City of Lowell - Office of the City Manager
DIVISION OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
JFK Civic Center/50 Arcand Drive Lowell, MA 01852
Adam Baacke, Assistant City Manager/DPD Director
Anne M. Barton, Deputy Director.


Green Building Commission Minutes
January 10, 2008 6:00 P.M.
Mayor’s Reception Room, Lowell City Hall
375 Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA

Note: These minutes are not completed verbatim; they are merely intended to provide a general
overview of the proceedings of the meeting.

Members Present

Others
David Turcotte, Chairman

Craig Thomas, Umass Lowell Student
Joy Onasch, Member

Stephen Greene, Resident
Will Arvidson, Member
Paul Welcome, City of Lowell, Insp. Services
Robert Gagnon, Member
Nick Sarris, Member
Jay Mason, Member


The following are the results of the January 10, 2008 Green Building Commission meeting held in the
Mayor’s Reception Room, City Hall, 375 Merrimack Street at 6:00 p.m.

Introductions

Proposed State Legislation Related to Green Building

Proposed state legislation related to green building was taken out of order. D. Turcotte presented
a quick summary of proposed State legislative actions that are likely to impact the City of Lowell
and the agenda of the Green Building Commission. Following is the link to the House version of
the bill, http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/house/185/ht04pdf/ht04373.pdf,

for the Senate amendments please use the following link,
http://www.mass.gov/legis/senate/s2457_amendments.htm.

A question was asked as to funding or programs available from the City of Lowell encouraging
green building. It was pointed out that there is little at this time in terms of funding for energy
conservation or renewable projects. It was suggested that funding green building solutions
would be more valuable to the City and its residents than a dog park (a project currently
underway within the City). It was agreed that green building needs to become more of a priority,
and that part of the Green Building Commissions role is to educate the public of the benefits and
need to build ‘green’ and once that message gets out it will be more politically palatable to place
green building programs at a higher priority.

Commission Member Presentations

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Green Building Commission – January 10, 2008
Page 2
Benefits of Building Green – David Turcotte

D. Turcotte presented outcomes and recommendations from the report Benefits of Building
Green developed through Umass Lowell Center for Family, Work, and Community. The report
sought to synthesize information from 21 U.S. cities that have successfully implemented green
building program. The researchers identified programs that were successful in making positive
environmental impacts as well as those that provided financial benefits to the city. Drawing on
information gleaned from each city the report lists several recommendations for the City of
Lowell in its development of a green building program under the following headings:

Lead by Example
Develop Economic Incentives for Private and Commercial Properties
Develop Education and Outreach Strategies
Establish Green Building Commission
Enlist Support from Utility
Partner with UML
Collaborate with Others

D. Turcotte also presented a series of case studies highlighting green building projects that have
been completed in Massachusetts. Projects include the Genzyme building in Cambridge, MA
were they were able to achieve a LEED platinum rating. Green technology incorporated into the
project accounted for approximately 16% of the total cost. Other case studies reviewed were
Capuano Early Education Center in Somerville, 17 Gordon Avenue in Providence that houses a
business incubator, and Maverick Landing in Boston (Trinity Financial, the developer selected
by the City as the master developer for the Hamilton Canal District). Of these projects green
technology accounted for 2-6% of the total cost on average.

It was pointed out that educating architects and builders as to the benefits of green building and
teaching them how to design and build structures that incorporate these strategies should be a
priority since they are the professionals that are relied on by developers and homeowners when
constructing a building. It was also noted that engineers should be included into this category. It
was generally agreed that the GBC should target this group and find ways to effectively reach
with educational materials.

It was suggested that one such method for reaching the development community represented by
architects, engineers, and contractors is to develop a ‘green building checklist’ that is provided
with a building permit application. The professional would then be required to fill out the
checklist of items that are going to be built into the project. The checklist achieves two goals,
first introducing professionals to available green building techniques, and applies a subtle level
of pier pressure to incorporate them.

Commission members pointed out that a database of projects should be developed and
maintained so that experience and lessons learned from completed projects could be utilized for
those professionals exploring incorporation of green building strategies. The intent is to shorten
the learning curve of professionals within the City and regionally in implementing green building
techniques.

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Green Building Commission – January 10, 2008
Page 3
Zoning for Smart Growth – Aaron Clausen

An overview of zoning regulation as it has developed in the United States from its origin in the
early 20th century to today was provided. Particular emphasis was placed on how zoning is
currently applied in the City of Lowell and the framework the Lowell zoning code works so that
Commission Members would have a basis with which to work when trying to encourage policies
that allow or encourage green building technologies. A brief overview of the development
process was provided, along with the legislative process that needs to be taken to make a change
to the zoning code.

Next Steps:

♦ Develop short-term actions that the Commission can take to spark interest in green building
techniques.
1. Education/Communication
2. Policy changes
3. Incentives
4. Public Relations
♦ Develop and form sub-committees to engage the various elements in advancing the
Commission’s mission.
♦ Determine funding for GBC projects.
♦ Determine level of connection with the City Council; i.e. what actions need to be presented
before the Council and what actions can proceed without oversight.
♦ Begin to develop a checklist that can be incorporated into the permitting process

_____________________________________________________
Aaron Clausen, Associate Planner/ Green Building Commission Administrator

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