Mayor Wu Plans to Establish Fossil Fuel-Free Standards for New Construction & Major Renovations

Mayor Michelle Wu has announced she intends to file legislation to give Boston the local option to set building standards eliminating the use of fossil fuels for new developments and major renovations in Boston. Under the provisions of the state’s recently enacted Bill H.5060, An Act driving clean energy and offshore wind, the submission of this Home Rule Petition would make the City of Boston eligible to apply to participate in a 10-municipality pilot program administered by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. The pilot allows cities and towns to develop local ordinances that restrict or prohibit new building construction or major renovation projects that use fossil fuels, including through the withholding or conditioning of building permits. The City will launch a community and stakeholder engagement process to define fossil fuel-free building standards, determine applicability, and set the multi-year timeline for phasing out the use of fossil fuels. Boston would join New York City, Seattle and Washington, DC, as major North American cities leading the transition to sustainable standards in development.

“Boston must lead by taking every possible step for climate action,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “We are eager to carry out the intent of this state legislation and maximize its benefit by including the Commonwealth’s largest city—Boston’s participation will help deliver healthy, energy-efficient spaces that save our residents and businesses on utilities costs and create local green jobs that will fuel our economy for decades.”

At the press conference announcing Boston’s bid for inclusion in the program, the Mayor invited the founder of Haycon, Patrick Haydon to speak. Haycon, a Boston-based construction and design/build firm specializing in high-performance and Passive House building has been ahead of the pack in building sustainable, Passive House, and electric buildings.

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