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HomeMy Public PortalAboutClimate Mitigation Summary Paper 1 | P a g e BREWSTER VISION PLAN COMMITTEE SUMMARY PAPER CLIMATE MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION July 2022 I. BACKGROUND As noted in the Executive Summary of the July 2021 Cape Cod Climate Action Plan, climate change is an unprecedented challenge that is transforming Cape Cod. Rising seas and changes to the coastline are the most dramatic evidence of climate change, but a changing climate is also impacting every facet of Cape Cod’s natural, built, and community systems. By the end of the century, damage to Cape Cod’s buildings and land lost to inundation could alone total over $30 billion. Our land use patterns, and way of living dictate our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the leading cause of the climate crisis. Dedicated and immediate action is necessary to slow the effects of climate change and improve the region’s resiliency to its impacts. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts took significant strides shifting the state toward a net-zero carbon emissions goal through its most recent statewide Clean Energy and Climate Plan and climate policy establishing a statewide net zero carbon emissions target for 2050, including a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. The Cape Cod Climate Action Plan and 2018 Cape Cod Regional Policy Plan identify goals and policies as well as strategies and actions to reduce GHG emissions and enhance local and regional resiliency to present and future climate threats. The Town of Brewster has taken important steps in adopting local policies designed to support attainment of statewide GHG targets and regional goals for climate mitigation. Recognizing the current climate emergency, the Town adopted a Climate Change and Net Zero Emissions Resolution on October 19, 2020, with the following policy objectives:  Reduce net greenhouse gas emissions from human activity within and by the Town to zero at the earliest technically and economically feasible time.  Reduce the Town’s vulnerability to climate change. While Town-wide data regarding Brewster’s contribution to GHG emissions are not yet available, data from the 2021 Cape Cod Climate Action Plan indicate that Cape Cod’s 2017 GHG emissions equal 3,564,875 MTCO2E, or approximately 4-5% of Massachusetts state emissions. The Climate Action Plan identified the major sources of GHG as being from transportation and stationary energy sources (homes and businesses), with transportation (55.5%), and stationary energy sources (39.2%) accounting for 95% of the region’s GHG emissions. On-road vehicles account for 43% of the region’s emissions and nearly 80% of transportation emissions. Cape Cod is highly residential, with only 2-3% of the reported commercial and industrial building square footage in the state. Residential development is predominantly single-family homes, resulting in the residential subsector being the highest single 2 | P a g e contributor of stationary energy emissions. Offsetting these overall emissions, forested land captures an equivalent of 9% of the region’s carbon emissions. As described in the Brewster 2019 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Summary of Findings, Brewster has experienced a number of climate- and weather-related challenges in recent years and can expect to experience more severe events in the years to come due to climate change. For example, intense rainstorms in 2017 and 2018 caused street flooding, coastal flooding, storm surge, power outages and major travel disruptions. In addition, portions of Main Street (Route 6A) can flood during king tides (e.g., especially high spring tide). The most commonly cited challenges, concerns and vulnerabilities for Brewster included Inland flooding due to heavy rain and sea level rise; high wind events causing widespread power outages throughout the community; impacts to emergency preparedness and communications; water quality and human health issues; and coastal erosion. As noted in the Coastal Management Summary Paper, the Town’s public access points are threatened by storms, which can damage both the beaches and their access points, and by the increasing impacts of climate change. II. RECENT ACTIONS BY THE TOWN As noted above, the Town adopted a Climate Change and Net Zero Emissions Resolution to establish Town policy objectives on reduction of GHG emissions and address the Town’s vulnerability to climate change. The following are specific actions the Town has taken to support these objectives. Energy Reduction Measures The Town adopted the Board of Building Regulations and Standards Stretch Energy Code in 2019 to minimize the life-cycle cost of new construction by utilizing energy efficiency, water conservation and other renewable/alternative energy technologies. The Stretch Energy Code applies to all new residential and commercial construction in the Town. The Town completed a Town-Wide Energy Reduction Plan including a summary of municipal energy uses and short- and long-term plans for municipal energy reduction. During the baseline year, fiscal year 2018 (FY18), the total energy usage for the Town of Brewster was 31,199 MMBTU. The majority of energy consumed was used by municipal buildings (60%). The remaining usage is divided between vehicles (30%) and water/sewer/pumping (10%). The Town is committed to reducing baseline energy consumption by twenty (20) percent over the five-year period from FY2019 to FY2023. Green Communities Designation In February 2020, Brewster was designated as a Massachusetts Green Community. A Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) program created by the Green Communities Act of 2008, the Green Communities program provides financial and technical assistance to help communities reduce energy use and costs by implementing clean energy projects. The Town was awarded grant funds through the Green Communities program for energy conservation measures such as programmable thermostats, an energy management system, heat pump water heater, and demand control ventilation in Municipal Buildings. 3 | P a g e As a member of the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative, the Town has installed solar panels on both schools to reduce electrical energy use and generates revenue for the schools. Town has installed solar panels on the capped municipal landfill, solar canopies on the parking lot of the golf course and continues to look at other opportunities to install solar PV on municipal buildings. Complete Streets The Town of Brewster adopted a Complete Streets Policy in 2020. Complete streets are ones that provide safe and accessible options for all modes of travel and can help to encourage less personal vehicle travel, a significant source of GHG emissions, and more opportunity for walking, biking, and transit. III. KEY ISSUES MOVING FORWARD The baseline inventory provided in the 2021 Cape Cod Climate Action Plan points to the need to drastically reduce the region’s emissions in the transportation and stationary energy sectors, which account for nearly 95% of all Cape Cod GHG emissions. Changes in GHG emissions in these two sectors will greatly impact the region’s GHG emissions and will be critical in aligning the region’s GHG emissions with the Commonwealth’s goals for GHG emissions reduction. According to data from in the Cape Cod Commission GHG inventory, Brewster has a total of 10,192 registered vehicles, or approximately 4.5% of the vehicles registered on Cape Cod. Similar to other Cape communities, most of these vehicles consist of autos/SUVs or light trucks. A key challenge for the town is to reduce automobile dependence and provide alternatives to private automobile travel. Meanwhile, the Town is in the process of converting municipal vehicle fleets to electric vehicles when feasible. For municipal vehicles that will not be converted to electric in the near-term, the Town could also consider the use of hybrid vehicles or cleaner fuels, as available. In addition, the Town is reviewing methods to convert the conventional heating system in the Stony Brook school to cold weather heat pumps. There are three private electric vehicle charging stations in the town of Brewster. The Town could pursue resources and programs to support development of additional electric vehicle charging stations in appropriate locations to help reduce the local GHG emissions in support of State goals. As a region, over 80% of Cape Cod’s land area is already protected or developed, with over 90,000 acres of protected open space. Between 2001 and 2011, however, the Cape lost more than 2,300 acres of forest cover, with 70% of the loss replaced by development (buildings, driveways, parking lots, etc.). Focusing future development in already developed areas in activity centers of housing, economic activity, and services and away from areas that are undeveloped can help maintain our region’s ability to sequester carbon. As noted in the Land Use section, the Town is exploring potential locations for Town Center(s) as part of the outreach efforts for this LCP. The Town could consider completing a town wide GHG inventory and climate action plan to support the Town’s net zero climate objectives. As an example, the Town of Truro established a Climate Action Committee in 2019 to review the carbon footprint of Town-owned facilities and equipment and make recommendations to the Select Board on methods to minimize the Town’s carbon footprint and 4 | P a g e vulnerabilities to climate change. Using online support tools from the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), the Truro Climate Action Committee completed a town wide GHG inventory and a Climate Action Plan in 2021. Through the Cape Light Compact, the Town has a part-time energy manager who is analyzing the energy uses of the town and finding ways to save money and reduce dependency on fossil fuels as appropriate. The Town could consider performing energy assessments on all municipal buildings and work with the Cape Light Compact to access available programs. The Town could also consider pursuing adoption of small-scale community solar at appropriate locations. The CCC created an online screening tool to identify areas in Barnstable County that may be appropriate for large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects and those areas that may be less appropriate due to potential impacts to natural resources. This tool could be used as a starting point to help inform the siting of potential solar PV projects. As noted in the Coastal Management Building Block, Brewster is working with the Cape Cod Commission on updating and strengthening local bylaws to better address coastal development and redevelopment with the goal of building coastal resiliency. Revisions to municipal bylaws focused on practices to encourage or incentivize energy efficiency and conservation, onsite or local renewable energy, and compact development to minimize impervious surfaces other sustainable building and site development practices could also be pursued by the Town. IV. BUILDING BLOCK GOAL Support and advance the Commonwealth’s greenhouse gas reduction goals, including promoting sustainable energy use and renewable energy that protects the Town’s natural resources.