The Zero Energy working group has managed, through a series of reasonable compromises, to create a proposed replacement bylaw, Zero Energy for Town Buildings, that will reduce future energy consumption, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and hopefully, be a useful model for other municipalities to follow. On May 14th,2017 Amherst Town Meeting adopted by a nearly unanimous vote the revised Bylaw. Below is a summary of the changes from the original Bylaw adopted in Fall 2017 and the revised Bylaw adopted in Spring 2018. Full text of the bylaw follows.
spring 2018 bylaw summaryReport to the 2018 Annual Town Meeting
Art. 29 Zero Energy Town Buildings Amherst Select Board & Mothers Out Front This proposed Zero Energy Town Buildings Bylaw would replace the Zero Energy Bylaw passed at the last Town Meeting. It is recommended by both the petitioners of the original bylaw and the Amherst Select Board. At the Special Town Meeting November 6, 2017, Article 15: Petition-- General Bylaw-- Net Zero Energy Town Buildings (”Zero Energy Bylaw”) was approved by nearly a 70% majority (123 Yes, 54 No and 9 abstentions). This was a very clear statement of the value Amherst places on local actions to mitigate climate change, by making its new municipal buildings zero energy (a/k/a “net zero energy”). In early February, 2018, representatives from the Select Board and the DPW/Fire Station Advisory Committee and the Town Manager met with some of the petitioners from Mothers Out Front (MOF) and shared concerns about possible obstacles to implementing the bylaw as initially adopted. Four representatives from each group, the Town and MOF, formed an 8-person zero energy working group. We met together nine times over the past two months, and also held meetings separately with our own teams to discuss proposed changes in the bylaw. Members of both groups also attended three zero energy educational sessions with energy experts offered by Mothers Out Front. The work was done in a spirit of collaboration with a goal of preserving the original purpose of the Zero Energy Bylaw, while avoiding possible obstacles to implementation identified by Town officials. The following chart summarizes the major changes from the original bylaw that would be made by the proposed replacement Zero Energy Town Buildings Bylaw: CURRENT ZERO ENERGY BYLAW PROPOSED ZERO ENERGY BYLAW
Bylaw as Approved By Fall Town Meeting 2017
Full updated text is also available as a pdf below. ZERO ENERGY TOWN BUILDING BYLAW – THE MOTION Text in boldface and red underline are amendments to the article that appears in the warrant. (red underline is text to be deleted) I move to amend the Town of Amherst General By-Laws by adding the following new by-law: ZERO-ENERGY TOWN BUILDINGS
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