Northampton to hold Monday meeting to outline fossil fuel-free building code changes

Northampton City Hall, 2019.

Northampton City Hall, 2019.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

Staff Writer

Published: 01-03-2025 11:28 AM

NORTHAMPTON — The city is holding a public meeting Monday regarding a proposed ordinance to make the its building code completely free of fossil fuels.

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., both in-person at City Council chambers, located behind city hall, as well as online over Zoom.

A brief presentation of the ordinance, which if passed would take effect citywide on Jan. 27, will be followed by a public comment period for residents to voice any potential concerns.

The presentation will be accompanied by a panel that includes Climate Action and Project Administration Director Ben Weil, and councilors Rachel Maiore and Alex Jarrett, who have sponsored the ordinance.

The proposed ordinance banning fossil fuels comes after the city was selected in October as the 10th and final municipality in the commonwealth — and the only one in western Massachusetts — to participate in a state pilot program that would require all future construction and major renovations to be entirely free of fossil fuels. All other municipalities in the program are located in affluent suburbs of Boston or on Martha’s Vineyard.

Prior to being selected for the program, the Northampton City Council passed a specialized building code in 2023 that did not ban the future use of fossil fuels completely, but did require that any new building using fossil fuels include on-site solar installations and wiring that would enable the building to switch to being all-electric at a future date.

In addition, several new affordable housing developments, such as three homes built on Burts Pit Road by Habitat for Humanity, already incorporate fossil fuel-free infrastructure, using solar-powered heat pumps to generate power.

After its selection to participate in the pilot, the council has 90 days to pass an ordinance adopting the new building rules for it to take effect. The ordinance drafted by Maiore and Jarrett that would put the new rules in motion has been in the works for over a year, in anticipation of the city’s enrollment in the program.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.

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