The Land Use and Development Advisory Committee met on February 4, 2025 to review the goals of the 2025 Policy Agenda. As an introduction to the goal of Downtown Revitalization, John Weil, Senior Program Manager for the Boston Planning Department, presented an overview of the City’s Downtown Conversion Program that incentivizes office to residential adaptive reuse. John reviewed the evolution of the conversion program from origins in the PLAN: Downtown process in 2020 to a pilot for post pandemic revitalization of downtown, filling vacant space in Class B and C office buildings. The program offers a 29 year, 75% residential property tax abatement and a streamlined permitting process in return for adaptive reuse that includes 17% affordable units that comply with stretch code green energy standards. To date,14 applications for the program have been submitted, that when completed will produce 690 units of new housing, with 139 affordable units. The Downtown Conversions Program projects are eligible to take part in an expedited Article 80 review process that includes an interagency joint review. The program still faces several challenges, including market conditions, physical attributes of buildings, construction cost for conversions, building performance characteristics, and regulatory requirements that can slow the advancement of the program. Members of the Advisory Committee suggested doing a case study of a leading project to better understand how the process works. This presentation serves as a model for future discussion of topics included in the Policy Agenda.
The committee reviewed the goals of the Policy Agenda and topics for future sessions.
Goal 1 is “Support improvements to the process of planning and development in Boston” which includes continuing examination of the Article 80 development review process. A next step is follow up to review how our comments on the Action Plan are being incorporated and to . . .
On January 29, the Boston Zoning Commission voted 8-3 to approve the Zero Net Carbon (ZNC) Zoning Initiative. Among other things, the ZNC will require the owners and operators of new buildings over a certain size to purchase green power at the time of occupancy. We appreciate the intent of this initiative, as well as our membership's deep engagement and valid concerns regarding feasibility. Moving forward, we will continue to work closely with our members and with City leadership to troubleshoot implementation challenges that may arise and to advocate for strategies to help mitigate cost concerns. Please see the additional information below and do not hesitate to reach out with questions.
What does this mean?
Beginning on July 1, 2025, most new buildings with 15 or more units or 20,000 square feet and additions of 50,000 square feet will be required to meet a Net Zero Carbon emissions standard. This standard requires net zero operational emissions upon a building’s opening, embodied carbon reporting, and a LEED certifiable requirement. Once constructed and in operation, compliance with net-zero emissions will be demonstrated through Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) compliance. Labs will be given until 2035 to comply, and hospitals and manufacturing will be given until 2045 to comply with Net Zero Carbon emissions.
How has A Better City represented member perspectives?
Over the past several months, A Better City has been working directly with the City of Boston’s climate leadership team to discuss member perspectives and concerns. On January 21, A Better City hosted a ninety-minute member focus group with Brian Swett, Chief Climate Officer; Oliver Sellers-Garcia, Green New Deal Director; and Travis Anderson, Senior Infrastructure and Energy Planner—you can review the presentation
Left to right: Isabella Gambill (A Better City), Julia Howard (The Boston Foundation), Dr. M. Patricia Fabián (Boston University), Jonathan Lee (Boston University), Yirong Yuan (Boston University), and Zoë Davis (City of Boston). Photo Credit: Megan Jones (Boston University)
On Wednesday January 22 A Better City was thrilled to share the preliminary results from our B-COOL Summer 2024 Temperature Sensor Pilot, led by A Better City, the Boston University School of Public Health, the City of Boston’s Office of Climate Resilience, and The Boston Foundation. The pilot deployed 15 temperature sensors across heat island hotspot neighborhoods last summer to determine differences in lived heat experiences and to fill data gaps in neighborhood-specific temperature data.
Building upon the work of Boston’s Heat Plan and the Wicked Hot Boston project, the B-COOL pilot confirms significant temperature differences across neighborhoods in Boston. The B-COOL results further clarify that many hotspot neighborhoods are reaching advisory or emergency conditions earlier and for longer durations than the National Weather Service Station at Logan Airport.
During one declared heat advisory event in summer 2024, there were several sensors that recorded hotter temperatures, breaking the heat emergency threshold, whereas one of our cooler sensor locations never reached heat advisory or emergency conditions for that timeframe. This indicates significant differences in where heat advisory or emergency conditions are being felt across the city (differences both within and across neighborhoods), and for how long neighborhoods are exposed to high heat, compared to the alerts based on . . .
On December 19, 2024, A Better City, representing its over 130 member organizations and institutions, testified before the MBTA Board of Directors. The testimony focused on the Regional Rail Request for Information results and the upcoming commuter rail procurement.
Caitlin Allen-Connelly, Senior Advisor on Transportation for A Better City, began by commending the MBTA for the success of the Track Improvement Plan. She noted that this initiative has produced impressive results, including faster, more reliable service on the Blue, Orange, and Red Lines. Green Line riders will also soon benefit from a smoother, more efficient commute. A Better City celebrates this progress and remains committed to ensuring the MBTA has the resources to maintain this positive trajectory.
A Better City also expressed strong support for the MBTA as it prepares for the next commuter rail contract, the Commonwealth's largest. This contract represents a critical opportunity to modernize our rail system. A Better City urged the MBTA to leverage this opportunity to build a truly transformative transportation system for the future by:
Allen-Connelly commended Mike Muller, Executive Director of MBTA Commuter Rail, and his team for their commitment to defining the MBTA's rail modernization vision. They have diligently explored both traditional and innovative procurement approaches to identify the most cost-effective and efficient path forward.
The procurement structure is a crucial decision point for our . . .
While we are lucky to have strong recommendations for heat resilience through Boston’s 2022 Heat Plan and 20-Year Urban Forest Plan, as well as heat’s inclusion in the 2023 ResilientMass Plan statewide, policies are needed to codify best practice recommendations and move the needle on the implementation of equitable heat solutions. In December 2024, the Applied Economics Clinic (AEC) published a set of extreme heat policy reports on behalf of A Better City: an extreme heat policy brief with AEC’s recommendations for Massachusetts, and an extreme policy background report, which reviews existing policies and protocols for both short- and long-term heat resilience interventions in Massachusetts and in other jurisdictions. These reports were researched and written on behalf of A Better City.
In AEC’s review of existing policies for extreme heat and their provision of best practices and recommendations for Massachusetts, AEC discusses extreme heat policies both in terms of short-term heat emergency response, for example, heat emergency declaration protocols, emergency utility shutoff protections, grid demand management, resource allocation for heat-vulnerable populations, and EMS or . . .
On January 14, 2025, A Better City leadership joined with Governor Maura Healey in Worcester to release the Governor’s Transportation Funding Task Force report and to announce the Governor’s $8 billion plan to stabilize our statewide transportation system. Please see the additional information below and let us know if you have any questions or feedback.
Governor’s Upcoming State Budget Proposal
On January 14, Governor Maura Healey announced a plan to make historic investments in the state’s roads, bridges, and regional transportation system and immediately stabilize the finances of the MBTA. The investments—representing $8 billion over the next 10 years—would be done without raising taxes and represent the largest state transportation investment in more than 20 years by creating an expanded financing plan involving Fair Share revenue.
The plan will be filed as legislation in the coming weeks as part of the Governor’s Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) state budget proposal and a separate supplemental budget. These bills would put into action many of the recommendations made in the Transportation Funding Task Force
On December 12th, A Better City hosted an Extreme Heat Working Group meeting exploring extreme heat policy design and implementation considerations for Massachusetts. A Better City approaches such policies in two ways: 1. Policies that help to address and guide short-term heat emergency preparedness and response (what to do during isolated extreme heat events), and 2. Long-term heat resilience policies, which help to promote cooler buildings, workplaces, commutes, and neighborhoods, thereby making our communities more resilient to increasingly intense, more frequent, and longer-lasting heat overtime. Many extreme heat policy conversations are already underway, including:
Presentations
The Working Group was fortunate to have two expert presentations relevant to heat policy . . .
On December 17, 2024, A Better City convened over 100 leaders from the business, public, and advocacy sectors at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston for "Investing in Our Commuter Rail, Investing in Our Future." This event underscored the urgent need to transform Greater Boston's commuter rail network into a high frequency, decarbonized, regional rail system. This transformation will not only tackle challenges like traffic congestion and climate change but also promote equity, expand access to affordable housing, and strengthen the region's economic competitiveness.
The event featured insightful presentations and discussions, including opening remarks from Tom McGee, MBTA Board Chair, and an overview of MBTA commuter rail modernization efforts from Mike Muller, Executive Director of Commuter Rail, MBTA. Abdellah Chajai, CEO and General Manager of Keolis Group Commuter Services in Boston, highlighted the plan to decarbonize the Fairmount Line and improve service delivery with 20-minute headways.
A panel of industry experts from A Better City member companies provided valuable perspectives on key aspects of modernization:
To achieve this vision for a 21st-century commuter rail system, the event highlighted three key priorities:
Key Priorities for Modernization:
Transitioning to a regional rail model: This involves increasing service frequency, expanding service hours, and improving . . .
When the 2023-2024 legislative session officially ended on July 31st, 2024, there was deep frustration among members, partner organizations, and environmental advocates that the Massachusetts Legislature was unable to deliver an economic development bill or climate bill to Governor Healey’s desk by August. Thanks to the determination of state Senate and House leadership, both chambers passed rules to enable their legislators to return to Beacon Hill and move bills forward outside of the official legislative session. The 2024 climate bill (S.2967) was passed through the Legislature on November 14th and signed into law by Governor Healey on November 20th.
Key Takeaways from the 2024 Clean Energy Siting & Permitting Bill S.2967
As the third omnibus climate bill to pass through the Legislature in two sessions, the new Act Promoting a Clean Energy Grid, Advancing Equity, and Protecting Ratepayers (2024 Climate Bill) implements many of the recommendations from the Commission and Clean Energy Permitting and Siting, which was formed as a result of the 2022 Climate Bill and was tasked with addressing significant delays in clean energy projects.
Key aspects of the 2024 Climate Bill include:
Earlier this month, the Legislature passed a $3.96B economic development bond bill An Act Relative to Strengthening Massachusetts’ Economic Leadership, also known as the Mass Leads Act, providing substantial capital bond authorizations alongside policy changes for economic growth in Massachusetts. On November 20th, Governor Healey signed the Mass Leads Act into law. This bill is intended to implement the recommendations of the 2023 economic development plan led by Secretary of Economic Development, Yvonne Hao, also referred to as Team Massachusetts.
Key authorizations within the Mass Leads Act include: