 2013 South Burlington City Hall Meeting called to order at 7:06 pm Members present: Don Cummings (Chair), Marcy Murray, Keith Epstein, Sam Swanson Members absent: Laura Waters, Marc Companion, Peter Tousley Public present: Karen McKenney Keith volunteered to take minutes. Karen gave a summary of the 2013 Vermontivate game. Charlotte won, and South Burlington placed third. Everyone is invited to a Ben and Jerry's ice cream party to celebrate at the Charlotte Central School on Saturday June 29th from noon to 3 pm. Karen brought some information about the Georgetown University Energy Prize (GUEP), a $5 million prize for the community that leads the way in energy efficiency. More information can be found at http://www.guep.org/. Committee members will research the details of the GUEP. Karen has been attending and will continue to attend the South Burlington Farmer's Market on Sundays promoting the Vermontivate game, and talking and tabling about energy efficiency and alternative transportation. Karen will invite Ross McDonald to the next Energy Committee meeting to discuss the Committee's participation in promoting alternative transportation. A motion was made by Keith to approve the May 2013 minutes. Marcy seconded the motion and the minutes were approved unanimously. Ilona showed and explained the most recent Market Street Reconstruction Project Team proposal. Sam made a motion that the Energy Committee submit the following statement, Marcy seconded, and the vote was unanimous. “We support the Market Street Reconstruction Project Team proposal because it meets the important objective of buffered and through bike path and accommodates public transit. We believe these do not create a barrier but benefit economic activity due to the evidence that providing these transportation enhancements will increase retail sales.” The Dorset Park solar array is producing power, and the committee discussed organizing an opening ceremony in early October. Keith made a motion to submit comments on the Affordable Housing Committee's recent report. Sam seconded the motion, and the motion was approved unanimously. (See attached) Sam made a motion to renew South Burlington's ICLEI membership for one year. Marcy seconded the motion, and the motion was approved unanimously. Keith made a motion that the committee recommend that City Council approve the proposed changes to the committee structure. Don seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously. (See attached) Don made a motion that the committee submit comments on the proposed Citywide street typology. Sam seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously. (See attached) Keith moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:07 pm. Marcy seconded, and it was approved unanimously. 1 SBEC Recommendations for Affordable Housing Housing built today in all likelihood will be with us for the next 100 years. Utilities are currently a major cost for homeowners and the outlook, even with recent reductions in natural gas prices, is that they will become even higher. To ensure that a home is “affordable” for the long term, extra measures need to be taken during its construction to make the building very energy efficient. The Energy Committee recognizes that the Affordable Housing Report recommends energy-efficient housing and locating affordable housing hear public transit, but contains no specific actions to be taken on either of these issues. Therefore, the Energy Committee recommends the following specific actions: 1. That all “affordable” homes built in S. Burlington that are enabled by density incentives, inclusionary zoning or other city incentives shall be built to a significantly higher energy standard than current VT energy code (for example Energy Star). The specific energy standard will be determined though consultation with Efficiency VT and other local experts. 2. These homes shall be built with rooftop photovoltaic (PV) to help offset the electrical usage by the building and its occupants. 3. These homes shall be ½ mile or less within walking distance to a public transit stop that is operating at the time of construction. Support for the higher Energy Efficiency standard: It is our understanding that multi-family buildings that are built with state or federal subsidies will likely be built to higher standards than current code to Energy Star level or equivalent for example). We also understand that large multi-family buildings built and run by housing trusts will also likely be highly efficient if the trust is responsible for paying the energy costs. However, for all other developments (affordable or otherwise) there are usually few incentives for a builder to make the home highly energy efficient since the eventual owners or renters will be paying the utility costs. If “affordable” homes are built without these extra energy efficiencies built in, they may soon become unaffordable as energy costs continue to climb. This raises the question “will homeowners be able to finance more efficient homes due to the higher initial costs?” A quick (and by no means comprehensive) survey of the lending industry found the following: Recent changes in mortgage lending practices (allowed by Freddie Mac) permit projected energy savings for Energy Star homes to be added to what the homeowner would normally be limited to for a monthly payment (by using standard underwriting policies for normal homes). This increase in allowable payment results in the borrower being able to finance a higher principal 2 and thus would support the increased purchase price of the more efficient home. (Source: John Hood, in charge of Lending, New England Federal Credit Union.) Recent evolutions in the appraisal process, though needing to get more widely supported, are beginning to see energy efficiency reflected in higher appraised values. Although there is no direct line item for efficiency on the appraisal, comparables are becoming available for higher efficiency homes. In addition, adjustments can be made in the quality rating of a property, when it is highly energy efficient, that will adjust the appraisal values higher. (Source: Mike Cannizzaro, Cannizarro Real Estate; John Dolan, Dolan Appraisal Services.) Support for the rooftop solar recommendation: Current (and expected future) pricing as well as available grants or tax credits for solar electric generation makes the addition of rooftop solar a viable investment to offset future energy costs. While each project will be different, the general rules of proper orientation, minimizing roof penetrations and installation of high quality and long lasting roofing materials will maximize the effectiveness of these installations. Support for public transit recommendation: The Affordable Housing Committee Report contains numerous recommendations from committee members and the general public supporting locating affordable housing near public transit. R – 2013 - RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE STRUCTURE OF THE SOUTH BURLINGTON ENERGY COMMITTEE WHEREAS, the mission of the South Burlington Energy Committee is to promote energy conservation, energy efficiency, and the use of renewable energy resources among the City's residents, businesses, and in municipal affairs; and WHEREAS, the Committee will assist the City in addressing certain goals expressed in the Comprehensive Plan, such as promoting energy efficiency, affordable energy, and decreasing reliance (per capita) on non-renewable energy resources; and WHEREAS, the Committee was established by resolution of the Council on June 20, 2011 with seven members serving staggered terms and would better be able to carry out their mission with nine members serving staggered terms; and, WHEREAS, the Committee shall be responsible for electing officers; and WHEREAS, this Committee initially was under the auspices of the Planning & Zoning Department and was staffed accordingly and is now staffed by the City Manager’s Office; and WHEREAS, the Committee may undertake studies, programs, or events in the advancement of its mission but shall seek City Council approval prior to engaging the City in outside programs or studies involving significant financial, staff, or representational commitments. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by action of the South Burlington City Council that the South Burlington Energy Committee membership is hereby expanded to nine members; and FURTHERMORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Committee shall be staffed as designated by the City Manager. APPROVED this _____ day of ______________ , 2013. SOUTH BURLINGTON CITY COUNCIL __________________________________ ________________________________ Pam Mackenzie, Chair Pat Nowak, Vice Chair __________________________________ ________________________________ Chris Shaw, Clerk Helen Riehle __________________________________ Rosanne Greco SBEC Position on the Street Typology The South Burlington Energy Committee strongly encourages the City Council to: • Acknowledge and aggressively publicize the science-confirmed threat of climate change, the significant role that South Burlington’s transportation-related emissions contribute to climate change, and the city’s preference that citizens use non-motorized or group (transit or carpool) travel to maximize climate health, citizen health, and disposable income (from lower personal gas and car repair expenses, and fewer dollars sent out of the community for gasoline purchases). • Minimize transportation-related carbon emissions by maximizing the convenience and safety of public transportation and non-motorized usage, e.g., bikes. • Work diligently to quickly add safe bikeways and bike lanes throughout the entire city so that citizens can travel in two directions on each street and only truly need cars for out-of- town travel and inclement weather. o Work with neighboring towns to expand this network of safe bike lanes • Maximize non-motorized travel by preserving the distinct separation of non-motorized and motorized traffic (as shown in the Recommended Cross Section of the First Draft Street Typology) by elevating all bike/non-motorized paths or by protecting them with trees or other barriers. o Where such separation is not possible, have bike lanes of different color or lane material. o Where roads must be shared without bike lanes or wide shoulders, require low vehicle speeds and use visible messages on asphalt and/or signage demanding safe road-sharing and kindness. o Educate city government and city committee members that protected bikeways could yield significant increases in business for retail establishments (as experienced in New York City: http://www.americabikes.org/nyc_study_finds_protected_bicycle_lanes_boost_local_business) • Use a design that prevents open car doors from hitting bike lane users where parking must be adjacent to bike/non-motorized travel lanes. • To ensure that typology requirements do not hinder the energy efficiency of buildings that will eventually be constructed along these roadways: o Where feasible, streets should be aligned to facilitate rooftop solar installations (N/S, E/W). o Buildings (and roofs) built on the street grid should be aligned to facilitate rooftop solar installations on south-facing roofs. o The selection of allowable trees planted along the street should be limited to those with a mature height that will not shade solar arrays on rooftops. o Care should be taken that requirements for landscaping & trees planted along the street (and in front of buildings) will not impact the ability of developers to build passive-solar and low-energy buildings.